Police charged with torture after setting suspect on fire to obtain confession

The prosecutor's office in Szczecin has charged three policemen from Miedzyzdroje with obtaining a confession through torture, after they set a man they suspected of theft on fire during questioning. "They were pouring paint thinner on him. One of them took a cigarette and put it to the man's coat, which caught fire. The policemen apparently got scared and put the fire out," said prosecutor Anna Gawlowska-Rynkiewicz. If found guilty, the policemen face prison terms of from one to ten years. The local police chief in Miedzyzdroje has been suspended from his duties. (Rzeczpospolita, p. A3) T.J.