I haven't seen the pictures, but I was hearing the reports of the self-flagellation on the radio.

One thought I has was that I did not hear any reports last week about a similar practice that is still done in the Philippines. And yes, it was faily widespread during the Middle Ages. I have found that is was reported briefly in some places:

Published in Salt Lake Tribune - Indexed on Apr 20, 2003
Philippines: At least 13 Filipino devotees were nailed to wooden crosses north of Manila in an annual Good Friday re-enactment of Jesus Christ's crucifixion. The Lenten ritual is opposed by religious leaders in the Philippines -- Southeast Asia's largest predominantly Roman Catholic nation. The Catholic devotees, including at least three women, had their palms and feet nailed to the cross as a form of penance for sins, to pray for a sick relative or to fulfill a vow.

Published in The Korea Herald - Indexed on Apr 18, 2003
On Good Friday, blood will again flow in many parts of the Philippines as scores of flagellants whip themselves bloody and some even have themselves nailed to the cross. In fact, crucifixion and flagellation are becoming epidemic. In the village of San Pedro Cutud in Pampanga province, at least 12 penitents will be nailed to the cross Friday, and some 500 flagellants will flog themselves silly as thousands of foreign and local tourist gawk. Lesser crucifixions and flagellation will take place in other parts of the country, such as Cainta town outside Manila and Navotas in Metro Manila.

Other kinds of passion re-enactments still take place on Good Friday in many parts of the world of the world & go unremarked, although a google search turned up the one in Mexico City where "Some 4,500 actors performed Friday for hundreds of thousands of people in temperatures that reached into the 80s."