ABSTRACT
The authorities have also used animals to sexually abuse detainees. One male former political prisoner describes his interrogation: ‘… I was then made to assume a position similar to the “Semigwa dance,” while pins were placed underneath my elbows and knees. I was stripped of all my clothes. There were four guards in the police station, all drunk, and they found a large dog, which they made mount my back. They then used their hands to arouse the dog’s penis and placed it against my anus. The dog ran away, as such a thing is not natural, but the authorities brought it back and continued with the abuse. This did not last long, but it was deeply humiliating … I can forgive my torturers for everything but the sexual abuse. No religion permits such an act. It has destroyed my self-esteem, my dignity. (Assistance Association for Political Prisioners, Burma, The Darkness We See, 2005, p. 55)
