Ocular injuries by less-lethal weapon: a view from Switzerland
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v34i3.150109Keywords:
ocular trauma, Eye injuries, rubber bullets, trauma, police, and protests, kinetic impact projectiles, medico-legal assessmentAbstract
Dear Editor-in-chief: Thank you for focussing on this troubling subject in your issue 1/2024. It confirms that many of the difficulties involved are similar worldwide. Countries that use less-lethal weapons include Switzerland, the only Western European democracy besides France to employ multiple kinetic impact projectiles. Our rubber scattershot is comparatively small and light but has led to an uninterrupted series of severe eye injuries since 1980. Legal authorities have long questioned whether these were due to rubber ammunition, though ophthalmologists always knew what was going on. Communication channels were non-existent, and monitoring remains a challenge. Please see my recent open-access review in Eye (Fierz, 2024) for details. I would like to add the odd point to your commendable editorial (Pérez-Sales et al., 2024). The common denominator is that eye injuries require eye doctors.
References
Afkhamnejad, E. (2023). Ocular Injuries in Iranian protesters. January 18, 2023. Cohen, S., Shiuey, E. J., Zur, D., Rachmiel, R., Kurzt, S., MezadKoursh, D. & Waisbourd, M. (2023). Ocular injury from foam dart (Nerf) blasters: a case series. Eur J Pediatr. 182, 1099-1103. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00431-022-04782-4 Edwards, A. J. (2024). Trade in torture tools threatens detainees and protestors everywhere – it must be banned. Torture 34, 44-47. https://doi.org/10.7146/torture.v34i1.144049 Fierz, A. (2024). Risks and regulation of rubber scattershot in Switzerland: a narrative review. Eye 38, 2898-2906. https://doi. org/10.1038/s41433-024-03215-w Dhaka Tribune (2024). More foreign eye doctors to come for treatment of July-movement injured. October 3, 2024. Kuhn F., Morris, R. E. & Witherspoon, C. D. (2002). Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology (BETT): terminology and classification of mechanical eye injuries. Ophthalmol Clin North Am 15, 139-143, doi: 10.1016/s0896-1549(02)00004-4. For a text accessible online, see: Kuhn, F., Morris, R. E., Méster, V. & Witherspoon, C. D. (2008). Terminology of Mechanical Injuries: the Birmingham Eye Trauma Terminology. In Kuhn, F. (Ed.), Ocular Traumatology (pp. 3-11). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer. Kuhn, F., Maisiak, R., Mann, L., Méster, V., Morris, R. & Witherspoon, C. D. (2002). The Ocular Trauma Score (OTS). Ophthalmol Clin North Am 15, 163-5, https://doi.org/10.1016/ s0896-1549(02)00007-x Moreschi, C., Da Broi, U., & Lanzetta, P. (2013). Medico-legal implications of traumatic cataract. J Forensic Leg Med 20, 69-73. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jflm.2012.05.002 Pérez-Sales, P., López Martin, S. & Parras Cordovés, M. (2024). Assessment and litigation of ocular injuries by less-lethal weapons. Torture 34, 4-21. https://doi.org/10.7146/torture. v34i1.144838
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