microrobert
03-28-2012, 07:23 PM
Rights groups slam auction of French torture devices
PARIS – Rights groups Wednesday attacked as "shocking and immoral" the planned auction of an arsenal of torture devices dating back three centuries, collected by one of France's last executioners.
Some 350 deathly objects, from a hand-crusher to cuffs and hanging ropes and written death sentences, collected by Fernand Meyssonnier up until his death in 2008, are slated to go on sale next Tuesday in Paris.
A former chief executioner in French-ruled Algeria, Meyssonnier carried out 198 executions between 1957 and the country's independence in 1962, devoting the rest of his life to a peaceful retirement—and his pet torture collection.
Read more: http://acn.liveauctioneers.com/index.php/features/general-interest/6917-rights-groups-slam-auction-of-french-torture-devices#ixzz1qROXX0e1
PARIS – Rights groups Wednesday attacked as "shocking and immoral" the planned auction of an arsenal of torture devices dating back three centuries, collected by one of France's last executioners.
Some 350 deathly objects, from a hand-crusher to cuffs and hanging ropes and written death sentences, collected by Fernand Meyssonnier up until his death in 2008, are slated to go on sale next Tuesday in Paris.
A former chief executioner in French-ruled Algeria, Meyssonnier carried out 198 executions between 1957 and the country's independence in 1962, devoting the rest of his life to a peaceful retirement—and his pet torture collection.
Read more: http://acn.liveauctioneers.com/index.php/features/general-interest/6917-rights-groups-slam-auction-of-french-torture-devices#ixzz1qROXX0e1