Physical violence is the use of physical force by an adversary to intimidate a target or its network, incapacitate a target, or coerce a target into revealing information.
In some contexts, physical violence can include torture. For example, in Russia and Belarus, several anarchists have been tortured in recent years after being arrested by the State. Reported acts of torture in these countries include (click to show):
beatings, suffocation with a plastic bag or pillow, pouring water into the nose and mouth, hanging by the legs or by tied hands, electric shocks, torture with a screwdriver, forcing people to do squats until they collapse, sexual violence, and deprivation of sleep, food, and water.
In some contexts, physical violence can include assassinations.
Used in tactics: Deterrence, Incrimination
Mitigations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Preparing for repression | If you or members of your network are at risk of being tortured if you are arrested, you can prepare for that risk. For example:
|
Used in repressive operations
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Belarusian anarcho-partisans | The people were tortured in the first days of their detention[1]. |
| Repression of the 2019 uprising in Chile | In the streets and in custody, police forces and soldiers injured, sexually assaulted, raped, tortured and killed many protesters in what appeared to be a strategic attempt to deter participation in the uprising[2]. |
| Network | Most of the defendants were tortured by the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) in the early stages of their detention in order to obtain (often fabricated) statements that could later be used to charge and convict them[3]. Most of the defendants who were tortured later retracted their statements and spoke publicly about the torture they had received. |
| Renata | During a house raid, one of the arrested people was forced to his knees by a cop who put a gun to his temple[4]. |
| Warsaw 3 | The people were tortured during their arrest and in the first hours of their detention[5]. |