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| Outrage at Serbia 'beating' video | Outrage at Serbia 'beating' video |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Officials in Serbia are investigating a rehabilitation centre affiliated to the Orthodox Church where drug addicts have allegedly been filmed being beaten. | |
| A video of one assault, published by Vreme magazine, shows a man appearing to assault a patient by hitting him with a shovel and punching his face. | A video of one assault, published by Vreme magazine, shows a man appearing to assault a patient by hitting him with a shovel and punching his face. |
| One former resident said staff had offered to cure his addiction with "pleasant conversation" and beatings. | |
| A priest running the centre, near Novi Pazar, said a "heavy hand" was needed. | |
| "Whoever has a junkie in the house knows what I am talking about," Archpriest Branislav Peranovic told B92 television. | "Whoever has a junkie in the house knows what I am talking about," Archpriest Branislav Peranovic told B92 television. |
| The Serbian Orthodox Church has so far declined comment. | The Serbian Orthodox Church has so far declined comment. |
| 'Martial arts' | 'Martial arts' |
| 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. | 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 incident takes place in a room displaying Christian icons. | 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. | 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. |
| It is no therapy - it is a criminal act Sasa Jankovic, Serbian government human rights monitor | It is no therapy - it is a criminal act Sasa Jankovic, Serbian government human rights monitor |
| 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. | 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. | "They would hit him with clubs, shovels, fists, bars, belts, whatever they got their hands on," he told Vreme. |
| Archpriest Peranovic, he said, "knows how to hit - his hands are often bloody". | Archpriest Peranovic, he said, "knows how to hit - his hands are often bloody". |
| "When he hits, using his arms and legs, his robe flies all over the place. He practises martial arts," the former patient added. | "When he hits, using his arms and legs, his robe flies all over the place. He practises martial arts," the former patient added. |
| After the video's publication, doctors and psychologists warned that physical violence would not help rehabilitate or cure drug addicts. | After the video's publication, doctors and psychologists warned that physical violence would not help rehabilitate or cure drug addicts. |
| Government human rights monitor Sasa Jankovic, who plans to file torture charges against the facility, said: "It is no therapy. It is a criminal act." | Government human rights monitor Sasa Jankovic, who plans to file torture charges against the facility, said: "It is no therapy. It is a criminal act." |