Aiding asylum: documenting torture of asylumseekers in New Zealand The appellant in the case was seeking asylum in New Zealand after fleeing from Mexico. He had been a human rights and indigenous rights activist in Chiapas and was affiliated with the Zapatistas movement. At one point during a protest, he was arrested and tortured by the Mexican police. During the torture, he was severely beaten and lost a lot of blood. The police later drove him to a forested area, threatened him and left him. A complaint with the National Human Rights Commission was “futile”, he was told. After he returned to Veracruz to continue work with indigenous communities, the appellate was again arrested and detained after a police raid on a local community. During the detention, he was again tortured by being beaten, struck with a cattle prod and raped. After a final incident in Mexico City, the appellate decided to flee Mexico. He was able to come to New Zealand on a temporary work permit and later filed for asylum. During his immigration hearing, the tribunal in charge of hearing his case found that his “psychiatric condition, coupled with the lack of formal education, led to considerable confusion and perversity in the presentation of his evidence”. Because of the experience of torture and the resulting psychiatric condition, the tribunal had found his narrative and testimony problematic, disjointed and simply confusing. However, that ultimately did not matter in the face of overwhelming evidence provided through the medico-legal report conducted by Thomas Wenzel, Professor of Psychiatry at the Medical University of Vienna, Austria, and Sebnem Korur Fincanci, Professor of Forensic Medicine at Istanbul University. The two forensic experts were in New Zealand on behalf of the IRCT to provide training in New Zealand, but, in addition, conducted several forensic examinations in cases of alleged torture. The tribunal recognised him as a refugee, writing: “The appellant has been fortunate that he has had the services of two world class professors in the preparation of a forensic evaluation report. The standard of this report is excellent. It has assisted in explaining to the Tribunal many of the problems in the presentation of his evidence. As noted, the report by Wenzel and Fincanci sets out his physical and mental situation and his recollection of key events, particularly as they related to his detention and torture. The diagnostic summary found that his symptoms were highly consistent with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and recurrent depressive episodes. The discussion on his mental health reached findings that showed consistency with memory impairment and highly increased PTSD during interviews relating to torture, together with disorientation.” I have wonderful news for you. This client was successful on his appeal and is recognised as a refugee. In the decision there is particular reference to the report you provided and how it was instrumental in clarifying very real issues about the evidenced provided … Thank you for all your work. Your visit to this country helped change a man’s life forever. — Carole Curtis, Bird & Curtis, on the New Zealand asylum case Getting the evidence: Countering torture through medico-legal documentation 13