Following the NYT Style Guide

Silly Glenn... don't be daft. At issue is this passage by New York Times reporter Nina Bernstein:

Others named in the same warrant and caught by the Chinese police had described beatings, suffocation, electric shocks, sleep deprivation and other forms of torture to get them to disclose details about the human rights group to which they all belonged.

However, we know that the NYT does not allow calling beatings and sleep deprivation torture, as this would involve taking sides in a political dispute over what is and is not torture. What Bernstein ought to have written is this:

Others named in the same warrant and caught by the Chinese police had described beatings and sleep deprivation to get them to disclose details about the human rights group to which they all belonged. They also described suffocation, electric shocks, and other forms of torture.

It is unfortunate that Bernstein is such a poor reporter that she is unable to follow the NYT's own style guide.