White torture

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White torture, often referred to as white room torture, is a type of psychological torture [1] [2] technique aimed at complete sensory deprivation and isolation. A prisoner is held in a cell that is devoid of any color besides white, this method of torture is designed to deprive the prisoner of all senses and identity. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

It is particularly used in Iran; however, there is also evidence of its use by intelligence services in the United States and Venezuela. [5] [6]

Methodology

Visually, the prisoner is deprived of all colour. [2] Their cell is completely white: the walls, floor and ceiling, as well as their clothes and food. Neon tubes are positioned above the occupant in such a way that no shadows appear.[ citation needed ]

Auditorily, the cell is soundproof, and void of any sound, voices or social interaction.[ citation needed ] Guards stand in silence, wearing padded shoes to avoid making any noise. [1] Prisoners cannot hear anything but themselves.[ citation needed ]

In terms of taste and smell, the prisoner is fed white food—classically, unseasoned rice—to deprive them of these senses. Further, all surfaces are smooth, robbing them of the variability of touch sensations.[ citation needed ]

Detainees are often held for months, or even years.[ citation needed ] The effects of white torture are well-documented in a number of testimonials.[ citation needed ] Typically, prisoners will become depersonalized by losing personal identity for extended periods of isolation. Other effects can include hallucinations or psychosis. [7]

Allegations of use

Iran

In Iran, white torture (Persian : شكنجه سفيد) has been practiced on political prisoners by the Islamic republic regime. [8] Most political prisoners who experience this type of torture are journalists [9] held in the Evin prison. [10] "Amir Fakhravar, the Iranian white room prisoner, was tortured at Evin prison for 8 months in 2004. He still has trauma regarding his times in the white room."[ citation needed ] According to Hadi Ghaemi[ who? ], such tortures in Evin are not necessarily authorized directly by the Iranian government. [11]

It can include prolonged periods of solitary confinement, the use of continual illumination to deprive sleep (listed in the Geneva Convention on Basic Human Rights, 1949) often in detention centers outside the control of the prison authorities, including Section 209 of Evin Prison.

Ahmed Shaheed, the United Nations special human rights reporter in Iran, mentioned in a statement that human rights activist Vahid Asghari was psychologically tortured by means of long-term detention in solitary confinement and with threats to arrest, torture or rape his family members. He was also reportedly tortured with severe beatings for the purpose of eliciting confessions. [12] [13]

A 2004 Amnesty International report [3] documented the use of white torture on Amir Fakhravar by the Revolutionary Guards, the first known example of white torture in Iran. [14] It states that "his cells had no windows, and the walls and his clothes were white. His meals consisted of white rice on white plates. To use the toilet, he had to put a white piece of paper under the door. He was forbidden to speak, and the guards reportedly wore shoes that muffled sound". [15] [16] [17] Upon his arrival in the US, Fakhravar confirmed this report in an interview with Christian Broadcasting Network.[ citation needed ]

In a telephone call to the Human Rights Watch in 2004, the Iranian journalist Ebrahim Nabavi said:

Since I left Evin, I have not been able to sleep without sleeping pills. It is terrible. The loneliness never leaves you, long after you are 'free.' Every door that is closed on you.... This is why we call it 'white torture.' They get what they want without having to hit you. They know enough about you to control the information that you get: they can make you believe that the president has resigned, that they have your wife, that someone you trust has told them lies about you. You begin to break. And once you break, they have control. And then you begin to confess. [18]

Venezuela

According to human rights organizations and other NGOs, the Bolivarian Intelligence Service (SEBIN) of the Venezuelan government holds political prisoners in the lower levels of SEBIN's headquarters, which has been deemed by government officials La Tumba "The Tomb". [19] [5] [20] The cells are two by three meters (6 ft 7 in by 9 ft 10 in) with a cement bed, white walls, and security barriers between one another so that there is no interaction between prisoners. [5] Such conditions have caused prisoners to become very ill, but they are denied medical treatment. [20] Bright lights in the cells are kept on so prisoners lose their sense of time and the temperature is below freezing, with the only sounds heard being from the nearby Caracas Metro trains. [19] [5] Reports of torture in La Tumba, specifically white torture, are also common, with some prisoners attempting to commit suicide. [5] [21] Such conditions according to the NGO Justice and Process are to make prisoners plead guilty to the crimes that they are accused of. [5]

In media

References

  1. 1 2 Cesereanu, Ruxandra (Summer 2006). "An Overview of Political Torture in the Twentieth Century" (PDF). Journal for the Study of Religions and Ideologies. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  2. 1 2 3 Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT) (2004). "In Our Midst: Educational Aids to Work with Survivors of Torture and Organized Violence" (3rd ed.). p. 50 via Grupo de Accion Comunitaria / Psicosocial.net.
  3. 1 2 "Helping to break the Silence: Urgent Actions on Iran" (PDF). Amnesty International. 31 March 2004. p. 2. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  4. Beehner, Lionel (9 August 2006). "Iran's Waning Human Rights". Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vinogradoff, Ludmila (10 February 2015). ""La tumba", siete celdas de tortura en el corazón de Caracas". ABC . Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  6. "European Democratic Lawyers (EDL) statement on Guantanamo Bay and other detention centres". www.statewatch.org. July 2004.
  7. David Morgan, Violations of human...rights of the Kurds in Turkey [ permanent dead link ], Kurdish Media, March 22, 2005.
  8. Vick, Karl (June 7, 2004). "Report Cites 'Climate of Fear' in Iran". The Washington Post .
  9. "UN human rights commission urged to sanction Iran". rsf.org. Reporters Without Borders. March 15, 2005.
  10. "Iran:... Kianoosh Sanjari". amnesty.org. Amnesty International. January 10, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-10-12.
  11. Saunders, Doug (February 19, 2007). "Few know who is held behind the tiled walls of Tehran's Evin prison". The Globe and Mail . Archived from the original on February 22, 2007.
  12. "Vahid Asghari was beaten to make confess". bcrgroup.us. Human Rights Group in US. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  13. "United Nations Report". IranHRDC.org. Archived from the original on 2015-07-02. Retrieved 2015-07-06.
  14. Baxter, Sarah (May 21, 2006). "Fugitive pleads with US to 'liberate' Iran". The Sunday Times . Archived from the original on February 11, 2008. Retrieved March 10, 2007.
  15. "Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - Iran in 2006". state.gov. Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor; United States Department of State. March 6, 2007. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  16. McCann, Cathy (March 17, 2004). "Student/Journalist Ill-treated in Jail". NEAR International. Archived from the original on 2007-09-28. Retrieved May 7, 2024.
  17. Lake, Eli (May 9, 2006). "Iranian Dissident to Seek Support For Opposition". The New York Sun . Archived from the original on August 14, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  18. "Like the Dead...Crushing of dissidents in Iran". hrw.org. Human Rights Watch. June 2004.
  19. 1 2 "Un calabozo macabro". Univision. 2015. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
  20. 1 2 "Statement of Santiago A. Canton Executive Director, RFK Partners for Human Rights Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights" (PDF). United States Senate . Archived from the original (PDF) on July 29, 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  21. "Political protesters are left to rot in Venezuela's secretive underground prison". News.com.au. 25 July 2015. Archived from the original on 21 October 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2015.
  22. "Visual Arts - Exhibitions and Artist Portraits - Goethe-Institut". 2013-12-02. Archived from the original on 2013-12-02. Retrieved 2023-05-12.
  23. ARTSGATE, News, March 17, 2007.
  24. "Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2021-11-22.
  25. "The Brave – Desperate Measures". 15 January 2018. Retrieved 2021-11-22.