Trade in the tools of torture
The U.S. government OKs the export of shackles and stun guns
The United States has permitted American companies to ship electric-shock weapons and mechanical restraints to 39 countries accused of torturing dissidents and detainees, according to a U.S. News review of export documents and State Department reports. The inquiry established that in the past two years, for instance, stun batons, stun guns, and similar devices were shipped to Haiti, India, Lebanon, and Turkey; the State Department has cited authorities in those countries for torturing prisoners with electric shock devices. Some companies have even found ways to ship their products overseas without seeking a government license, the inquiry found.
After being shown some of the 4,000 Commerce Department export documents obtained by U.S. News, Rep. Tom Lantos said he would introduce legislation to tighten controls and ban the export of such devices to countries where governments engage in torture. He would prohibit overseas sales of equipment such as thumb cuffs, leg irons, and stun belts. "This is a horrifying spectacle," says Lantos, a California Democrat and Holocaust survivor. "These are singularly unsavory governments that do not share our human-rights concerns." The European Union is considering similar export controls.
Horrors. The practice of torture is widespread, even in countries that are close American allies, such as NATO member Turkey. That country has been cited by the State Department for a host of horrific practices, including administering electric shock, dangling victims by their arms, and hanging sandbags on prisoners' necks. Nevertheless, the Commerce Department approved three licenses for exports of stun devices to Turkey in 2001. Human-rights activists are outraged. "How could the United States possibly grant an export for electroshock equipment transfers to Turkey," wonders Maureen Greenwood of Amnesty International, "when the State Department, Amnesty International, and Turkish parliamentarians have all reported a pattern of torture including electric shock?"
The answer: The Commerce Department has become little more than a rubber stamp for the more than 60 American companies looking to ship devices overseas. In addition to approving exports of electric-shock weapons, Commerce also signed off on the sale of restraint devices--which could include thumb cuffs and leg irons--to countries where torture by authorities was reportedly widespread. These countries include Egypt, Indonesia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. It is difficult, however, to trace a specific device to a particular case of torture.
A U.S. company must apply to the Commerce Department for a license if it wants to export certain crime control equipment to any country except Canada. Prior to 2000, licenses were not required for some close allies, including Turkey. The department's "general policy" when enforcing the Export Administration Act is to deny applications for export to countries where there is a pattern of gross human-rights violations. Commerce also states that it does not look favorably on an application if there is civil disorder in the country.
U.S. officials say all license applications and foreign importers are carefully screened by the department as well as by other government agencies. "The Departments of Commerce and State, and in some instances Defense, review the proposed export--the item, the end user, and the country of destination--to decide the likelihood that an item will be used properly or misused," says Matthew Borman, a Commerce Department official.
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