by Dr Steve Wright, Director of the Omega Foundation
A Draft Paper Presented to the Expert Seminar on Security Equipment
& The
Prevention of Torture
25-26 October 2002 London, UK
Future Sub-lethal, Incapacitating and Paralysing Technologies
by Dr Steve Wright,
Director of the Omega Foundation
1. INTRODUCTION
This paper covers the emergence of new sub-lethal, incapacitating and
paralysing technologies and their coming role in the mass production
of torture, cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment. It grew out of
the work the Omega Foundation has undertaken for Amnesty
International (on electroshock, restraining and torture
technologies), the European Commission, the European Parliament and
Landmine Action. Throughout its' existence, Omega has tracked
technologies, particularly less-lethal weapons) deployed by the
police, military and security services to create human rights
violations, including weapons used in torture. However, such
technologies have always been seen by us as multi-functional, weapons
of flexible response rather than specifically designed just for a
role in torture.
Thus in many senses, to look for specially designed implements of
torture is a rabbit hole, since very few manufacturers would deem
such a role for their products. There are of course exceptions, for
example, the `House of Fun' electronic torture chamber designed for
the Dubai Special Branch by a company here in London. Standard
operating procedures become routinely used in torture and should be
considered as a form of torture software, with the teaching of the
torturers as a live-ware capable of being exported and replicated.
Some of these devices and techniques are bespoke. For example,
the `Apollo machine' devised by Savak, the Shah's secret police in
Iran (it delivered an electric shock to sensitive parts of the body
whilst a steel helmet covered prisoners heads to amplify their
screams) was also used by the succeeding regimes religious police.
Others, such as the sensory deprivation techniques evolved by the
British Army in Northern Ireland, now form part of the interrogation
procedures by Special forces throughout the world.
3.5 Directed Energy Weapons
Directed weapons offer what is known as a tuneable munition and such
a
capability now goes hand in hand with the Pentagon's notions of
layered defence. Essentially this means attacking civilians and
combatants together assuming an onion approach where each progressive
layer becomes more lethal with combatants at the centre of the onion
being targeted with old fashioned lethal force.
These are perhaps the most controversial and potentially illegal (viz
EU directive, SiRUS laser ban etc) variants of alternative APM's.
Directed Energy or Radio frequency Weapons using the microwave
part of the electromagnetic spectrum are probably the most
controversial area of development. They are discussed in NonLethal
Weapon circles but little in the way of hard data is provided given
their sensitivity. They are seen as offering a potential rheostatic
or
tunable response from less-lethal; to lethal. Already demonstrated
is
the ability to induce a heating effect up to 107 degrees F to induce
an artificial fever. There has been much speculation but a dearth
of
hard data about such psychotronic weapons which are already worrying
those concerned about bioethics. Such electronic neuro-influence
weapons would be in breach of the recent EU resolution regarding
technologies which interact directly with the human nervous
system. Voice to skull technology has already been discussed in the
literature.