Fiji: Torturers

Last year, a group of prisoners escaped from Naboro prison in Fiji. When they were recaptured, they were reportedly savagely beaten by police, and one subsequently had a leg amputated. The Fijian police, of course, denied everything. But they'll have a hard time denying it now that someone has leaked the video:

A horrific video which appears to show Fijian officials beating and torturing several men last year has emerged.

[...]

In the video Qaraniqio can be seen lying on the deck of a pickup truck as he is repeatedly and savagely assaulted.

At one point he is stripped of his shorts and attacked. Another man on the ground is also beaten.

A person involved with posting the video said the men doing the beating were not wearing police uniforms other than wearing boots known to be police issue. A police truncheon was also used.

From what the men were saying, and particularly the one standing on the ute's tray, it was apparent he was an officer - but it is not clear whether he is military or police.

The officers accuse the man in the ute of "planning this escape" - they say in Fijian: "This escape was your doing - you planned it."

As he is being hit, the officers as saying "Dro tale, dro..." which means "escape again, escape..." while beating his legs.

The full video, if you can stomach it, is here. I stopped at the stage where they began to systematically break every bone in the victim's feet.

The police of course say that the video needs to be "verified". But they've been caught red-handed here. The officers responsible need to be prosecuted for torture and jailed. If not, they're no better than a criminal gang.