Authors:Pau Perez-Sales Pages: 03 - 18 Abstract: This Editorial walks us through the 30 years of the Torture Journal in commemoration of its anniversary. Moreover, it introduces the reader to this issue 2021(3). PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.129373 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Natalia Huerta Perez, Edith Esgareño Pages: 19 - 31 Abstract: Abstract Objective: To analyse the impacts of forced disappearance as a form of psychological torture in the forced disappearance of students known as the Ayotzinapa Case (Mexico). To make visible the effects of impunity. Method: Historical and documentary analysis. Interviews with two groups of people affected: 1) relatives of the 43 young students who disappeared; 2) young students that survived. Analysis of the information obtained from the group and individual clinical interventions carried out during three months. Results. In both groups, various impacts related to political violence were identified, in particular forced disappearance, which leads us to consider that the criteria for torture are fulfilled and especially the elements derived from the subsequent re-victimising action of the State in the investigations and the impunity derived from the lack of access to justice and truth. Conclusion: In addition to the enforced disappearance itself and its impacts, the suffering resulting from the State’s subsequent processes must be analysed. Keywords: Psychological torture, forced disappearance, impunity. ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Español El artículo tiene como propósito analizar los indicios de tortura psicológica en los familiares de los desaparecidos y los estudiantes sobrevivientes del caso de Ayotzinapa, a raíz de la desaparición forzada, la ejecución extrajudicial de los estudiantes y los mecanismos de impunidad liderados por el estado. Se utilizó como metodología, el análisis del discurso de las víctimas a través intervenciones clínicas grupales e individuales durante 3 meses. Los resultados de las entrevistas mostraron sentimientos de humillación, culpa y deterioro a nivel físico, psicológico, familiar y social a raíz de los eventos ocurridos el 26 de septiembre, así como el incremento del deterioro derivado de la falta de justicia, la criminalización y la impunidad por parte de funcionarios del estado. Por lo tanto se concluye que si hay incidencia de tortura psicológica en las víctimas del caso de Ayotzinapa. El trabajo busca evidenciar la relación entre la tortura psicológica y la desaparición forzada en los familiares. Keywords: Tortura psicológica, desaparición forzada y ejecución extrajudicial. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.125248 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Anne M Sønneland Pages: 32 - 44 Abstract: In Argentina, persons who were held detained-disappeared during the last military dictatorship (1976 - 1983) now testify in trials related to the military regime’s use of enforced disappearances, torture and other crimes. The trials were re-initiated in 2005, after more than a decade of impunity. Trials have been taking place all over the country since then. Trials are related either to individual perpetrators, individual victims, or to places where the crimes were committed. Many witnesses testify in a number of trials. In this article, I explore experiences with testifying in these trials, based on interviews with 23 persons who were held ‘detained-disappeared’ for political reasons during the dictatorship. The witnesses have testified both to what they themselves have endured, and to crimes committed towards persons who remain forcefully disappeared. The testimonies of persons who were held detained-disappeared are central in the trials, as there is often little evidence besides these testimonies. The interviewees express a strong sense of responsibility related to testifying in court, due to the central role of these testimonies as well as the witnesses’ responsibility towards those who remain forcefully disappeared or were killed. Through testimonies in court, persons who remain forcefully disappeared are presented as persons with agency and often with a political commitment; not only as victims of serious violations of human rights. I discuss testimonies in court as a longer process, which begins before the trial is initiated and where the testimony itself is the main event. To testify in court may lead to distress, and there is a worry about re-traumatisation. Several aspects of trials have an influence on the experience with testifying, among them the presence and attitude of the defendants; the presence of threats, the ways in which questions are asked during testimonies, and how many trials the witness has testified in. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.125118 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Mayra Eliana Nuñez Pages: 45 - 58 Abstract: This article examines the needs of families of victims of enforced disappearance and their key role during hearings in the supervision phase of the judicial proceedings before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. Disappearance has social, political and cultural connotations that impact on the social fabric of communities and on families of victims. In this sense, in the course of the search process, families build social and political networks that transform their passive role as victims into active agents that use their presence in hearings before the Court to stress their claims and needs. Key words: Reparations - Victims - Inter-American Court of Human Rights - Enforced Disappearance. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.125767 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Vesna Stefanovska Pages: 59 - 69 Abstract: Introduction: In December 2012 the European Court of Human Rights (the Court or ECtHR) delivered the landmark decision in the case of El-Masri v. F.Y.R Macedonia (‘Macedonia’) ruling that CIA extraordinary rendition program amounts to torture. Macedonia was held responsible for torture and detention of El-Masri; lack of conducting effective interrogation; lack of request for diplomatic assurances from CIA agents and interference with the right to private and family life. Some of the judges referred to the right of the truth as the right of El-Masri to be familiar with the facts why he was held incommunicado and being subject of the CIA extraordinary rendition program. Objective: By using the El-Masri v. Macedonia case, this paper aims to map the necessity for protection of human rights even when national security and war against terrorism are at stake. The right to the truth should be of utmost importance besides proving torture –it is the way for the victim to accomplish moral victory and to gather all facts of the case. Method: The relevant texts were gathered from the HUDOC database, Cambridge University Press, Google Scholar, while interviews were conducted with Margarita Tsatsa Nikolovska – former judge in the European Court of Human Rights and Aleksandar Bozinovski – the journalist who discovered to the public the extraordinary rendition of Khaled El-Masri. Results/Discussion: the ruling in the El-Masri case was the first time when an international court held that the CIA’s extraordinary rendition program amounts to torture. However, the Court did not argue about the culpability of CIA agents nor the explanations how Macedonia can be held accountable for torture committed in a foreign country by foreign agents just because of lack of diplomatic assurances and allowed extraordinary rendition at the Skopje Airport. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.128147 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Ann Catrin Høyvik, Tiril Willumsen, Birgit Lie, Per Kristian Hilden Pages: 70 - 83 Abstract: Introduction: The flow of refugees towards Europe over the past decade has placed increased demands on the health care services. A significant proportion of refugees have been subjected to torture involving their mouth or teeth, still the importance of oral health challenges is often overlooked or underestimated in the rehabilitation of torture victims. In this qualitative study, we set out to explore the processes that complicate torture victims’ ability to engage in and tolerate dental procedures. Methods: Ten resettled refugees with experience of torture were recruited among patients affiliated with specialized clinics for oral health rehabilitation in Norway. Data were collected through semi-structured exploratory interviews, and analyzed using a qualitative content analysis approach. Results and discussion: We present an exploration of what we have called the social and material anatomy of the triggering event; the process through which trauma-related reactions are produced in torture victims in the course of undergoing dental treatment. All professionals who work with torture survivors should be aware that these individuals often suffer from oral health problems that may affect both their physical and their psychological quality of life. However, although dental treatment is essential, it may still represent a major challenge. Our data suggest, we propose, that dental treatment often involves an experience being suspended, albeit temporarily, in an objectified position, acted on by subjects capable of producing deeply undesirable mental, emotional or bodily states. Three main categories emerged as the most prominent factors with such an agentic capacity: 1) pain, 2) traumatic memories and 3) the dentist. Submitting to dental treatment hence requires the patient’s willingness to give in to the actions of these factors, and avoiding treatment may therefore, in this situation, represent a means of retaining control. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.125290 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Karolina Willix, Evelina Ekman, Carin Klefbom, Lena Karlsson Pages: 84 - 95 Abstract: Abstract Introduction Numerous torture victims have experienced severe physical or phycological trauma to their face, mouth, and teeth. A dental visit carries a risk for torture survivors to relive the trauma, since the situation may trigger a recollection of previous suffering. Although health care personnel at resource center for torture victims are equipped with various tools to help and assist these individuals in their rehabilitation, very few centers have protocols in place to refer out victims to dental professionals with experience and knowledge in the area. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of dental and health care personnel’s knowledge and awareness to detect various torture signs with focus on the oral cavity. Material and Methods Dental (n=16) and health care (n=6) personnel conducted individual interviews, group interviews, and qualitative data from a questionnaire. All interviews were transcribed, and a phenomenological-hermeneutical method was used to analyze the participants' answers. Results Six health care and 16 dental personnel answered the questionnaire, and 5 health care and 16 dental personnel participated in the interviews. Dental personnel demonstrated a lack of knowledge and experiences regarding signs of torture with focus on the oral cavity, nor a multidisciplinary collaboration on torture victims. Most of the health care personnel had clear suggestions for external signs of torture and showed good knowledge of how to refer a torture victim to dental personnel. Discussion Through a multidisciplinary approach, potential harmful long-term effects resulting from dental care visits can be prevented and the approach can additionally contribute to better resource utilization in health care. There is a need for increased awareness and knowledge of injuries and signs resulting from torture in the oral cavity among dental and health care personnel. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.127791 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Aisling Hearns, Philip Hyland, Carin Benninger-Budel, Frederique Vallières Pages: 96 - 112 Abstract: Introduction: Rates of torture are especially high among those seeking asylum, with global estimates of forced migrants having experienced torture exceeding 50%. Torture is the strongest predictor of PTSD amongst refugee populations. This study assesses the construct validity and diagnostic rate of the ICD-11 PTSD and Complex PTSD (CPTSD) within a population of torture survivors seeking asylum in Ireland. It further explores whether this population were more likely to meet the diagnostic criteria for CPTSD than PTSD, and whether any sex differences existed in probable rates of PTSD and CPTSD. Methods: A secondary data analysis of 264 treatment-seeking asylum seekers and refugees who experienced torture or ill-treatment was conducted. Rates of PTSD and CPTSD were assessed using the International Trauma Questionnaire. Findings: A Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a a six-factor correlated model consisting of re-experiencing (Re), avoidance (Av), threat (Th), affective dysregulation (AD), negative self-concept (NSC), and disturbed relationships (DR), consistent with ICD-11 PTSD and CPTSD. High rates of PTSD (32.4%) and CPTSD (39.6%) were found, with the experience of torture significantly associated to the development of PTSD. No significant difference was found between the sexes. Discussion: This is the first study to investigate the validity of ICD 11 PTSD and CPTSD among torture survivors actively seeking international protection in Europe. Given the high rates of PTSD and CPTSD found among torture survivors, rehabilitation centres for victims of torture should consider CPTSD as part of their assessment and treatment programmes. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.125780 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Clifford Liu, Jennifer Weintraub, Matina Weintraub Pages: 113 - 116 Abstract: In this case study, a survivor of torture describes a history of electrical torture with a rod-like object and the subsequent neurological symptoms and keloid scars that developed afterwards. Electrical injuries can be difficult for a clinician to identify on exam as they do not often leave any physical scars on the skin. However, survivors of electrical injuries do describe a constellation of acute sensations and ensuing neurologic and musculoskeletal symptoms that can be recognized by taking a detailed history. Familiarity with the mechanism of these injuries and their common acute and subacute symptoms can assist a forensic examiner in evaluating consistency in these cases. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.129471 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:Juan E. Méndez Pages: 117 - 120 Abstract: The article presents the recently launched Principles on Effective Interviewing for Investigations and Information Gathering. PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.128719 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
Authors:June Caridad Pagaduan-Lopez Pages: 130 - 133 Abstract: Last paper by June with an introduction by the Editor in Chief PubDate: 2021-12-29 DOI: 10.7146/torture.v32i3.129631 Issue No:Vol. 31, No. 3 (2021)
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