Vreme, a magazine based in Belgrade, has uncovered a rather disgusting course of treatment from a supposed rehabilitation center named Crna Reka. Part of their treatment involves outright violent beatings of patients to help cure them of their addictions:
In the video posted on Vreme's website on Friday, a young man believed to be a patient at the Crna Reka rehabilitation centre is seen being beaten repeatedly with a shovel, and then punched and kicked in the head by two men in sports gear.The one spot of good news is that Serbia's human rights monitor is planning to bring charges of torture to the center, which I'm hoping will result in its closure, followed by some serious jail time for the staff and "clergy."
The incident takes place in a room displaying Christian icons.
The priests at the facility said the beatings were a necessary part of the therapy for drug addiction and were carried out with the consent of patients' parents.
A former patient said that sometimes they would be told to form a circle around a "bad one" and watch them being beaten by the priests and other staff.
"They would hit him with clubs, shovels, fists, bars, belts, whatever they got their hands on," he told Vreme.
Oh, and BBC? The video shows a blatantly clear beating, so you can remove the quote marks from your "Outrage at Serbia 'beating' video" headline.
Shakesville is run as a safe space. First-time commenters: Please read Shakesville's Commenting Policy and Feminism 101 Section before commenting. We also do lots of in-thread moderation, so we ask that everyone read the entirety of any thread before commenting, to ensure compliance with any in-thread moderation. Thank you.
blog comments powered by Disqus