USSR
by Erithacus
Harry picked up the report she pushed towards him and started to read as the doctor left the room.
'overall Lucas seems to be coping well considering what he has been through…'
'immediately after his return to England, a detailed physical examination was carried out. Mr. North seemed composed and calm, a slight moment of tension came, quite understandably, at the internal examination. During examination of the genitalia some discomfort was evident. Mr. North asked if there was any damage, I replied that there was some but that it would not be permanent. On conclusion of the internal examination he specifically asked that tests be run for sexually transmitted diseases. These tests were negative.
Psychological Assessment
'over the course of our sessions Lucas has been over most of his captivity with me. Although some aspects were easier to discuss than others he appears to be remarkably resilient. He has shown no particular hostility or resistance to the intrusive nature of the psychological examination and has cooperated fully.'
'Lucas was held for eight years in Russia (2000-2008). He was moved countless times, sometimes within the same building sometimes to other buildings. Most of the first four years where spent in Lubyanka State Prison, Moscow. The latter years somewhere more isolated and rural, he was unable to determine where.'
'He was tortured most intensely during the first years of his captivity. The last four years being solitary confinement.'
'Questioning during torture concentrated on questions about Harry Pearce, MI5's structure, foreign assets, current operations and personnel. He did not break, giving away only unclassified information for the most part. This can be corroborated as no intelligence has come to light suggesting that he did pass on any classified information and I believe he is telling the truth.'
'Over several months of debriefing sessions, he was able to remember most details of his incarceration. His record reveals that he has an exceptional memory, particularly for visual details. Torture included, beatings, electrocution and drugs. Details and full transcripts available in case document LN/459.'
'even during the most intense therapy sessions Lucas has remained polite and shows no aggression or destructive habits. He has employed some humour as a defence/coping mechanism. For the most part he seems to have accepted his experience as something that was beyond his control. The stress and trauma do not seem to be leaving any significant lasting effects. On a very few occasions, recollections have been so intense as to cause him distress. Each time, after a break, he has been able to compose himself and continue. He shows no desire to avoid or resentment of this debrief process.'
'He has said that he does suffer from nightmares and that on these occasions he finds that he has to move his bedding and sleep on the floor. This is quite common for released prisoners and in time should diminish.'
'At one point he was tortured for 17 days continuously about 'Sugarhorse'. He had and still has, no idea what this means, whether it was disinformation or a genuine question. He was unable to tell his interrogators anything, despite the use of water-boarding torture.'
'In one session I asked him about other 'shock tactics', a phrase he particularly used. He said that for four years he was effectively held in solitary confinement. In a single, white-tiled room, lit night and day by electric light, unable to hear or see another human being. Randomly, every couple of weeks or so, a sudden loud commotion would erupt and he would be set upon by a group of guards who would shout and scream while beating him. Usually they would kick or punch him but sometimes they used batons, pipes or rubber truncheons. Lucas said that despite the pain, he came to crave the beatings because they showed that someone was there.'
'The most difficult areas of the debrief were as follows:'
'the first of several episodes of rape he experienced as part of his torture. He related how he was blindfolded and tied, naked, on his back, to a table in front of a female interrogator who then began to fondle his genitals. He heard several male interrogators also in the room and was told that everything was being videoed. Whilst describing this he was not able to maintain eye contact and his rate of respiration increased. The interrogator played with his penis for quite some time with her hands and mouth until he was fully aroused. She then mounted him and had intercourse with him, holding one hand tight around his throat, until she apparently had an orgasm. I asked how long this part went on for he replied he didn't know maybe 20 minutes. I asked if he ejaculated. There was a long pause before he nodded, then forced himself to make eye contact and replied verbally, yes. As he was clearly distressed I asked if he wanted a break, he shook his head. He told me the interrogator then untied him and took off the blindfold, before whispering "you should have talked to me Lucas" and leaving the room.
Immediately the group of men in the room came forward and grabbed him. Two men turned him over and restrained him, bent over the table, while the third proceeded to brutally rape him. Lucas broke down for a moment at this point. I believe this is simply due to traumatic nature of this particular memory - rather than any psychological symptom. He composed himself and was able to go on. I asked him how frequently this occurred. He said with a woman involved, only once more, but that he was raped by male guards on up to a dozen occasions, sometimes sodomised using a baton. It appears this occurred most frequently in the earlier part of his captivity although he said it was used throughout as a 'shock tactic'. I asked whether he felt ashamed. He replied in the affirmative at the time but now 'No. There wasn't anything I could do about it. It doesn't change who I am.'
I asked if they ever forced him to perform any other sex acts. He replied that 'they did once shove someone's cock in my mouth, but when I chewed it up and spat the bits on the floor, they didn't try it again.' I asked how badly he was punished for that; 'yeah they beat me pretty badly, until I passed out. I was in bad shape the next day, couldn't eat or sleep for a while. It had to be done though.' Again he is very philosophical about such times.'
'Towards the end of our sessions, I asked Lucas if he hadn't ever found it too much to bear. He was silent for a long while. Then, quietly, he said that during his solitary confinement, there was one period when he was beaten for several days consecutively. Another long pause before he was able to say that they had then brought in a car battery, tied him to a chair, thrown water over him and applied the current repeatedly, especially to his feet and genitals. He remembers an interrogator called Darshavin standing behind him as he was screaming and holding his shoulders in between shocks to steady him, that this went on and on. Being revived sometimes with smelling salts or cold water if he passed out, so they could continue.
After a few sessions of this, he became completely unable to sleep because of the constant pain. 'it didn't fade into the background at all. I didn't, couldn't, go numb or block it out, and every time they came and shocked me again it was fucking fresh agony. I thought it would never stop.'
He said that a black shadow seemed to come over him and carry him down somewhere. He remembers that he managed to drag himself up off the floor, made a noose from the shirt he was wearing and tied it around a pipe' under a ceiling tile. He told me how he stood on the chair they'd left and felt his hands and body shaking until he put the noose around his neck, when he felt suddenly calm and still. A few moments after he'd kicked the chair away, Darshavin ran in and caught him. Lifting him up until he could be cut down. He said that Darshavin lowered him to the chair and held him gently. 'I had absolutely no strength left at that moment,' he said, 'I had nothing left'.
It was after this that he says he agreed to become a double agent and spy on MI5 for the Russians, if it meant he would get out.
"Oh God, Lucas. I'm so sorry," whispered Harry.
END