Book review: S. Mirzaei and M. Schenk (eds) Abbilder der Folter

Excerpt

Torture for reasons of political or religious antagonism or in conditions of war is defined as a deliberate harm to physical and/or psychic human integrity. In this German-language book, Mirzaei and Schenk, together with other authors, describe the work over 15 years of Hemayat, a non-profit organization in Vienna, with refugees traumatized by torture. Clinical and psychological post-torture syndromes are described. Psychological support methods are outlined. The physiopathological consequences of torture methods are detailed in medical and especially scintigraphic images. Consequences of blows, falls, forced hangings, vicious positions, subluxations, amputations or osteo-articular disruptions, perpetrated up to several years before imaging, are documented. Pathological bone consolidations, calcified posttraumatic haematomas, peri-articular calcifications and subluxations are described. …