Strappado
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2008-06-11T08:26:12Z
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'''Strappado''' is a form of [[torture]] in which a victim is suspended in the air by means of a rope attached to his hands which are tied behind his back, in which the arms are most likely dislocated. Weights may be added to the body. Other names for strappado include "reverse hanging" and "Palestinian hanging". It is best known for its use in the [[Medieval Inquisition]], but the practice continues in the modern era.<ref>[http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/freedom_security/aksoy_turkey.html ''Aksoy v. Turkey''], no. 100/1995/606/694, [[December 18]], [[1996]], from the [http://www.hrcr.org/ Human & Constitutional Rights Resource Page]<br />European Commission on Human Rights, [http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/Hof.nsf/233813e697620022c1256864005232b7/d6ff575974b1f791c1256640004c3277?OpenDocument ''Aksoy v. Turkey''], Publication 1996-VI, no. 26, [[December 18]], [[1996]], from the [http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/Dochome.nsf?Open Netherlands Institute of Human Rights]</ref><ref>[http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/beginnings/ Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State . Auschwitz 1940-1945 . Surprising Beginnings | PBS<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
[[Image:strappado.jpg|frame|Artwork depicting strappado. Note the hanging weights from the victim's ankles.]]
==Variants==
There are three variants of this torture. In the '''first one''', the victim has his or her arms tied behind his or her back; a large rope is then tied to his or her wrists and passed over a pulley, beam or a hook on the roof. The torturer pulls on this rope until the victim is hanging from his or her arms. Since he or she has the hands tied behind the back, this will cause a very intense pain and possible [[dislocation (medicine)|dislocation]] of the arms. The full weight of the subject's body is then supported by the extended and internally-rotated shoulder sockets. While the technique shows no external injuries, it can cause long-term [[nerve]], [[ligament]], or [[tendon]] damage. The technique typically causes [[brachial plexus]] injury, leading to [[paralysis]] or loss of sensation in the arm.
The '''second variation''' is similar to the first, but a series of drops is added. In addition to the damage caused by the suspension, the fall from the suspended height would cause major stress to the extended and vulnerable arms, leading to broken shoulders. It is believed that [[Niccolò Machiavelli]], during his 1513 imprisonment after allegedly conspiring against the [[Medici]] family in [[Florence]], was subjected to this form of strappado.
In the '''third variant''', the victim's hands are tied to the front. The victim is also hung from the hands, but his or her ankles are tied and a heavy weight is attached to them. This will cause pain and possible damage not only to the arms, but also to the legs and hips. This variant was known as "squassation".
==History==
{{Expand-section|date=June 2008}}
==Modern instances==
The first variant described above (or similar) has been used by the Nazis at the [[Auschwitz concentration camp]]. The television documentary series ''Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi state'' by [[Laurence Rees]] ([[United Kingdom|U.K.]] title: ''Auschwitz: The Nazis and the "Final Solution"'') contains an account of this "hanging torture" by surviving victim Jerzy Bielecki, who was subjected to it on suspicion of being a member of the [[Polish resistance movement in World War II|Polish resistance]]:
<blockquote>He wanted to hang me on the hook. He said, "Stand up on your toes." Finally he hooked me and then he kicked the stool away without any warning. I just felt Jesus Mary, oh my God, the terrible pain. My shoulders were breaking out from the joints. Both arms were breaking out from the joints. I'd been moaning and he just said, "Shut up you dog. You deserve it. You have to suffer."<ref>[http://www.pbs.org/auschwitz/40-45/beginnings/ Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State . Auschwitz 1940-1945 . Surprising Beginnings | PBS<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref></blockquote>
The Nazis' use of this "hanging torture" has been taken as the basis of a statue on display at the Auschwitz visitors' center, which combines representations of a victim and of a part of the camp's barbed-wire fencing to form the shape of a [[swastika]].<ref>See photo [http://www.kettleriverusa.com/pilgrimage_photos/auschwitz.jpg here].</ref>
The technique has also been used by security forces of Turkey. In 1996, the [[European Court of Human Rights]] found Turkey guilty of torture for its use of Palestinian hanging.<ref>[http://www.hrcr.org/safrica/freedom_security/aksoy_turkey.html ''Aksoy v. Turkey''], no. 100/1995/606/694, [[December 18]], [[1996]], from the [http://www.hrcr.org/ Human & Constitutional Rights Resource Page]<br />European Commission on Human Rights, [http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/Hof.nsf/233813e697620022c1256864005232b7/d6ff575974b1f791c1256640004c3277?OpenDocument ''Aksoy v. Turkey''], Publication 1996-VI, no. 26, [[December 18]], [[1996]], from the [http://sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/Dochome.nsf?Open Netherlands Institute of Human Rights]</ref> Turkey has been admonished by [[Amnesty International]] and other international human rights groups concerning the use of the technique.
In November 2003, [[Manadel al-Jamadi]], a prisoner of the U.S., was killed during an interrogation session at [[Abu Ghraib prison]] in [[Iraq]] in which the method was allegedly used on him. (His corpse, wrapped in cellophane and packed in ice, was seen in one of the photographs that broke the [[Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse]] scandal.) The U.S. military has ruled the death a [[homicide]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6988054/|
title=Reports detail Abu Ghraib prison death; was it torture?|publisher=[[Associated Press]]|date=February 17, 2005|}}</ref>
One commentator has written,
<blockquote>The Associated Press quoted an expert who described the position in which Jamadi died as a form of torture known as “Palestinian hanging,” in which a prisoner whose hands are secured behind his back is suspended by his arms. (The technique has allegedly been used [by Israeli soldiers] in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.)<ref>Jane Meyer, [http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/articles/051114fa_fact "A Deadly Interrogation: Can the C.I.A. legally kill a prisoner?"], ''[[The New Yorker]]'', [[November 14]], [[2005]]</ref></blockquote>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
[[Category:Torture]]
[[cs:Estrapáda]]
[[de:Strappado]]
[[es:Garrucha (tortura)]]
[[fr:Estrapade (supplice)]]
[[pl:Wahadło (narzędzie tortur)]]
[[fi:Strappado]]
[[sv:Strappado]]