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daughter might suddenly not return from school.
She has had to work very hard to raise her daughter, as it is not very easy to
be both mother and father. This has led her to share less time with her and
has made her unable to attend all her school activities.
At school her daughter is very studious, very intelligent, but to avoid making
her family suffer she keeps things to herself, her grief and her feelings,
because she sees that her family is suffering. For example, last year she had
a health problem that seemed to be a dermatological problem, but that
ultimately turned out to be due to tension. Therefore she has been attending
sessions with a psychiatrist, but this therapy has not yet ended, as she still
needs professional help.
*
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h.
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Expert opinion of Inge Genefke, a neurologist and an expert in
treatment and prevention of torture
She has worked in rehabilitation of torture victims in the framework of the
United Nations and of the Council of Europe. She is the founder of
organizations that work on this topic.
The international definition of torture, according to Article 1 of the United
Nations Convention against Torture, describes important aspects to establish
whether certain acts can be considered torture, i.e.: there must be severe
physical or mental suffering or damage, inflicted intentionally; there must be
a motivation and it must be committed by persons linked to power, such as
officers or policemen.
In the instant case she had access to a video on what happened, in addition
to various written sources and conversations with the next of kin of the
alleged victims. By this means, she observed how the minors were trampled,
hooded, taken by the hair and then put and locked into a car. Later, they
were beaten and subsequently murdered. The minors suffered both physically
and psychologically and there was a purpose behind it. The facts of the case
fulfill the criteria regarding torture, according to the aforementioned
international standards.
The concept of a “secondary victim” refers to the closest members of the
family who, after the torture episode, suffer and in fact have secondary
consequences.
In this case, the family has suffered. The way they were shown the bodies,
with no prior preparation, was a traumatic shock. Even today they are under
the effects of that suffering. In this sense, the next of kin of the alleged
victims may be called “secondary victims.” The authorities persecuted the
family instead of helping them.
The younger brother of the alleged victims, Miguel, was a completely healthy
child. He suffered a severe psychological disturbance and had difficulties with
everything: he could not sleep, he cried, he had to stay alone at home
without having friends, he had a “horrible” life. Furthermore, none of the next