ABSTRACT
Requiring the victim to maintain a certain normal or awkward posture for long periods of time, binding the victim in various awkward and painful positions, or suspension of the victim are all widespread methods of torture that take many forms. Figure 11.1 demonstrates two common forms of postural torture and suspension from South America. Victims are sometimes suspended by the arms, which are bent backward and with sudden upward traction applied. Other forms use the hands and feet bound together at the back. Suspension is sometimes by one or a few fingers. In Syria, victims have been made to stand erect for long periods of time in a vertical cell that is sized and shaped somewhat like a coffin. A Kurdish refugee from Turkey claimed to have been made to walk across a floor strewn with shards of glass and then stand in salt. He also reported being forced to stand ankle deep in water after being beaten on the soles of his feet. 1
FIGURE 11.1 Examples of positional torture: (A) “la barra” (B) “la moto.” (From Rassmussen, O.V., Medical Aspects of Torture,
Laegeformenings forlag, Copenhagen, 1990. With permission.)
Radiographic evidence of postural torture is sparse. Bone pathology is rare. Fractures and dislocations about the shoulder can sometimes be demonstrated (Figures 11.2 and 11.3). Magnetic resonance imaging and ultrasound may be able to demonstrate residual patterns of capsular injury and healing with scar formation from muscular contractions in the neck and shoulders of suspension victims. However, the results of these expensive examinations are probably no more contributory than a good examination by an experienced physiotherapist or physiatrist.
