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“We Will Make You Regret Everything”

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“We Will Make You Regret Everything” “We will make you Torture in Iran since regret everything” the 2009 elections Freedom from Torture Country Reporting Programme March 2013 Freedom from Torture Country Reporting Programme March 2013 “We will make you regret everything” Torture in Iran since the 2009 elections “Why did this happen to me, what did I do wrong? ...They’ve made me hate my body to a point that I don’t want to shower or get dressed... I feel alone and can’t trust another person.” Case study - Sanaz, page 6 3 Table of Contents Summary and key findings ............................................................. 7 Key findings of the report .................................................................... 8 Recommendations .......................................................................... 10 Introduction ................................................................................... 11 Freedom from Torture’s history of working with Iranian torture survivors 11 Case sample and method ..................................................................... 11 1. Case Profile ............................................................................................ 12 a. Place of origin and place of residence when detained .................................. 12 b. Ethnicity and religious identity .............................................................. 12 c. Ordinary occupation .......................................................................... 13 d. History of activism or dissent ............................................................... 13 i. No history of activism or dissent before 2009 ......................................... 13 ii. Prior history of activism or dissent (pre-2009) ....................................... 14 iii. No personal history of activism or dissent ............................................ 15 e. Residence in the UK and previous asylum claims ........................................ 16 2. Detention patterns .......................................................................... 17 a. Reasons for detention 2009-2011 ......................................................... 17 i. Participation in demonstrations and protests .......................................... 18 ii. Participation in other political activities ................................................ 19 iii. Imputed political opinion, dissent of family member or other .................... 19 b. Place of arrest and detention – city/province and location ............................ 19 c. Detaining authorities and place of detention ............................................. 20 d. Due process during arrest and ill-treatment en route to detention .................. 20 e. Due process during detention ............................................................... 21 i. Interrogation ................................................................................. 21 ii. Forced ‘confession’ or statement ....................................................... 21 iii. Formal charge, access to legal representation, trial in court ...................... 22 iv. Trial in absentia ............................................................................ 23 f. Secondary detention and transfer to medical facilities ................................. 23 g. Detention conditions .......................................................................... 23 i. Cells ............................................................................................ 24 ii. Access to food and water ................................................................. 24 iii. Access to toilet ............................................................................. 25 iv. Hygiene and washing...................................................................... 25 v. Access to medical care in detention .................................................... 25 h. Duration of detention and escape or release ............................................. 25 i. Means of release or escape from detention .............................................. 26 j. Flight from Iran ................................................................................ 26 3. Torture disclosures ........................................................................... 28 a. Pattern of torture episodes ................................................................... 28 i. Place ........................................................................................... 28 ii. Use of blindfolds or hooding .............................................................. 28 iii. Perpetrator/s ............................................................................... 29 “Happiness is forbidden in Iran... I was treated worse than an animal... They told me that afterwards I wouldn’t even want to be alive and in that they have succeeded.” Case study - Bahar, page 7 5 iv. Frequency and duration of torture episodes .......................................... 29 b. Specific methods of torture disclosed – all detentions 2009-2011 ................... 29 c. Methods of ‘physical’ torture ................................................................. 30 i. Blunt force trauma .......................................................................... 30 ii. Burns .......................................................................................... 31 iii. Sharp force trauma ........................................................................ 32 iv. Electric shock ............................................................................... 32 v. Positional torture ........................................................................... 32 vi. Asphyxiation/suffocation techniques ................................................... 33 vii. Pharmacological or chemical torture .................................................. 33 viii. Sexual torture ............................................................................. 33 Female cases .................................................................................... 34 Male cases ....................................................................................... 34 d. Methods of psychological and environmental torture ................................... 35 e. Psychological torture .......................................................................... 35 i. Humiliation ................................................................................... 35 ii. Threats ....................................................................................... 36 iii. Forced to betray others ................................................................... 37 f. Environmental torture ......................................................................... 37 i. Solitary confinement and sensory deprivation ........................................ 37 ii. Deprivation of sleep ........................................................................ 38 iii. Use of water ................................................................................ 38 4. Physical and psychological impact of torture ................................. 39 a. Forensic evidence of torture ................................................................. 39 b. Physical impact of torture .................................................................... 39 i. Loss of consciousness ..................................................................... 39 ii. Chronic pain ................................................................................. 39 iii. Acute injury/symptoms ................................................................... 40 iv. Genitourinary symptoms ................................................................ 40 c. Scars/lesions attributed to torture, by torture method ................................. 40 i. Blunt force trauma .......................................................................... 40 ii. Burns .......................................................................................... 41 iii. Sharp force trauma ........................................................................ 41 iv. Positional torture including suspension ................................................ 41 d. Referral and treatment for chronic and acute physical symptoms ................... 41 e. Psychological impact of torture .............................................................. 42 f. Treatment for depression and PTSD ........................................................ 42 g. Detailed psychological symptoms attributed by the examining clinician to torture 43 i. Symptoms of PTSD ......................................................................... 43 ii. Depression symptoms .................................................................... 44 iii. Damaged self-image ..................................................................... 45 iv. Psychological symptoms associated with sexual torture and rape ............... 45 v. Suicidal ideation, self-harm and suicide attempts .......................................................... 45 5. Conclusions ...................................................................................................................... 47 a. Congruence of clinical evidence and attribution of torture ............................. 47 b. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 47 Freedom from Torture Country Reporting Programme - March 2013 Summary and key findings Case Study - Sanaz* This report summarises a study
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