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PACTI affidavits show it's widespread during all interrogations, usually throughout the procedure. A few testimonies describe the practice:
A.B, aged 16 and a half, said his hands were cuffed behind his back and attached to the chair's seat. His testimony shows that even minors are subjected to the same harsh treatment as adults. At one point during the process, A.B. broke down and cried.
Samar Hasan Sus said:
"When the interrogation began, I was cuffed with my hands behind the back of the chair I was sitting on. The handcuffs were attached to the bottom of the seat of the chair and I could not move my hands. The handcuffs were made of metal." He complained to an attorney about forearm, leg and back pain. PACTI submitted a complaint on his behalf to no avail.
Dr. Ghasan Sharif Muhammed Khaled said he was cuffed and not allowed to change position. He said he was subjected to intensive interrogation for eight days, up to 22 hours a day, excluding Saturday and Sunday. Throughout, he was painfully shackled with only rare breaks of about 10 minutes. As a result, he experienced severe pain in his tailbone, back, neck, palms, and knees. He also sustained internal bruising and his knees swelled. PACTI again complained, was told the case was closed, and no corroboration was found for Dr. Khaled's complaints.
Numerous other cases were much the same, and PACTI got no substantive responses to its complaints. They also learned that the only time interrogators unfastened the restraints was when detainees said they wanted to confess. Otherwise, painful shackling continued, causing permanent damage and humiliation as well.
"High Handcuffing" in the Interrogation Room
PACTI describes it as "any type of handcuffing in which the detainees' hands are above the level of their wrists, including cuffing of the forearms or arms." It's extremely painful, can cause physical injury, and if maintained for extended periods very often permanent disability.
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