On 15 and 16 March 2011, leading human rights defenders, dissidents and survivors gathered in the city of Geneva. Activists from Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Turkmenistan addressed the audience at a human rights conference session reporting the numerous ways in which torture was inflicted upon them.
Luis Enrique Ferrer, Cuban torture survivor who found refuge in Spain, suddenly stood up mid-session and spread his arms forming a cross with his body. “They call it the crucifixion. They put you up against the prison wall, chain your arms like that and leave you there for weeks. They want to kill your soul,” explained Ferrer to the Geneva audience.
Gwang-Il Jung, North Korea torture survivor and External Affairs Manager at Free the NK Gulag, said that he was subjected to the ‘crab.’ “They push you nude on the floor, tie your arms and legs to form the shape of a crab and leave you there,” Jung said. “You can’t defend yourself. I was kept because they thought I was a spy. The interrogated me and wanted me to defect. I didn’t know what they were talking about. Finally, after 8 months of torture, I defected,” added Jung.
Among the speakers was Iranian lawyer Mohamed Mostafaei, the lawyer who defended Sakineh, one among many Iranian women condemned to death by stoning. Mostafaei was forced to leave Iran after publicizing multiple stories on death stoning of women and minors. He now lives in Norway.
“By listening to all the stories today, I almost forgot my own suffering,” said Mostafei.
“Human rights violations happen in many Muslim countries. Our revolution, before Khomeini came to power, didn’t speak of child executions. When I lived in Iran I saved 18 out of 40 children sentenced to death by stoning,” explained the Iranian human rights defender.
The participants urged the international community and especially countries in the West to take up human rights as a priority and not to open up dialogue with these regimes, unless changes have been made.
“Nothing has changed in Cuba. Nothing will change unless the Cuban people do it like the people in Egypt,” said Luis Enrique Ferrer. A question came from the audience. One participant asked Ferrer what he would tell a well-known Geneva professor who on previous occasions had publicly declared that Cuba is not a dictatorship. “I’ll invite him to Cuba and if he lives there for 6 months – not as a tourist but as a real Cuban - may be then he will be in my seat,” retorted the Cuban torture survivor.
Iveta Cherneva - Iveta Cherneva is an author and practitioner in the spheres of human rights, security policy and law, human trafficking, ESG and ...
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