Torture

Germany plans talks with Chile over site tied to cult led by abusive German preacher

The enclave, originally called Colonia Dignidad and renamed Villa Baviera, was founded in 1961 by Paul Schaefer, an evangelical preacher who was later jailed for sexually abusing children.

|ByREUTERS
The name of Villa Baviera, formerly Colonia Dignidad, is engraved on a stone at the settlement created by German immigrants that served as a secret prison during Augusto Pinochet's dictatorship (1973-1990), on the outskirts of Parral, Chile, July 20, 2025.
Former hostage Matan Angrest speaks to Channel 12's 'Uvda' about his experience in Hamas terror captivity, including torture, broadcast on February 26, 2026.

WATCH: 'I screamed in pain': Former hostage Matan Angrest says Hamas terrorists electrocuted him

Former Gaza hostage Matan Angrest told Channel 12's 'Uvda' about his captivity, including Hamas torture, the loss of his tank crew, bonding with fellow hostage Gali Berman, and his eventual release.

|ByJAMES GENN
Pakistan's national flag.

Details emerge on killing of father of 8-year-old Pakistani cricket player, Aina Wazir

Omar Wazir was a schoolteacher and also ran a travel agency. In a related incident, Aina Wazir's cameraman was kidnapped but later released.

|ByARSHAD MEHMOOD/THE MEDIA LINE
A demonstrator lights a cigarette with fire from a burning picture of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei outside the Iranian embassy during a rally in support of nationwide protests in Iran, in London, Britain, January 12, 2026.

Iran's death penalty crackdown on protesters targets minors, Amnesty International warns

Amnesty International revealed that two 17-year-olds are among those at risk of being sentenced to death in Iran for involvement in January’s protests, calling for an immediate halt to the executions

|BySHOSHANA BAKER

The last Jew of Yemen is being tortured by the Houthis and must be saved - opinion

With a UN-negotiated ceasefire in Yemen largely holding, and peace talks being held in Riyadh, now is the time to raise our voices on behalf of Levi Marhabi and to push for his release.

SEPTEMBER 22, 2023ByMICHAEL FREUND
A SECURITY forces member loyal to Yemen’s Houthi rebels guards a bonfire incinerating seized narcotics, in Sana’a.

Torture, sexual violence commonly used by Russian forces in Ukraine, say experts

Ukrainian authorities are reviewing more than 97,000 reports of war crimes by Russian forces and have filed charges against 220 suspects in domestic courts.

AUGUST 2, 2023ByREUTERS
A Ukrainian couple stands next to Russian soldiers in the Crimean town of Balaclava.

UN experts raise 'widespread' torture concerns with Russia

The UN experts said torture included electric shocks, hoodings and mock executions and had been carried out to extract intelligence, force confessions or in response to alleged support for Ukraine

JUNE 15, 2023ByREUTERS
Russian conscripts called up for military service line up before their departure for garrisons as they gather at a recruitment centre in Simferopol, Crimea, April 25, 2023.

Palestinian rights groups demand probe into death of preacher in Hamas detention

Mohammed al-Sufi was known for his criticism of Hamas leaders and their ties to Iran and was detained upon his return from Egypt last week.

APRIL 22, 2023ByKHALED ABU TOAMEH
A drug addict attends an interview with Reuters at a Hamas-run prison in Gaza City March 1, 2017. Picture taken March 1, 2017.

Russia financed torture chambers in Ukraine's Kherson - war crimes probe

Survivors of the Russia-funded torture chambers in Ukraine's Kherson told Reuters about being tortured, including electric shocks and suffocation techniques.

MARCH 2, 2023ByREUTERS
An interior view shows a basement of a building, which Ukrainian authorities say was a makeshift Russian prison and torture chamber during Russia's invasion in the village of Kozacha Lopan, in Kharkiv region, Ukraine September 18, 2022

Ukraine tells Georgia to stop torturing ex-president, Ukrainian citizen

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged Georgia to release former president and Ukrainian citizen Mikheil Saakashvili, who they claim is being tortured.

FEBRUARY 2, 2023ByAARON REICH
Georgia's jailed ex-President Mikheil Saakashvili is seen on a screen via a video link from a clinic during a court hearing to consider a request from Saakashvili's legal team to release him or defer his six-year sentence for abuse of power over health concerns, in Tbilisi, February 1, 2023.

Did Shin Bet torture innocent man or did he get away with murder? - analysis

A Maariv expose told of an Israeli who was arrested and allegedly tortured after he killed a Palestinian who he claimed was going to harm kids.

NOVEMBER 15, 2022ByYONAH JEREMY BOB
Actors demonstrate the Israeli Shin Bet torture method known as "Banana b'kiseh", where a detainee with hands and feet cuffed is painfully stretched over a chair by his jailer in the shape of a banana, during a press conference held by the Israeli human rights group B'tselem

Both Russia and Ukraine tortured prisoners of war, UN says

Both Russian and Ukrainian prisoners reported poor and humiliating conditions including forced nudity, electric shocks and violence.

NOVEMBER 15, 2022ByREUTERS
Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) walk after a swapping, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Chernihiv region, Ukraine, in this handout picture released September 22, 2022

Iran arrests dissident rapper, calls Amini story reporters CIA spies

Iran’s regime charged Hamedi and Mohammadi of being the “primary sources of news for foreign media.” The women are being held in Tehran’s brutal Evin prison.

OCTOBER 30, 2022ByBENJAMIN WEINTHAL
Iranian flag flies in front of the UN office building in Vienna

Green-lighting torture in Israel: A tragic, unifying court decision - comment

While torture is generally condemned, it is allowed in Israel in the limited situation of a ticking bomb. So why was it used in this case to solve a crime?

SEPTEMBER 5, 2022ByARI ZIVOTOFSKY
AMIRAM BEN-ULIEL attends a hearing on his appeal, at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem, earlier this year.