Tortures alleged by migrants in Italy: compatibility and other medicolegal challenges (original) (raw)
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The medico-legal assessment of asylum seeker victims in Italy
Torture Journal
Introduction: Changing patterns of migration hasrequired states andgovernments to respond to the specific medical and legal needs of asylum seekers. Based on medical assessments undertaken at the University Institute of Legal Medicine, the present study aims to describe the cases of asylum applicants who have suffered from physical violence, including torture, and the variables involved. Methods: Over a 10-year period, 225 survivors were examined by clinical forensic professionals from the University Institute of Legal Medicine. Results:85% of asylum applicants came from Africa, 87% were male, and the most common age group was 26-40 years old. 46% of applicants fled their country for political reasons. Blunt force injuries were reported in 45% of cases, the trunk was the most affected area of the body (40%), and applicants presented with an average of two different mechanisms of lesions and an average of four lesions each. Discussion/conclusion:Assessment of physical violence on asy...
Dialogues in Philosophy, Mental and Neuro Sciences, 2021
At international level, in 2021, UNHCR estimated 84 million forced migrants. In Italy too, there was an increased number of people fl eeing persecution due to racial, religious, nationality, belonging to social or political groups, who bring along physical and / or mental health problems due to torture or violence faced. Despite this, it emerges that knowledge of the eff ects and impact of torture on the migrants' mental and physical health, and their daily life is still not widespread within the assistance services. In this article, it is described the psychosocial services of the Crossing Dialogues Association. It was planned following the results of a mapping research on the mental health needs of asylum seekers and refugees in Rome, from which emerged relevant diffi culties in accessing specialized mental health care services. The following four Crossing Dialogues facilities are described: 1) The psycho-anthropological assessment service, designed to support asylum seekers when they are interviewed by the members of the territorial commission for asylum requests (TC). 2) The psychological support service, which implemented a three-phase approach by integrating diff erent techniques for processing traumatic memories. The complexity of the symptoms make it necessary to strengthen the network with public service psychiatrists for the realization of integrated projects. 3) The geopolitical consulting service, supporting both mental health services and the TC through specifi c certifi cations focused on the socio-cultural context of origins and on local access to care. 4) The cognitive and psychodiagnostics assessment service, evaluating not only psychopathological symptoms but also neurocognitive ones, like problems concerning memory, reasoning and planning dimensions.
International Journal of Legal Medicine, 2018
In the present-day situation, the clinical forensic documentation of an asylum seeker's narrative and his or her examination, together with the physical and psychological findings, may have very important effects on the outcome of the request for political asylum. Since 2012, the Municipality of Milan, the University Institute of Legal Medicine, and other institutions have assembled a team with the task of examining vulnerable asylum seekers and preparing a medical report for the Territorial Commission for International Protection (Prefecture, Ministry of Interiors), who will assess the application. We compared medico-legal reports and outcomes of 57 cases which were evaluated by the Commission after having undergone a medico-legal evaluation through the Istanbul Protocol criteria and examined, in particular, which medico-legal variables seem associated to the outcome. The results show that forensic assessment seems to have a significant and interesting correlation with the final assessment given by the Commission. For example, the higher the level of consistency, according to the Istanbul Protocol, the more frequently protection is granted. These data show how important clinical forensic medicine can be in such scenarios and how the presence of clinical forensic experts should be encouraged in such evaluations, as has been recently enshrined in Italy in the guidelines of a Ministerial Decree of April 3rd, 2017 for the assistance and the rehabilitation as well as the treatment of psychiatric disorders in refugees and asylum seekers who have undergone torture, rape, and other severe forms of psychological, physical, or sexual violence.
Torture Journal
Background: Access and linkage to care for migrant torture survivors is contingent on their identification and appropriate referral. However, appropriate tools for identification of survivors are not readily available, and the (staff of) reception systems of host countries may not always be equipped for this task. This study explores practices in the identification and case management of torture survivors in the reception structures and in the public health sector in Rome, Italy. Method: Data were analysed manually and codes and themes generated. Results: A non-homogeneous level of awareness and experience with torture survivors was observed, together with a general lack of knowledge on national and internal procedures for correct identification of torture survivors. Identification and case management of torture survivors was mainly carried out by non-trained staff. Participants expressed the need for training to gain experience in the identification and management of torture surviv...
Torture, 2021
Introduction: The number of people being forcefully displaced is increasing and militarized border enforcement efforts have made migration a dangerous endeavour. The European Union is externalizing its borders, but migrants and refugees have not ceased arriving in Western societies despite facing violence and torture both throughout their journey, and at the gates of Europe. Method: 54 participants were assessed, 51 males and 3 females, 26 were self-declared economic migrants and 28 stated that they fled due to political or religious persecution. The Iraqi version of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire (HTQ) was adapted to collect traumatic and torture stressors experienced by the migrants/refugees during their stay in Western Bosnia, and more specifically during their detention and refoulement (push-backs) when attempting to cross the border between Bosnia-Herzegovina and Croatia. Results: 98.14% reported experiencing multiple forms of torture, 81.5% reported having their property looted, and 70.4% stated that they had been physically harmed during migratory transit. 50% of participants fulfilled the criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the cumulative effect of traumatic experiences. Differences were found only in the amount of traumatic experiences between economic migrants and refugees who fled for political or religious reasons. No differences were found in torture experiences and PTSD diagnosis. Conclusions: Violence perpetrated by security forces against migrants is crystallized at the border-zones. Migrants are held in conditions that would amount by themselves to torture. Traumatic experiences have an effect on migrants/refugees' mental health and can trigger the development of post-traumatic stress disorder. Guaranteeing human rights for migrants/refugees throughout their journey is needed.
2023
The aim of this essay is to focus on a present and important problem, i.e., the rejecting of people coming from Libya together with the closing of harbours for migrants and the criminalisation and obstruction towards the NGOs that are engaged in saving human beings in the Mediterranean Sea. The text argues how such attitudes are crimes against humanity, comparable to the infringement of prohibition of torture and of inhuman or degrading treatments. Responsibility certainly lies with who personally practise torture, but the European States governments and the European Union Institutions cannot actually disclaim liability. Keywords Torture. Borders. Crimes against humanity. Readmission agreements. Principle of non-refoulement. Summary 1 Border Control as the Grundnorm of Immigration Policies.-2 Readmission Agreements as an Icon of Border Externalisation.-3 Returns, Relocation of Controls and Closure of Ports. Violation of the Principle of Non-Refoulement and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment.-4 Conclusions. State Torture?
Patterns of torture among forcibly displaced Eritrean men in California: A cross-sectional study
Torture : quarterly journal on rehabilitation of torture victims and prevention of torture, 2021
INTRODUCTION This study was conducted to address a lack of information in the literature regarding the frequency and consequences of specific types of torture and abuse among Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States. METHODS Cross-sectional study of Eritreans seeking asylum in the United States presenting to a human rights clinic for forensic medical and psychological evaluations based on Istanbul Protocol. Reports were eligible for inclusion if subjects: 1) immigrated from Eritrea 2) reported torture and abuse in Eritrea, 3) were 18 or older. 59 reports met inclusion criteria. Demographic features of individuals, reported history and specific types of torture, and physical and psychological sequelae were analyzed. RESULTS Over 300 instances of torture were reported, an average of about 6 per person. The primary forms of torture reported were beating (87.7%) and forced positioning (57.9%). 90% of asylum seekers examined had physical findings which were consistent with the tortu...
Vulnerable to the System: Migration and Torture in Spain
Sapere l’Europa, sapere d’Europa, 2019
Grounded on the results of an ethnographic investigation on asylum seekers as victims of torture in Spain, this chapter analyses the governmental devices that define the reality of migrants as victims of torture. Stemming from a critical review of the concept of torture, in relation to migration in contemporary European societies, the chapter puts forward the double vulnerability to which migrants are exposed, as unprotected victims of torture in their countries of origin and as potential victims of torture on arrival to Europe. The paper argues that the precarious legal status and the failure of systems victim protection, combined with meritocratic approaches to migrant incorporation, not only fail to ensure full protection of victims of torture but, moreover, it exposes these victims to further situations of violence and exclusion.
Migration and Torture in Today's World edited by Fabio Perocco
Migration and Torture in Today’s World, 2023
This chapter explores whether and how refugees’ past experiences of torture at home interconnect with extreme violence at borders and impact migration journeys. To do so, it draws upon eight months of ethnographic fieldwork at the Bosnian-Croatian border, which includes sixty-eight interviews. The chapter suggests that racialisation and ‘othering’ of people makes torture a fluid practice that migrates across globalised borders, despite their institutional format remaining unchanged. By shedding light on complex relational patterns of torture in migration, the text contributes to the literature on torture, racial studies and critical migration and border studies.