Charlotte
Hawkins
Make up Exploration
Torture and Body Modification
History
The origins of torture date back to 530AD, when the great Roman jurists espoused the virtues of torture as ‘the highest form of truth. In criminal proceedings, the accusatorial process was replaced with a structure of prosecution, which required the testimony of two witnesses or the confession of the accused as ‘proof’ for a conviction. In this way interrogation and torture to extract such confessions became enshrined in the civil law system
Torture is now used within gangs to inflict punishment as a way of injecting fear to other gangs as a means of bribery, blackmail and punishment however, they also used torture and pain on themselves, and fellow gang members betray their gang loyalties and rules.
The Yakuza
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Yubitsume
Yubitsume is a traditional way of a gang member to physically slice off their own little finger. The reason to it being the small finger is actually a because to remove the little finger actually makes it impossible to hold a strong grip on a samurai sword. As a result of this defect, you're weakened in battle making your boss / leader having to protect you or having to loose the fight. It's the ultimately tribute and punishment to authority.
Other gangs have used this method for torture and punishment. I read some news articles about gangs who have cut off their victims fingers whilst performing a criminal act such as robbery.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-coventry-warwickshire-30990703
This kidnap gang from England Coventry used the method of removing fingers such a torture method, The victim aged 26 was kidnapped at gun point, taken to the garage and beaten.
He was left in a van, bound and gagged without food or water, and beaten with a metal bar.
The gang demanded a £20,000 ransom from his family but, when they felt his relatives had not responded quickly enough, the victim's little finger was cut off and left under a brick on a garden wall.
The same gruesome method as the yakuza however they are used for different meanings.
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Another incident in Dublin using the same torture technique was used on a !6 year old boy by a criminal gang. The boy, who was involved in burglaries and break-ins, was attacked for working in an area supposedly under the control of a criminal gang. He was left with slashes over his body and 3 fingers cut off.
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This image above is the man who had his finger cut off by the kidnap Coventry gang. His now has his finger missing.
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A ruthless gang of kidnappers who cut off the fingers of their victims has been arrested - after a tip off.
Polish police swooped in the early hours of the morning in the capital Warsaw where they arrested 15 alleged members.
The Mokotowska gang, named after the city district they operated from, were wanted for a series of brutal kidnappings.
This is the man who was captured by the Mokotowska gang and held hostage for a month as they demanded £500,000 from his family. Every week they failed to pay, the gang cut off one of his fingers
For each week the family failed to pay, the gang cut off one of the victim’s fingers and sent it to them.
A year later, the gang kidnapped another man and threatened to do the same thing, but he managed to escape.
Although the Yubitsume is a traditional Yakuza tradition is has had a huge impact on other gangs around the world. This is because the Yakuza is one of the biggest organised gang syndicates and smaller gangs and other gangs have been influenced to perform this torture technique however they do not have the same meaning as the Yakuza do and use it on victims for bribery and blackmail.
Tattoo Removal
Removal of tattoos is a huge method of torture when is comes to being in a gang.
HELLS ANGELS
Brotherhood is a huge part of being in this gang. Every member has their mark on their body resembling their place in the group. Betraying the gang or being kicked out leads to the tattoo being either cut off the skin or burnt off. This is used by the Hells angels.
YAKUZA
The Yakuza use this method using hot tempura oil over the skin to get important information out of other gang members. The tattoo would have hot oil poured over their tattoos removing their beautiful, detailed and tattoos which have taken a lot of time, money and pain. It is also to show the other gangs that they are powerful and not affraid to use violence.
RUSSIAN MAFIA
If one does not deserve the tattoo or earns his mark. the tattoo will be removed using a knife slicing the tattooed flesh off, rubbed down with sandpaper, burnt off. If they member refuses to have the tattoo's removed in this way they would be killed.
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This image from tv show Sons Of Anarchy, a fiction series about a biker gang. A member who betrayed the gangs rules and loyalities. The gangs group patch tattoo was being removed by a blowtorch. An act which is carried out in real life gangs.
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Another image showing tattoos being removed in film Ichi the Killer. The main character uses hot tempura oil over the back of a kidnapped member from the other clan, who might have kidnapped the boss.
TORTURE WITHIN A GANG
Examples below show different torture methods gangs have used on their victims:
These stories are all real as they have been over the news.
http://kfor.com/2015/02/24/police-auto-body-shop-housed-gangs-torture-chamber/
''Court documents show that Bartol admitted to duct taping the man, burning him with cigarettes, torturing him with a grinder and dousing him with gasoline.
After the torture, investigators say Bartol injected a syringe full of heroin into the victim’s neck.''
http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/gang-kidnap-beat-torture-lorry-6934456
''A lorry driver was kidnapped, beaten, blow-torched and had his ear sliced in a Reservoir Dogs style attack by a criminal gang intent on recovering a shipment of drugs.
Anthony Joy, who was bundled into the boot of a 4x4 by an armed gang inFazakerley , was tortured for five days and suffered a mock execution before being mutilated and left wandering naked on Queens Drive.''
''A gang kidnapped a man after stealing his car keys, torturing him in an east London flat with an iron and demanding £100,000 from his family for his safe return.''
'This is the terrifying mugshot of a blood-drinking Satan worshipper charged with the kidnap and murder of three Hells Angels.
Caius Veiovis, 31, has undergone extensive implants to create horns on his head and had the number of the devil - 666 - tattooed on his forehead.
He is alleged to have been part of a gang which kidnapped, killed and buried the men in Massachusetts, U.S.'
Face stretchers and silicone face implants as well as tattoo's signify this member as terrifying. Gang tattoos are a way of expressing feelngs, telling their life story and showing loyality and is gangs code to communicate with eachother. This gang member however uses devil silicone implants, nose stretchers to create in impression on other people and gangs. '666' stands for the devil. Through tattoos, piercings and implants this member shows his terrifying behaviour visually and is intimidating.
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