Torture Journal

Ill-treatment in the Chilean prison system – an analysis of reports presented by the National Institute of Human Rights (INDH) and their handling by the legal actors

Jörg Alfred Stippel — 2024-05-28

Prisons in Latin America are often described as violent and lawless places. In this context, we analyse the Chilean case. We want to find out how complaints of torture and ill-treatment are investigated if the victim is a person deprived of liberty? Our hypothesis is that the response to the phenomenon, both in the prosecution of the perpetrators and in the protection of its victims, does not take into consideration the guidelines established in international standards, especially those contained in the Istanbul Protocol.

To this end, we analyse a total of 124 complaints of torture or ill-treatment filed by the Chilean National Human Rights Institute (INDH). This information was then used to research the processing of these cases in the virtual portal of the Chilean Judiciary. In a next step we created a database that contains different information extracted from the electronic case files. This is the source for the quantitative analysis. For the qualitative part of our study, we describe the facts contained in the complaints and document the way they were handled.

The findings confirm our hypothesis. An excessive amount of time elapses between the alleged torture or mistreatment, the filing of complaints, the use of protective measures and the termination of the cases. There are serious deficiencies in the investigations carried out by the Public Prosecutor's Office. Therefore, most of the complaints are not clarified and end up being shelved sooner or later. We conclude that, both the actions of the judges and the prosecutors in the processing of the complaints, make it clear that when it comes to investigating acts of torture or ill-treatment inside Chilean prisons, the standards of the Istanbul Protocol are not met.

Physical therapy for survivors of torture: A scoping review

Justine McCuen Dee — 2024-05-28

Background: Torture can result in impaired function, reduced quality of life, and chronic pain. Physical therapy (PT) is recommended for wholistic care of survivors of torture (SOT), however there are limited evidenced-based guidelines. We conducted a scoping review to identify and describe the approach and gaps in knowledge around the PT treatment of SOT.

Methods: We adhered to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews. Nine databases were searched from inception to 2023. Eligible sources were those involving PT treatment for SOT. Extracted data included the source of evidence, PT description, mode of delivery, and research study outcomes. Interventions were categorized into themes based on recommendations from the Physiotherapy and Refugees Education Project: trauma-informed care, body-awareness & empowerment, and pain management. Source-reported treatment approach and expected effect of the interventions informed the thematic categorization.

Results: The final analysis included thirteen sources with a combined total of 18 different interventions. Thematically, two sources described interventions targeting body-awareness & empowerment, while five sources targeted body-awareness & empowerment and pain management. Six sources included all three themes. Two of these six sources were research studies examining PT outcomes. Findings were significant favoring the PT, but results must be taken cautiously due to methodological limitations. Studies assessing treatment related to only one theme resulted in no between group differences.

Conclusions: We describe the scope of the literature regarding PT for SOT. A trauma-informed PT approach, coordinated with pain management, and body-awareness & empowerment interventions may address the complex needs of survivors. However, rigorous studies of this approach are lacking. As the number of displaced persons continues to rise globally, we must be prepared to care for these vulnerable people. Physical therapists are encouraged to utilize a wholistic approach, and to examine outcomes of this approach for survivors of torture.

Protests and use of rubber bullets in South Africa: Unspoken pain and trauma of eye injuries

Malose Langa — 2024-05-28

Introduction: The article examines the experiences of protesters and bystanders who have sustained eye injuries from rubber bullets fired by the police. Use of rubber bullets by police officers during public protests is officially regulated, but there is insufficient documentation about the nature of fatal and non-fatal injuries linked to rubber bullet use during protests in South Africa. Methods: This article presented three case studies based on data gathered from student protests, community protests, and media reports. Through the analysis of these sources, the article presents the personal stories of individuals who have experienced eye injuries, detailing how the incidents occurred and the subsequent impact on their lives. It also examines the accessibility of medical, psychological, and legal services available to victims in addressing the consequences of these injuries. Results: The cases studies illustrate that rubber bullets were used frequently and often without due caution by police officers during the events examined. The use of rubber bullets was linked to numerous eye injuries, resulting in lasting psychological and physical consequences for those affected. Discussion: The article concludes that rubber bullet-related eye injuries during protests are disturbingly common in South Africa. Consequently, there is an urgent need to provide essential services and support to those who suffer from these life-altering incidents

Less-lethal weapons: ocular trauma in Chile as psychosocial trauma. Challenges from a human rights and comprehensive perspective

Jose Tejada — 2024-05-29

Introduction: In October 2019 in Chile, massive protests broke out in the so-called social uprising. The repressive response of the armed forces of order and security resulted in serious and massive violations of human rights, with between 400 and 500 victims of ocular trauma caused mainly by shots from anti-riot shotguns, constituting the largest number of cases in the world. It is proposed to evaluate the different dimensions of the impact of ocular trauma due to state violence, using the concept of psychosocial trauma and a support model that integrates the medical-psychological and social dimensions. Methods: Human rights violations of the period are described, focusing on cases of ocular trauma, and state and civil society responses. The requests of a survivors’ organisation in truth, justice and reparation is presented. A clinical case of ocular trauma treated in our centre is analyzed. Results: Survivors of ocular trauma manifest post-traumatic reactions regardless of the severity of their ocular injuries. The impact on the mental health of survivors of ocular trauma due to state violence is a phenomenon where the psychic and psychosocial impact of trauma due to socio-political violence intersects with the short- and long-term mental health effects of ocular trauma. Discussion: The impact of sociopolitical trauma must be understood considering the reality of the individual and social subject, considering their cultural, socioeconomic and political reality. Recovery from traumatic psychological injury must be addressed in its medical, sensory rehabilitation, psychological and psychosocial dimensions, including processes of social recognition, search for justice and comprehensive reparation of damage. In contexts of impunity, a model is proposed that integrates rehabilitation with psycho-legal support, promotion of agency and organisation, within the framework of commitment to the movement and principles of human rights.

The Movement in Resistance against Eye Aggressions by MOCAO as a social movement for justice, reparation and the right to peace and freedom in Colombia

Andrés Juan Guerrero Rubiano — 2024-05-28

The collective action of MOCAO, Movimiento en resistencia contra las agresiones oculares del ESMAD (Escuadrón Móvil Antidisturbios) is presented as a social strategy to demand access to justice and the fulfilment of guarantees of reparation and non-repetition in Colombia. A brief account is given of significant events in our trajectory as a social movement, together with our letter of petitions to the national government as victims and survivors of ocular aggressions in the framework of police violence. Although ESMAD today has been reformed under the name of the Unit for Dialogue and Maintenance of Order (UNDMO), we consider that there have not yet been structural changes to ensure that its function is related to protecting the constitutional right to social protest.

Stop Rubber Bullets. The use of kinetic energy projectiles and torture in the Spanish State

Anaïs Franquesa Griso — 2024-05-28

Rubber bullets are projectiles whose use is potentially lethal. Between 1976 and 2017, they have caused at least 23 deaths and dozens of injuries in Spain, many of them serious, with loss of sight being the main cause. In the period 2000 - 2020 alone, more than 40 people have been affected. However, the data available do not reflect, in quantitative terms, the reality of the problem which, far from the figures for other contexts, shows qualitative impacts, both individual and collective. This article reviews the trajectory of the last twenty years, emphasising those key aspects that have made a difference in the process towards the prohibition of this weapon in different territories of the state, as well as evaluating the psychosocial impacts that its use has caused.

Degradation as salvation: reflections on El Salvador’s punitive prison model

Lutz Oette — 2024-05-28

Letter to the editor.

Peace between Israel and Palestine?

Andrés Gautier Hirsch — 2024-05-28

Ver el envio anterior

Presence of Prisoners with Mental Health Prisoners in Detention and Correctional Centers in the Republic of Kosovo

Niman Hajdari — 2024-05-28

Conventions adopted by the United Nations and Council of Europe pay special importance to the treatment of prisoners with mental health problems. Their treatment is closely related to respect for human dignity, torture, cruel and degrading treatment or punishment. The European Court of Human Rights, in many cases, has ruled that the detention of a mentally-ill person can raise issues from Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights and that the lack of adequate medical care can result in treatment contrary to this article, especially with regard to inhumane and degrading treatment or punishment. The Republic of Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations and Council of Europe. However, it has incorporated in its Constitution a number of Conventions adopted by the United Nations and Council of Europe, which are very important international instruments for the protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms. Also, Kosovo has adopted a legal frame work which prohibits torture, cruel and degrading treatment or punishment in accordance with the international Human Rights standards. The Constitution, also provides that Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution shall be interpreted in accordance with the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. This paper is based on the reports of international Human Rights monitoring mechanisms and their findings regarding treatment of prisoners with mental health problems, such as Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture, Ombudsperson of Kosovo reports, reports of governmental bodies, as well as reports of Kosovo NGOs, which are authorized to monitor Human Rights situation in places of deprivation of liberty. Based on Ombudsperson’s reports, Committee for the Prevention of Torture reports, reports of Prison Health Department of Kosovo Ministry of Health, as well as reports of the NGOs in Kosovo, the treatment of prisoners with serious mental problems in detention and correctional centers in the Republic of Kosovo remains a serious challenge, despite the efforts of the competent authorities to change this situation and to increase human and institutional capacities. Prisoners with serious mental health problems continue to be accommodated in detention and correctional centers, instead of being accommodated in the relevant health institutions, due to the lack of institutional capacities and personnel.

Key words: Human Rights, mentally ill prisoners, international standards, applicable legislation in Kosovo

Experience and struggle of a survivor of eye mutilation by rubber bullets

Carles Guillot — 2024-05-28

My name is Carles Guillot and I am 52 years old. On 17 July 2001, 23 years ago now, during a protest against the illegal assault and eviction of a squatted house, the Kasa de la Muntanya, a national police officer shot me point-blank in the face and permanently damaged my right eyeball. As the neighbourhood was taken over by the police, we had to wait a few hours before we could go to a hospital. Finally, some colleagues took me to the Bellvitge Hospital, the furthest hospital in the area, to avoid being identified by the police. The prognosis was clear: I would be one-eyed for life.

Aggravated solitary confinement in Turkey. A form of institutionalised torture

Paula Martín — 2024-05-28

Last January 2023 we were part of the International Delegation Against Isolation that travelled to Turkey to hold meetings with civil society organisations and political circles regarding the prison situation.

The visit was followed by a report prepared by the Delegation: "Solitary Confinement and Isolation Policies in Turkey", released in March 2023. This text reflects some of the visit's conclusions and the subsequent monitoring of the current situation of human rights and prisons in Turkey concerning aggravated solitary confinement.

State violence against protesters

Matthew McEvoy — 2024-05-28

Introduction: In recent years mass protest movements have taken to the streets in many countries across the world. Despite strong international and domestic legal protections for the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and other fundamental human rights, entire assemblies are frequently labelled violent and less lethal weapons are used to disperse them. Methods: This article examines the weapons often used by police against public assemblies. Focusing on striking weapons (batons), chemical irritants, kinetic impact projectiles and stun grenades, the article uses examples from various countries to illustrate how these weapons are being used and the associated human rights and health impacts. Results: Worrying trends identified include the use of dangerous or untested equipment, such as thermal foggers to deploy chemical irritants; the use of inherently abusive weapons, such as whips or sjamboks; and the increasing use of certain types of munitions, specifically indiscriminate kinetic impact projectiles. Discussion: The article seeks to support medical and legal professionals becoming more familiar with the weapons being used in the countries they practice in, the effects of those weapons, and clinical aspects in the presentation and care of those exposed.

Trade in torture tools threatens detainees and protestors everywhere – it must be banned

Alice Jill Edwards — 2024-05-28

With social upheaval, economic strain, and political unrest growing, peaceful demonstrations worldwide are increasingly met with brutal tactics by law enforcement and security forces. The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture outlines her call for States to negotiate a new international treaty to ban the manufacture, use and trade in “torture tools” and regulate the trade in law enforcement equipment. Her proposal outlines two critical components: a Prohibited list of items that she has deemed to be inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading, and a second Controlled list of ordinary law enforcement equipment that has a high risk of misuse. Effective international regulation is imperative to curb the indiscriminate use of force by law enforcement and to uphold human dignity. Improved national regulation is also required. Her research has revealed a pervasive market for these items, with more than 335 companies in 54 countries manufacturing or promoting the most egregious torture instruments. Major producers include China, the EU, and the USA, with emerging economies also contributing significantly. The outsourcing of public functions to private security companies further exacerbates the issue, underscoring the pressing need for robust national and international regulations.

Health impact of electric discharge weapons: a review of case studies

Marie Brasholt — 2024-05-28

Introduction

Electrical discharge weapons (EDWs) are increasingly used by law enforcement around the globe as a less lethal option to firearms. Concerns have been raised about their use, inter alia from the UN Committee Against Torture (UNCAT).

The purpose of this manuscript is to provide an overview of case studies to assess the health consequences of EDW exposure.

Methods

Medline and Pubmed were searched for case studies on EDWs without restriction on language or date. Screening was first at abstract level and then at full article level. Articles were excluded if they were not case studies, concerned children under 15 years old or were off topic. A PRISMA flow diagram was created.

Results

A total of 71 studies were included, and they demonstrate a wide range of health consequences from minor injuries to lethal conditions. The injuries can be classified as direct and indirect, i.e., related to the use itself (e.g., penetration by darts) and related to falls and burns following neuromuscular incapacitation and ignition of flammable fluids. Cardiac incidents – some being fatal - were the health consequences found most reported, but the relation to the EDW is contested. In other cases, a very plausible association is established between EDW exposure and the health consequences. Description of pain and mental suffering related to EDW exposure was lacking in the reviewed case studies.

Discussion

EDWs may lead to physical and most likely mental suffering. When assessing patients and when documenting cases where persons may have been exposed to EDWs, including torture and ill-treatment cases, it is important to be aware of the different types of health consequences.

New project sheds light on the worldwide use of solitary confinement

Andrea Mølgaard — 2024-05-28

The ‘Mapping Solitary Confinement’ project, launched in early 2024 by Dr Sharon Shalev and collaborators, aims to shed light on the global use of solitary confinement - also known as 'isolation' or ‘segregation’. The project, a collaborative effort involving contributors from all over the world, is structured around relevant human rights standards, in particular the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture’s recommendations and the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners also known as the ‘Mandela Rules’ (UN, 2011; UN General Assembly, 2015). The project includes comprehensive reports on national practices from 57 jurisdictions within 42 countries across six continents, compiled by a wide network of volunteers all over the world.

Assessment and litigation of ocular injuries by less-lethal weapons.

Pau Pérez-Sales — 2024-05-28

The main cause of serious ophthalmological injuries, including
violent eye amputations in the context of so-called less lethal
weapons, is the use of blunt objects, such as batons or extendable
sticks and the use of kinetic energy projectiles (rubber bullets,
pellets, foam projectiles or others). Such injuries in the context
of population control have been considered to constitute cruel,
inhuman or degrading treatment or even torture when they are
carried out, intentionally or unintentionally, by State officials
(or with their acquiescence or protection) and involve any of the
purposes contemplated in the Convention against Torture. Due
to their special characteristics, they constitute rights violations
that entail unique difficulties and complexity from both a legal
and forensic point of view. This paper addresses some of these
difficulties with practical legal and forensic recommendations.
It is structured in two parts: First, legal, where we consider
legal difficulties and provide suggestions on elements for obtaining
evidence are given. Second, medico-psychological and
forensic where we review the elements to be considered in the
interview, the medical and ophthalmological evaluation, and
the psychometric, psychological and psychiatric evaluation.