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این یک عنوان است.

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Mohammad Mohabbey

According to Article 1 of the United Nations Convention against Torture (1984), torture is defined as: “any act by which severe physical or mental pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person for obtaining information or a confession from him or a third person, or for punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed.”

Similarly, individual punishment is considered an act that he or a third party has committed or is likely to commit, with the threat and coercion and based on discrimination of any kind, when entering this pain and suffering, or by provocation and persuasion, or with the consent and non-opposition of a government official or any other authority, is considered torture.

Definition of torture in the jurisprudence of severe harassment of someone to force them to do something. In this regard, Article 38 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran states: “Any form of torture to obtain confession or information is prohibited. Forcing a person to testify, confess or swear is not permissible, and such testimony, confession or oath is worthless and invalid. Violators of this principle will be punished according to the law.” According to Article 570 of the Penal Code, any government officials who violate the personal freedom of individuals or deprive them of their rights guaranteed by the Constitution, in addition to being dismissed from their position, will be sentenced to imprisonment for 2 months to 3 years and will be banned from government jobs for 3 to 5 years.

Furthermore, Article 578 of the mentioned law states that any of the employees or officials of the government, whether judicial or non-judicial, who use physical torture and harassment to force a suspect to confess, in addition to retribution and paying blood money, will be sentenced to imprisonment for six months to three years. If someone has given orders in this regard, only the one who gave the order will be sentenced to the mentioned imprisonment. And if the suspect dies as a result of the torture and harassment, the executor will be punished as a murderer and the one who gave the order will be punished as an accomplice to murder.

The legal regulations and executive provisions of the Prisons and Correctional Institutions Organization of the country also state: “Aggression, insults, use of vulgar language, physical punishment of prisoners, and harsh and laborious punishments in prisons are completely prohibited.”

One can also refer to Article 7/2/1392 of the Civil Liability Law to compensate for the damages caused by torture, which states: “Anyone who intentionally or negligently, without legal permission, causes harm to life, health, property, freedom, dignity, commercial reputation, or any other right created by law for individuals, shall be responsible for compensating for the damages resulting from their actions.”

1- Types of torture

1-1-Black torture or physical torture

In physical torture, the goal is initially to obtain information from one side and also to create a separation between the individual and their group, both operationally and ideologically, on the other side. Violence is the most important and, in a sense, the only tool used for this type of torture.

Physical torture methods in different parts of the world are very similar to each other. The most common of these methods can generally be divided into the following groups:

a) Creating pain: whipping, using handcuffs, hanging, etc.

B) Long-term deprivations: Deprivation of food, drinks, cleaning supplies, and adequate medical facilities, sleep deprivation, inducing a sense of suffocation, preventing movement or speaking, etc.

J) Breaking Cultural Taboos: Sexual assault of women and men, forcing consumption of disgusting substances, attacking the deepest bonds of kinship (in mother-child and husband-wife relationships), etc.

2-1- White torture or psychological torture

The main purpose of psychological torture or white torture is to create a change in the identity of the prisoner. For this reason, in this type of torture, the individual is more focused on by the perpetrators of violence than their group. However, since it is not possible to completely separate the mind and body, both psychological and physical torture have an impact on both the mind and body.

As we mentioned, one of the main goals of various methods of psychological torture is to affect the identity of the prisoner. The individual’s identity, from the perspective of psychology, is a product of a dynamic process that continues throughout their entire life. Therefore, from the perspective of these sciences, identity is not considered as a “nature” and does not take on a fixed form once and for all.

From the moment of birth, a person is within various interactive networks (such as nuclear and extended families, school, etc.) and experiences and knows “myself” based on relationships and, as a result, the way others see them. However, in order for these diverse experiences to provide a sense of unity and stability for the individual, they must be structured and coordinated in a cohesive manner within the individual’s psyche.

The term “white torture” is generally used to refer to psychological torture, and the reason for this is that there is no physical evidence left on the body in this type of torture. However, in its more precise meaning, “white torture” refers to those types of psychological torture that create sensory deprivation, leading to disruption in the perception system. The short and long-term psychological effects of white torture are much deeper, more severe, and longer lasting than those of individual solitary confinement.

However, in many cases, the use of white torture, along with endless interrogations and physical torture, causes the “self” of the prisoner to break down due to the failure and instability of psychological defense mechanisms.

By breaking the defense mechanisms of the mental system, torturers achieve their goal of penetrating the central identity of the imprisoned.

The main purpose of interrogating a prisoner is to “clarify” their identity. Continuous and lengthy interrogations, accompanied by the use of “white torture” (sensory deprivation), can empty the prisoner’s mind of any content and secrets. The act of revealing the inner thoughts and experiences of the prisoner, which is achieved by emptying and extracting their psychological content, is called “clarifying” their identity. In this situation, the interrogator is not seeking to obtain “unrevealed information” from the prisoner, but rather trying to access the most inner, private, and unspoken information about them (from childhood memories and family relationships to past sexual experiences).

In fact, by revealing both big and small secrets, the boundary between the inner and outer worlds, between “me” and the other, the imprisoned personality becomes like a transparent drop of water. Clarifying the personality by removing the inner secrets, which often result from a combination of white torture, isolation, and endless interrogations, in many cases creates severe and long-term disturbances in the central identity of the prisoner. Political systems that use such methods to deal with their opponents do not aim to talk to the prisoner, but to silence them forever.

2- Methods of Torture Throughout History:

1-2- Methods of physical torture or black torture.

A) Chinese Bamboo Torture:

Bamboo is one of the fastest-growing plants in the world. Some Chinese varieties can grow up to one meter per day. Some historians believe that the use of bamboo as a torture device was first carried out by the Chinese, and later by the Japanese army during World War II.

The method of performing this torture is as follows: the tips of the bamboo are sharpened to a spear-like point and then the prisoner is suspended horizontally above the bamboo and the bamboo quickly grows, splitting the victim’s skin and growing through their body, causing a slow and painful death.

B) Iron cage

Many researchers believe that this type of torture is derived from a horrific legend. This iron chamber with sharp spikes embedded in it frightens the accused into confessing everything. The iron cage was created in the late 18th century, coinciding with the rise of religious inquisitions by Catholic churches. The method of this device is to throw the accused into the iron chamber and lock them inside. The inner walls of this cage are equipped with small spikes that do not pierce the victim’s body, but only inflict wounds. Usually, the criminal confesses after a few minutes, and if they resist and remain silent, the pressure is increased multiple times through special holes in the cage, using tongs, blades, and double-edged swords, causing unbearable pain.

Finally, the criminal remains in the cage for a long time and dies due to severe bleeding. In some models of this device, there are spikes embedded for the eyes that prevent them from blinking.

c) Bronze Bull

This deadly device was first created by Cooper Smith Perillo at the request of the tyrannical ruler, Sicilian Flariso, who was fond of torturing and killing people in unusual ways. Later on, the use of this device spread among the ancient Greeks.

Apparently, this device is in the shape of a hollow copper cow. The method of operation of this device is that the accused would be thrown into this copper statue and imprisoned. They would then light a fire under the copper cow and roast the victim alive. The structure of the device is such that the screams of the victim could be heard through the mouth of the cow, similar to the sound of a cow.

D) Desert Mouse Cage

This torture originated from ancient China and later expanded by the leader of the 16th century Dutch revolution, Dirk Sonoy. The method of executing this torture is as follows: the accused is stripped naked and tied to a table in a lying position. Then a heavy cage filled with hungry field mice is placed on the stomach or chest of the prisoner. The bottom of the cage has a hatch that can be opened to a specific size.

They place hot coals on top of the cage in a way that the desert mice are thrown into a frenzy due to the intense heat of the coals. In order to escape the heat, they open their way through the special window at the end of the cage by gasping and biting the body of the prisoner.

Torture and execution by elephant.

This torture has been used for centuries in India and Indochina. Since the elephant is an intelligent animal, training it to beat the accused with a stick is a very easy task that can be accomplished within a few days. The method of performing this torture is to tie the accused to the ground and command the trained elephant to kick them in the head. Sometimes, in order to teach a lesson to others and force a confession, the elephant is also commanded to kick the head, hands, and feet of the accused.

And) Gear-driven traction machine:

One of the most terrifying and practical torture devices is the gear wheel traction machine. This device was first used 300 years after the birth of Christ by Vincente, the tyrannical ruler of Zaragoza, Spain. Any suspect who survives this torture will no longer be able to use their muscles due to the strain they have endured. The device consists of a special bed with special rollers at both ends, and the suspect is tied down by chest and knee ropes. When the torturer turns the rollers, the ropes pull in opposite directions, causing the suspect’s body to stretch and strain.

The hands and feet of the tortured are pulled and as a result of the intense pulling, they are dislocated from their joints.

Planting metal in the body.

This torture is one of the most bizarre methods of torture that dates back to the Middle Ages. The way it is carried out is by creating a deep cut on the accused’s leg and then placing a piece of metal, usually soaked in a special type of poison, inside the cut and sewing it up. Due to the intense pain and burning sensation, the accused loses their strength and tears open the wound, causing bleeding. Most of the time, they lose their life due to the severity of the bleeding.

H) Head pressure machine

This torture device is mostly used to extract confessions from the accused without killing them, as the torturer can easily turn it into a terrifying execution device. The method of using this device is to place the accused’s head inside a metal bowl and apply pressure to their skull using a screw located on top of the bowl. If the accused refuses to confess, the torturer will turn the screw and apply intense pressure to the bones of their skull, causing them to lose consciousness. If the criminal still does not confess, they will face a painful death.

a) Torture chair

This method of torture is one of the most painful methods. This chair is made up of 1000 small nails that do not have the ability to penetrate the vital organs of the accused’s body. The accused sits on this chair and is forced to confess and confess due to the intensity of the pain. These nails are embedded in such a way that they prevent rapid bleeding and the tortured person only dies from the intensity of the pain, and that too after several hours or even days. Usually, someone who has important information and secrets is shown the torture of another person, and if they do not open their mouth to confess, they are tortured with this device and they are not killed until they open their mouth.

2-2- Methods of White Torture

a) Sensory deprivation

As a method of torture, it was first designed by the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in the early 1950s. During this period, the CIA funded a series of scientific research on the phenomenon of “sensory deprivation”.

One of the most important research studies under the supervision of Canadian psychologist Donald Hebb was conducted at the famous “McGill” University in Montreal, Canada. Hebb used volunteer students in his experiments. These experiments aimed to study the effects of sensory deprivation on the mind. To achieve this, special hats were used to eliminate auditory senses, blindfolds were used to prevent sight, and other tools or facilities were used to reduce the senses of touch and smell. The individuals were then placed in individual rooms away from any external stimuli. Volunteers in these conditions would experience severe delusions, decreased mental abilities, and unbearable restlessness only after a relatively short period of time (one to two or three days).

B) Coffin

The method used in this model is to reduce external stimuli along with preventing movement, which is one example of such torture. In this state, sensory deprivation initially causes memory disturbance, then impairs concentration, and ultimately leads to a sense of disorientation and loss of sense of time.

As a result of prolonged exposure to such a situation, a person may experience a type of artificial psychosis (delusions, hallucinations, severe anxiety, constant and uncontrollable) that can be irreversible in some cases. The white torture directly attacks the central identity and personal being of the imprisoned individual by disrupting their perception system.

c) Residential unit

In this method, in addition to sensory deprivation, it also includes long-term interrogations and physical abuse of prisoners. In such conditions, the prisoner, in order to preserve their personal and social identity, initially tries to establish an impenetrable boundary between what they are and what they present to the interrogator. They strive to not only conceal group secrets, but even the smallest ordinary and personal characteristics from the interrogator’s view. In such conditions, any information, no matter how insignificant or irrelevant, is exploited to exert further pressure on the prisoner.

3- History of Hardship

One of the examples of explaining the types of torture throughout the history of Iran is the book “History of Torture” written by Abbasgholi Ghaffari Ferd. Studying this book, which describes the types of torture during the Afsharid and Qajar periods, is very useful. Interestingly, these types of torture have been carried out in the past one or two centuries. “Amputation”, “burning and grilling”, “dismemberment”, “burying alive”, “beating under the feet and crushing the head with a mallet”, “strangulation”, and “covering the whole body with plaster while still alive” are methods described in this book. In addition to the mentioned types of killing, the book “History of Torture” also includes chapters on “tying to the horse’s tail and tying to a tree”, “throwing into a boiling pot and wrapping in felt”, “sewing a bag on the tongue”, and “putting

4- The last word

No matter how far back we look in human history, all we see is violence. The rejection of any form of torture is a new and unique phenomenon in human rights. Torture is morally wrong in any circumstance and should be completely prohibited for ethical reasons.

Both moralists and legal theorists must clarify the details. There are many reasons why various examples of torture are unpleasant. Torture, humiliation, assassination, and dehumanization; mental wounds, etc., must absolutely be condemned and prohibited.

The United Nations, as the guardian of international security and the promoter and encourager of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, has been striving to eliminate this inhumane behavior (torture) since its establishment and has issued numerous resolutions in this regard. The Constitution of Iran generally prohibits torture and can be considered in line with international documents, but ordinary laws in Iran have limitations regarding torture (not addressing psychological and emotional torture). Therefore, in terms of prohibiting torture, ordinary laws in Iran have not been able to fulfill the goal of the Iranian Constitution and international documents that have strictly prohibited torture, and have even failed to provide a definition of torture based on the Iranian Constitution.