Interview with Rafiq al Hami

TunisiaLive.net
December 24, 2011

Torture was mainly conducted in four methods. I was tortured religiously, physically, psychologically, and sexually. [Interviewer question] Religiously -- I was prohibited from praying and fasting during Ramadhan. They made us wear shorts. You cannot pray wearing shorts. They violated the Quran, throwing it on the floor or in the toilet. I refused to keep a Quran with me, but they insisted, so they could violate it. Physically -- I was beaten many times. Whether in Afghanistan or elsewhere. Psychological torture was mixed with physical torture. This took the form of sleep deprivation. They made us stand up for days, even weeks. Sometimes we rest for fifteen or twenty minutes. Psychologically -- I spent five years in solitary confinement.  [Comment/question by interviewer]. I was exposed to very bright light for twenty four hours a day that hurt my eyes. They also released attack dogs into our cells. At times they put us in extremly cold areas, and other times in extreemly hot ones. There was no gradual adjustment of the temperature between hot and cold cells. This caused us suffering. The most intense psychological torture was the fact that five detainees died as a result of these methods. Three of them died at once and the other two died later. This deeply affected us as prisoners.