Assad's 31 forms of torture

From this Amnesty International report.

 Beatings on all parts of the body, involving punching, slapping and/or kicking,
administered with fists, feet, sticks, truncheons, braided cables, whips or butts of
Kalashnikov-type weapons
 Hair being pulled or pulled out
 Cigarettes stubbed out on the body
 Flesh gouged by pincers
 Dulab (tyre), whereby the victim is forced into a vehicle tyre which is often then hoisted
up and the individual is beaten
 Falaqa, beating on the soles of the feet
 Bisat al-rih (flying carpet), whereby the victim is strapped face-up onto a foldable
wooden board, the two ends of which are moved towards each other causing significant pain
to the lower back; during the process, the victim is beaten17
 Shabeh whereby the victim is hung by manacled wrists, or from a hook or over a door, or
occasionally by the feet, often for long periods and usually beaten; sometimes in a stress
position where the detainee must keep his toes on the floor
 Crucifixion – another form of suspension torture where the victim is tied to a wall or
frame with the arms outstretched in a crucifixion position
 Stress positions, such as being forced to stand for hours on tip-toe
 Exposure to excessive cold, such as being kept outside often only in underwear overnight
or for other long periods
 Being subjected to sexual violence
 Being forced to watch the rape of another detainee
 Being subjected to sights and sounds of torture being inflicted on others, including of
friends and family members, and being exposed to killings of torture victims
 Electric shocks to parts of the body via an electric prod or other hand instrument
 Electric shocks via an electric charge applied to a wet floor
 Electric chair: a metal chair with a kind of metal helmet into which the victim is
strapped and then an electric current is switched on
 “German chair” (al-kursi al-almani): the victim is strapped into a metal chair, the back
of which is moved backwards, causing acute stress on the spine and severe pressure on the
neck and limbs
 Threatening the victim with rape
 Threatening the victim that their relatives will be detained, raped or otherwise tortured
 Threat of execution
 Denigrating the victim’s religious beliefs
 Degrading the victim by using obscene language or insults or forcing them to undress in
front of others
 Being stabbed or cut
 Having unpleasant matter, such as salt, forced into the mouth
 Being denied adequate medical care
 Depriving the victim of fresh air, toilet or washing facilities
 Being detained in excessively cramped and overcrowded conditions
 Being held in prolonged solitary confinement
 Sharing the cell with a detainee dying – and who then dies – due to denial of medical
treatment
 Sharing a solitary confinement cell with what seemed to be a human corpse.