Vol. 36 No. 1 (2026): Torture Journal: Journal on Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and Prevention of Torture

Pau Pérez-Sales introduces this issue with an Editorial that examines the growing relevance of technologically mediated coercion and argues that torture can increasingly occur without direct physical contact. Drawing on developments in surveillance, artificial intelligence, digital manipulation, and behavioural control, he proposes a framework to rethink torture and ill-treatment in the digital age, questioning how law, clinical practice, and human rights monitoring must adapt to these evolving realities.

The issue opens with S. M. Yasir Arafat and colleagues’ investigation into Aynaghar (“House of Mirrors”), the alleged secret detention sites in Bangladesh. Their paper documents patterns of enforced disappearance, incommunicado detention, and psychological terror, contributing to ongoing debates on clandestine detention systems and state accountability.

Janine Bonnet, Daniel Jary, and Deborah Thackray then examine the monitoring and evaluation of remote medico-legal report assessments for asylum seekers detained on Diego Garcia. Their study analyses the challenges and possibilities of documenting torture in highly restricted and geographically isolated settings, highlighting the increasing importance of remote forensic methodologies.

Andrew Ly and colleagues continue this focus on cross-border protection mechanisms through a qualitative study on forensic medical evaluations used to secure humanitarian parole and exemptions under Title 42 in the United States. Their findings illustrate how medico-legal documentation can become a critical tool in safeguarding the rights of displaced persons and torture survivors.

Juan Manuel Cuellar Campuzano and Valeria Patricia Moscoso Urzúa provide a legal and psychosocial analysis of so-called “sexual conversion practices” in Latin America, arguing that these practices constitute acts of torture and ill-treatment. Their contribution situates conversion practices within broader systems of discrimination, coercion, and structural violence against LGBTQ+ communities.

The issue also revisits the long-term consequences of state violence through Elizabeth Lira Kornfeld and Daniela Mansilla Santelices’ examination of victims of institutional violence during Chile’s 2019 social uprising. Their article analyses state responses, reparative gaps, and lessons for public policy, offering reflections relevant to broader transitional justice and rehabilitation debates.

In the Case Report section, Giuseppe Pulin and colleagues describe a rare visible sequela of positional torture: shoulder deformation without neurological injury. The paper contributes important forensic and clinical insights into the documentation of torture-related injuries that may otherwise remain misunderstood or overlooked.

The Continuous Education section features Anna Fierz’s practical guide on first aid for eye injuries in protest settings. Addressing the increasing use of crowd-control weapons worldwide, the article offers accessible clinical recommendations on when to irrigate and when to shield eye injuries, aimed at frontline responders and human rights defenders.

In the News section, Andreea Lachsz discusses culturally appropriate and human rights–compliant police custody monitoring for detained Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, highlighting the importance of culturally informed oversight mechanisms in custodial settings.

The issue concludes with two Letters to the Editor. Siroos Mirzaei documents patterns of medical-ethical violations in Iranian detention facilities, while S. M. Yasir Arafat and colleagues draw attention to the torture of family members of victims in Bangladesh, underscoring the wider social and psychological impact of state repression beyond direct detainees.

Finally, the issue includes two Calls for Papers. One focuses on the implementation of the Charter of Rights of Victims and Survivors of Torture, while the second invites scholarly reflection on new technologies and coercion, encouraging interdisciplinary debate on how digital systems, artificial intelligence, and neurotechnologies are reshaping experiences and understandings of torture.

Together, the contributions in this issue provide a timely and multifaceted examination of torture in contemporary contexts—from secret detention sites and migration control regimes to technological coercion, institutional violence, and emerging forensic challenges—while reaffirming the central importance of documentation, accountability, rehabilitation, and human rights protection.