Torture : quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture最新文献

Introduction: On 18 October 2019, Chile experienced a wave of civil protests driven by social demands, which continued for several months across the country. The response by law enforcement and armed forces resulted in injuries caused by ballistic projectiles, some of which affected the maxillofacial region.

Materials and methods: This is a multiple case report study analysing five forensic reports prepared by forensic odontologists from the Medicolegal Service of the Valparaíso region, Chile.

Results: Various injuries were observed, including fractured teeth, scars, paraesthesia, and embedded ballistic projectiles.

Discussion: The injuries are often permanent, compromising functionality and causing aesthetic and functional damage. Lead poisoning should be considered in cases where projectiles remain lodged in soft tissues.

Introduction: Victims of torture are often subjected to physical violence, which can result in traumatic brain injury (TBI) and PTSD. Executive functions encompass a complex set of higher cognitive abilities that include memory, inhibitory control, cognitive flexibility, planning, reasoning, and problem solving. This narrative review aimed to outline how torture affects executive functions, particularly in the context of TBI and PTSD.

Methods: We searched the scientific literature using the databases of PubMed, PsycINFO and PsychArticles. The search included combinations of the terms: Torture, Executive Functions, Traumatic Brain Injury, Stress, PTSD, Refugee, Asylum Seeker, Memory, Planning, Motivation, as well as relevant Medical Subline Headings (MeSH).

Results: Both TBI and PTSD have been associated with thinning of the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala. Such changes lead to a broad spectrum of cognitive and emotional issues. Victims of torture, for example, might display a lack of coherence, initiative, motivation, and the inability to respond to changes in their environment.

Discussion: In most countries, asylum-seeking is based on interviews in which individuals must provide a detailed and coherent narrative of the events that justify asylum. However, the neurological consequences of torture are rarely considered during asylum-seeking interviews, and a lack of details and coherence might be considered as a proxy for false statements.

Conclusions: Knowledge of the effects of torture on executive functions is critical for the design and implementation of treatment strategies that increase the chances of recovery.

This case series discusses three instances of telefono-type physical violence collected during a Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) mission rescuing migrants crossing the Mediterranean from Libya. These cases demonstrate the various sequelae of ear-cuffing, including subjective hearing loss, tinnitus, ear pain, tympanic membrane rupture, and infection in this under-studied type of physical violence. The authors hope this case series further demonstrates the importance of awareness and recognition of subtle presentations of different types of torture.

This editorial critically examines the use of administrative movement restrictions-particularly house arrest-as extrajudicial counter-terrorism measures, highlighting their widespread application in both democratic and authoritarian regimes. Drawing from legal analysis, case studies and forensic evidence, it argues that such measures-when imposed without due process, judicial oversight, or proportional safeguards-can amount to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and even torture. House arrest, especially when indefinite and coupled with intrusive surveillance, stigmatisation, and lack of access to basic needs or legal remedies, often constitutes a coercive environment with profound psychological and social impacts. Using the framework of the Istanbul Protocol and relevant UN standards, the article maps the legal and clinical thresholds at which deprivation of liberty in home settings transitions into a torturing environment. The editorial calls for urgent international scrutiny of these practices, emphasising the need to reinforce legal safeguards, ensure judicial review, and uphold human dignity in the face of expanding administrative powers.

The 2024 student-led job quota reform protests in Bangladesh, initially peaceful, escalated into a nationwide uprising. The government responded with excessive force, leading to widespread violence, including severe eye injuries to hundreds of protesters. This study investigates the causes, consequences, and medical responses to these eye injuries, which resulted in lasting physical, psychological, and economic impacts on the victims using secondary data, including reports from human rights organizations, hospital records, and media sources. Victim testimonies were collected from published sources to assess the immediate and long-term effects. A total of 647 individuals sustained severe eye injuries during the protests. The use of pellet bullets by law enforcement was the primary cause. Hospitals reported over 1,300 eye injury cases, with more than 90% of those who underwent surgery and 550 lost vision in one or both eyes. This movement resulted in devastating eye injuries for hundreds of young men, with long-lasting physical and economic impacts. Victims, many of whom were breadwinners, faced significant challenges in receiving adequate medical treatment and long-term rehabilitation. Immediate governmental intervention is needed to ensure their inclusion in the rebuilding of post-uprising Bangladesh.

Introduction: Experiencing traumatic events and torture due to war, the migratory process, and staying in confinement centers exposes refugees to a high risk of suffering psychological problems. The vulnerability of experiencing posttraumatic symptomatology is mediated not only by the traumatic experiences but also by the contextual and migratory factors at the time of assessment. The present study aimed to determine the quantity and intensity of posttraumatic symptoms in a sample of refugee women blocked at the Idomeni refugee camp (Greece) under eviction. Moreover, some qualitative data were gathered throughout the interviews.

Method: The methodological approach was a mixed method where 23 Syrian and Kurdish women, aged 28.9 years (SD = 12.6), were interviewed through the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) in its Iraqi version.

Results: The women experienced between 7-32 traumatic events (M = 19.47, SD = 6.68) and 4-16 torture events (M = 9.78, SD = 3.35). Re-experiencing was the most reported symptom (95.6%). A 78.26% showed posttraumatic symptoms that exceeded the cut-off point for diagnosis the Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) with the HTQ criteria and 91.30% with the DSM-IV criteria. On the other hand, qualitative data emphasized the importance of the fact that arriving and living in the camp in Idomeni severely shook the women´s beliefs.

Conclusion: Despite the low correlation found between traumatic and torture events and the posttraumatic symptoms due to the ceiling effects of the results, women reported traumatic and torture events associated with war and the migratory process. The high scores could be explained by the stress associated with torture events, the eviction of the refugee camp, and the frustration of their expectations regarding their reception in Europe as refugees. The notion of torturing environments emerges as a plausible framework to study the link between mental health and European forced migration routes.

Introduction: The Chapel of St. Dominic of the Cathedral of 'Al - Tahira' in Qaraqosh (Iraq) allegedly contained human remains belonging to two martyrs, according to the testimonies of locals. In this article, the authors discuss the recovery and study of human remains that took place there in May 2022.

Methods: A team of Forensic Anthropologist and Forensic Pathologists from Italy were involved in the excavations, which allowed discovery of skeletal remains referred to two individuals (here named C1 and C2). Their position was first described, then each bone remain was examined also inferring information about sex estimation, height calculation, age at death calculation, and dental formula. Bone elements underwent microscopic examination, and the identity of the two remains found was investigated through genetic analysis. Both anatomically repositioned bone remains were subjected to CT examination, and facial reconstructions of the two individuals were performed. Circumstantial data were also acquired. Finally, the cause and manner of death were hypothesized.

Results: In the occipital region of C1, the presence of an extensive fracture complex with transverse orientation was observed. C2 showed a cranial disintegration with fracture fragments affecting the structures of the left neuro- and splanchnic skull and to a greater extent the left hemifacial, orbital, zygomatic regions and thethe same side of the face. In addition, no bones attributable to those of the left hand of C2 were found.

Discussion: With reference to C1, nothing precludes that the death occurred due to severe blunt-fracture trauma with greater expression at the level of the cranial district. On the other hand, it seems reasonable to assume that C2 was the victim of an assault in which his left hand was amputated, he was beaten and pierced by a bayonet, and finally he was killed with a rifle shot to the head.