Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part II: Enhanced credibility assessment based on the Istanbul Protocol.
نویسندگان
چکیده
BACKGROUND The Istanbul Protocol (IP) is the key instrument in the documentation of allegations of torture. However, few scientific studies have evaluated its effectiveness as a tool to assess credibility of allegations of ill-treatment or torture. OBJECTIVE Present data on the credibility of allegations of torture in a sample of 45 Basque people held in short-term incommunicado detention between 1980 and 2012, using a modified version of the Standard Evaluation Form for Credibility Assessment (SEC), a new tool to assess credibility based on the IP. METHOD Each case was evaluated by two psychiatrists, a psychologist and a physician through a layered system of simultaneous, independent assessments, blind audits and peer-review processes. Clinical interviews following the IP were contrasted with psychometric tests and external documentary evidence by independent experts. All available data were structured using the SEC and cases were accordingly classified as having Maximum consistency, Highly Consistent, Consistent or Inconsistent. FINDINGS According to the SEC, 53% of allegations of torture were considered to have Maximum Consistency, 31% Highly consistent, 15% Consistent and 0% Inconsistent. The items that most contributed to the overall credibility assessment came from the psychological evaluation, including the description of alleged torture, emotional reactions, objective functional changes, changes in identity and worldviews and clinical diagnosis. There was little contribution from previous medical reports. INTERPRETATION When applied competently, the IP is an essential tool in the documentation of torture. Our study shows: (a) evidence that allegations of ill-treatment and torture in the Basque Country are consistent and credible, being ascertained beyond reasonable doubt and aside from any political debate; (b) the wider use of the IP as a tool to assess credibility of allegations of ill-treatment and torture; and, (c) the usefulness of the SEC as a tool. The SEC can help as a tool for documenting torture in contexts where there are political differences and figures are distorted as a result of polarized political debates, and where legal documentation is needed for judicial purposes. Forensic science can help by providing an objective assessment of the credibility of allegations.
منابع مشابه
Incommunicado detention and torture in Spain:Part I: The Istanbul Protocol Project in the Basque Country.
There is increasing evidence to show that torture is a serious problem in the Basque Country. Whilst such evidence can be found in reports of international human rights monitoring bodies, sentences of Spanish and international courts, and empirical studies, they are limited in not having followed the Istanbul Protocol (IP) in order to evaluate the reliability of torture. A working group compose...
متن کاملIncommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part IV: Psychological and psychiatric consequences of ill-treatment and torture: trauma and human worldviews.
BACKGROUND Most literature on psychological consequences of torture is related to prolonged detention. Psychological consequences of intensive physical and psychological torture in brief detention have not been investigated. The aim of this study is to analyse the psychological impact of torture in short-term incommunicado detention. METHOD A sample of 45 Basque people who had allegedly been ...
متن کاملIncommunicado detention and torture in Spain, Part III: 'Five days is enough': the concept of torturing environments.
BACKGROUND Torture is changing in western societies, evolving from pain-producing torture to more subtle mixed psychological methods that are harder to detect. Despite this, there is not an adequate understanding of the complexities of contemporary psychological techniques used in coercive interrogation and torture. METHODS The interrogation and torture techniques used on 45 detainees held in...
متن کاملThe role of the Istanbul-Protocol in the uphill battle for torture survivors being granted asylum in Europe and ensuring the perpetrators pay.
Three Dutch organisations, Pharos, Amnesty International, and the Council for Refugees, have published Care Full – Medico-Legal Reports and the Istanbul Protocol in Asylum Procedures1 which gives a comprehensive and very detailed background on the pertinent need in asylum procedures for medicallegal reports based on the Istanbul protocol. The book is an important contribution to the European de...
متن کاملTorture and the Commitment Problem
We study torture as a mechanism for extracting information from a suspect who may or may not be informed. We show that a standard rationale for torture generates two commitment problems. First, the principal would benefit from a commitment to torture a suspect he knows to be innocent. Secondly, the principal would benefit from a commitment to limit the amount of torture faced by the guilty. We ...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
عنوان ژورنال:
- Torture : quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture
دوره 26 3 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2016