Waterboarding is one of the most cruel and unbearable types of torture. During the torture, a related person is placed on his back, tilting his head, and then water is poured into the nasal and oral openings. Due to the suffocation of the tortured, an illusion is created that he is drowning.
Attention, it is not recommended to read impressionable people with a weak mentality
When the public became aware of the use of waterboarding by US intelligence during the reign of Bush the Younger, it shocked the whole world and caused a huge public outcry. The administration applied this type of torture not only to terrorists, but also to American citizens suspected of committing crimes. Water torture was also used to gather information on war plans in Afghanistan and Iraq. Secular humanist and writer Christopher Hitchens volunteered for waterboarding in 2008. He left the experiment in a state of shock and fear of what people can do with each other. After that, Hitchens said: “If waterboarding is not torture, then torture does not exist at all in the world.”
Of course, each of us experienced these terrible feelings of suffocation when we were under water for too long. Lack of oxygen in the lungs leads to trembling in the limbs, and anxiety attacks occur in the head. Then the whole body begins to tremble, and after the body uses all the oxygen, a real panic begins. In the end, you feel only one thing - the water that floods the larynx. These are the feelings experienced by people who were tortured by water, and this is really scary. TheBiggest.ru decided to take a closer look at this terrifying, inhuman measure of impact on people, which is used in the modern world. In this article, you will learn 10 facts about waterboarding - a nightmare simulation of human drowning!
1
Water torture
Waterboarding has a rich history that began with the broader concept of water torture. Liquid torture was used both in the ancient and later periods of history. The easiest way was to leave the victim under a trickle of water dripping in one place for a long time. Many were subjected to various forms of forced drowning, or the victims were left to swim, waiting until they were exhausted and submerged. Of course, we repeatedly watched films about the mafia, where the victim was taken by the hair, dipping his head in the toilet, barrel, sink or bathtub, making him choke. At the last moment, the “client” was taken out of the water, demanding the necessary information, if the torturer did not receive an answer, he repeated the process again and again.
Despite the fact that these methods are considered distant "relatives" of waterboarding, if we talk about it as a process of forcing water into the mouth and nasal opening, they can also be attributed to this type of torture. But, there is no doubt that the modern method is much worse, since water constantly fills the head, mouth and nose, creating a continuous feeling of drowning. Waterboarding, as we know it, was first applied in the fourteenth century.
2
Spanish Inquisition
Where else could attempts to search for the first cases of torture with water lead, if not to the Spanish Inquisition. However, the same applies to other types of torture. There are many sources of literature that mention torture by water carried out by Spanish inquisitors in conjunction with thoughtful and well-designed facilities for torture.
The Spaniards tied the tortured to a cunning construction, seeking recognition from him. They tied a piece of fabric over the victim’s mouth, and then watered it with water. Seeping through the material, water fell into the prisoner's mouth, creating the effect of drowning. The jug from which the water poured was specially made for torture. It had such a shape that when the victim spit out water and tried to inhale, the walls of the vessel did not allow the liquid to splash, immediately directing the water back to the tissue. By 1800, this type of torture was deemed unnecessarily cruel, and inappropriate for use by the church, government, or military because of its disgusting and terrifying nature.
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Philippines
Filipinos learned about waterboarding thanks to their conquerors - the island nation was for many years a colony of Spain, after which it passed into the possession of the United States. It was here that Americans first began to use water torture (not counting cases of waterboarding in prisons) in 1902 during the Philippine-American war. This became public thanks to Life magazine, which published footage of the torture suffered by Filipino soldiers.
Even at that time, the torture looked so terrifying that it caused shock and condemnation from the public. Theodore Roosevelt, who served as president of the United States, sent a telegram addressed to the commander of the American army, urging him to stop using waterboarding, calling it unusually brutal reprisal. Lieutenant Grover Clint noted in his notes that during the torture with water, the victim is suffering without a doubt. It feels like an infinitely drowning person.
It is terrible to imagine the feelings of a man who seems to have drowned, but still can not do it. He is stuck in this purgatory for several minutes or even hours. It is reported that one man in Saudi Arabia was tortured with waterboarding for more than two and a half hours!
By the way, the USA and the Philippines are now included in the list of the largest states of the planet.
4
Vietnam
The Philippines did not become the last place in Asia where water torture was used during the war, and also did not become the last place where the US Army did. The Vietnam War took many lives with it, bringing bloodshed and ruin. But she also became known thanks to the use of water torture, with the help of which they received the necessary information from prisoners. On the front page of the Washington Post of January 21, 1968, an image was printed with the caption: "Water torture with imitation of drowning is designed to make the victim speak." The photograph depicted the American military pouring water on the face of a Vietnamese soldier.
The American soldier depicted in the photograph was put under tribunal. People were so struck by the cruel torture that thousands of people rallying against the use of napalm demanded in the same way to torture the guilty military man.
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How does this happen
The standard procedure for torture with water is as follows: a person is placed on an adjustable table, where the head line is 15-20 degrees below the line of legs. This is necessary so that water drains onto the face. The victim is tied with straps or is held by several assistants. As in the days of the Spanish Inquisition, a rag is placed on the face of the "prisoner" so that the water is absorbed and remains on the face.
After this, the liquid is poured onto a rag or immediately into the area of the throat and nose, which speeds up the process. The victim loses oxygen, feeling drowning, and tries to free herself or spit out water. The tissue on the face acts as a kind of one-way valve. It allows you to exhale, but does not give oxygen access for inspiration.
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What does the victim feel
When a person drowns, he remains conscious until the last and loses it only with a critical lack of oxygen. After losing consciousness, he stops fighting and often breathes water.
In the case of water torture, the victim may lose consciousness several times per cycle. Almost all cases of waterboarding lead to loss of consciousness. After the water stops pouring, a person comes to his senses in order to ... torture continued, and imitation of drowning began with renewed vigor. Just imagine how a person feels at that moment.
7
What it looks like
Ramon Navarro was the victim of a Japanese criminal, Chinsaku Yucca, who tortured him with "water torture." At court hearings in 1947, Ramon described his feelings in the process of torture. He stated that this is not painful, however, a person loses consciousness and control, as during drowning.
Sometimes "rapists" try to increase the victim's shock by using ice water to provide a contrast when liquid enters. And the tightening of the arms and legs with straps on the table provides a feeling of hopelessness, since the victim is not able to fight. Nevertheless, they try to escape, straining each muscle, and inflicting a lot of injuries on themselves. That is why many victims describe waterboarding, not only as a terrible, but also a painful procedure.
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Damage to internal organs
In addition to the external injuries that the victim receives in a bound state, she is also at risk of brain damage due to a severe lack of oxygen and lung damage. In fact, water should not get into the lungs, but according to some people, this happened to them. One person reported that he was tortured with water without using a towel - they simply poured water into his nose, covering his mouth with his hands. He could not breathe, resisting the fluid, and it penetrated into the lungs. According to him, this method of torture is even worse than traditional waterboarding.
In some cases, water can be poured into the stomach, which causes terrible pain. Chinsaku Yucca sat on Navarro’s stomach so that the water came out through his mouth and nostrils, after which he poured it again. If you continue this process for too long, then the victim may die, even without moisture in the lungs.
9
Law
The Geneva Conventions were signed by a number of countries to protect both civilians and the military from the horrors of war. These conventions prohibit the many tortures and terrible things practiced by militants prior to their conclusion. Thanks to the agreements, such a thing as “war crime” appeared. In accordance with the 1929 Geneva Convention, and later in the new 1949 Convention, waterboarding was outlawed. Those who use this type of torture received the status of war criminals.
The story of water torture has experienced ups and downs. Often, becoming public, waterboarding provoked indignation and censure, asserting itself in the status of one of the most terrible methods of torture, which simply can not be used by people.
10
Unlawful cases of torture by water
Despite the ban, some people who feel above the law are using water torture with might and main even in our time. There are cases when waterboarding "helped" the military and police to gain recognition. So, in August 2018, two cadets of the Royal Military Police of Great Britain tortured a man.
The current president of the United States, Donald Trump, has proposed to return the practice of torture to combat terrorism, in particular, talking about waterboarding. And this, despite the scandal surrounding the Bush administration, which did not shy away from torture with water, both domestically and abroad.
Summing up, it is worth noting that, despite the numerous achievements in science, literature and other industries, some people do such terrible things (waterboarding is one of them) that make them doubt their development and civilization.
Article Author: gunner1886