Part 3
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interviewing techniques that use “forced nudity”, isolation, blindfolding and
sleep deprivation, among others.
3.5.5 Torture and Ill-treatment are Ineffective
Case Study – Miscarriage of justice*
As part of a campaign launched by a terrorist organization, two bombs explode
in two crowded public places in the centre of a city. Twenty-one people are
killed and more than 160 injured, many seriously. A third device, also placed in
the city centre, fails to explode.
On that day, five men are stopped by the police at a ferry port. They left the
city shortly before the explosions. They are on their way to attend the funeral of
a member of the terrorist organization involved in the bombings. When questioned
by the police at the port, they do not reveal the true purpose of their journey.
While they are questioned and searched, the police receive the news of the
bombings. The men are then taken to the local police station for forensic tests
and further questioning. The forensic tests on three of them appear to show
that they handled explosives. Police claim that one of the men confessed while
they were being held at the police station. The men later allege that they were
beaten at the police station.
The following morning, the five men are handed over to police from the city
where the bombs exploded. A sixth man, who saw them off at the railway station, is arrested that same day. They are all questioned at length, without being
allowed to see lawyers. Five of the six men sign statements admitting they
planted the bombs. Their confessions are contradictory, however, and do not
add anything to what the police already know about the bombings.
At their trial, the men withdraw their confessions and allege that they were
obtained as a result of ill-treatment. They state that their ill-treatment consisted of sustained punches and kicks, blows from batons and burning with
cigarettes, as well as sleep and food deprivation. They were also subjected to
psychological pressure, in that they were told that mobs were surrounding their
houses and threatening to kill their wives and children. One man was told that
his family would be protected only if he signed a confession. The men add that
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