The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-04 00:00:00

GREECE.

ATHENS, DEC. 6.—You have frequently exposed the
horrible system of torture practised by King Otho's Janis-
saries. I beg► of you, in the cause of humanity, to pub.
lisp the accompanying translation of a leading article in
the Mines va, the principal Greek Journal, which appeared
at the time when the Ottoman Panajotti was tortured,
which ha; never been contradicted:—
" THE RENEWAL OF TORTURE IN OUR
COUNTRY.

" ATHENS, SEPT. 24 (Ocr. 6), IB4o.—The Greeks
recollect the tortures which they suffered under the Turkish
Government, and established, so soon as they had liberated
themselves from the yoke of tyranny, as the first stone of
! their social er:iflee, the prohibition of torture as a means of
inquisition. However we may consider the prolonged im-
prisonments previous to trial as torture, the above is the
foundation of c ur penal code and penal procedure.
" However it rasy be, society now looks upon this prin-
ciple as sacred, and none whatever of the civil and military
servants ()tithe State can, by our laws, make use of torture
in our country against any individual whateeer,living under
the said laws.
" The public remembers with what horror it heard the
tortures practised in Lamia by M. Tzinos, and which the
poor tortured victims set forth in memorials to the King,
in whose heart it made such an impression that he showed
the greatest indignation at such illegal practices.
" However, it appears that others, encouraged by the
apathy and indifference of our Ministers, whose duty it was
to act with vigour for the cessation of this evil, have prac-
tised, and still practise, torturer on citizens. Tiles, did
use did tortures during the past winter also in the capital,
which were noticed at the time in this paper.
'" If we give credence to what is reported, certain of the
gendarmes use also, elsewhere, this illegal and horrid
means in their examinations, all which has been repre•
scntcd by the sufferers to the proper Secretary of State ;
Lut in this, as in everything almost, the tespective Minis-
I are deaf and unmoved by the just cries and prayers of
these individuals.
" Before the arrival of M. Tzinos as Mi,arque, such
tortures, at any rate, were not heard of in our city.kSince
his arrival, however, we have heard to what tortures has
been subjected the servant of a certain plundered person.
" It is true that this servant was tortured by a man of
the police outside the town; but no one has doubted that
such an inhuman deed would be committed by any other
Mirsrque. The tribunal, indeed, condemned the torturer;
but as his instigators remained unpunished, the torturer re-
ceived the Royal pardon, justified on the ground that he
was so ordered to act.
" But the coil did not stop here. This said Mirarque
Taines dared publicly to beat M. Krinon ; and certain of
his subalterns have beaten, and daily beat the citizens
without the least regard. In the presence of the French
Charge d'Affeires,tbe gendarmes beat citizens, because
they were met on the road at night. A newly-arrived
I tailor was beaten so badly without any reason, that he
bad to be attended by a surgeon for several days to cure
his wounds. Another citizen, whom the gendarmes had
unjustly arrested, was beaten by the Mirarque himself,
without even asking if he had committed any fault—this
.citizen being arrested for the sole offence of having seen
the gendarmes beating with sticks a drunken citizen, and
and of asking ' Why do you beat him ?' All these events
have occurred in our city ; and the Government, or M.
Rosner (commander of the gendarmes), shuts his eyes, or
is indifferent in this as he is in other matters.
" In the midst of these scenes a foreigner of our religion
came to our office, and narrated as follows
" I was,' said he, 'servant of such an one. This per-
' son had left his house to go to necropolis, where after-
wards his wife sent me to tell bins that the money which
he had put in his trunk was not there, end to ask him by
me if he himself had taker, it. I went to the said village
and found him, and said as his wife had directed. He
heard me with indifference, and when he had fished his
business we returned together to this city.
" On a sudden I learnt that the money had been plun-
dered from the ti trek ; and, in a short time, I saw that I
was considered the thief ; I aas examined twice ; I pro-
tested my innocence, but this protest did not convince
them of my innocence. I
was taken to the rime ; the
police examined me ; but when key could not conceive even
suspicions against me, they set me at liberty, tei ling me
to return to the house of my master. I attended to their
orders ; I returned to the house, and on a sudden was de-
livered over to the Bend irmerie.
'These gendarmes began to examine me, rind to
threaten me; but when they could not discover anything
they began to use tortures. And first they put me on
thumbscrews, and tightened them so much, that they very
nearly brake the bones. They tortured me so for seine
hours, but could not find me guilty. After these tortures,
they bound my hands and feet behind my back ; they
drew them together, so that I was bent like a porcupine,
and threw me into the barracks ; saying, that until I con-
fessed what I had done with the money, they would nut
let me loose. Two days I was thus bound, su that the
cords began to make wounds in my flesh, as you wilt see II
here by my leg (showing us at the some time a wound in
the leg).
"' The police, it appears, was not entirely uninformed
of what was going on, for in the meantime they sent and
demanded me from the Mirarque, and again sent me to
the house of my master, who again delivered me tea the
tortures of the gendarMes, who, as soon as I arrived, sus.
pended me head downwards, and kept me. almost three
days bound, without food or even water. At last, on the
third day, M. Tzinos came, and ordered them to give me
bread and water. The next day they sent me again to
the police, from whence I escaped to the Turkish embissy,
demanding the protection of my Minister.
" M. Ms,ussuri (he continued to tell us) examined me,
sent for a medical man, who undertook my cure, and or-
dered that I should be attended to until I should be re-
covered; and it is only a few days since I became myself
again, and can walk without pain ; and as I learnt that
you write a newspaper, I have come to relate what they
have done to me, that you may publish it to the world ;
which will know that in this city of Athena there arc to
be found inquisitorial tortures, that there are prisons of
disdanio, and, worse than all, there are ()caddis !'
" Here our co-legionist finished his relation ; and, sinee
we have learnt that M. Mousouri has made known all this
to our Government, and demands, not only satisfaction for
the inhumanity with which a subjtt of his Court had been
treated, but also guarantees for the personal security of
Ottoman subjects residing in the Greek State.
" Great honour indeed to our Government !—so fallen
as to be called on to respect the duties of philanthropy also
by a Turkish Minister. In the meantime we do not
know what may be the satisfaction that will be given to the
Turkish Minister for the inhumanity and cruelty com-
mitted by some of our gendarmes to an Ottoman subject,
nor what may be the guarantee for personal safety of
Ottoman subjects. So much, however, we know, that
when the Government allows such deeds to be committed
under its own eyes, we do not see what security we our-
selves can have.

" M. Tcocari seems to have considered it neee.,:ary tc
bring M Tzinos amongst us to prepare us for the knout,
and M. Rosner laughs in his sleeve, seeing his subalterns
beating the Greeks, because they have been victims in
many ways to establish the throne of his command, and
because they are still victims to provide, not ()lily the
high salaries of his office, but the means of their tortures.,
And, certainly, if M. Tzinos was not protected by his
superiors, he would not dare to stigmatise our society
with this his conduct, nor would he remain unpunished for
the general ruin he is preps' ing for it.
" M. Tzinos was accused by M. Krinon, but his pro-
tectors willed that he should be saved from the hand of
justice. So that whilst a direct law subjects the gen-
' d'ermerie to the regular tribunal for their crimes and of-
fences, these have willed that this law should become a
dead letter. The affair went before the areopage which sent
M. Tzinos b,•fore the regular tribunal to be tried. but up
to this day what King's Procureur has called him before
the Correctional Police? We fear that, even aft< r tit • de-
cision of the areopage, M. Tzinos will c,eapca judgment;
and for this he little cares if tribunals exist or not. But
can tranquillity and security be established amcrigst us by
such means? Our Ministers must pardon us, at least, for
suspecting from this end other circumstances that there
exists a purpose of dissolving the
bonds of society ' - that
this purpose, either knowingly or ignorantly, they faith-
fully serve, To us, therefore, nothing remains but to pray

MORNING EDITI

tr,r ;ht. ~f Gc,d, vvho grac lousiy Ilan oftuu befor4
saved 0,-e'rxe, tf) it trorn t!, I:a:ids of ~1r
sent Ministry, fiom su:h men as Tzinos, and from thou
chiefs and creatures.

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