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$Unique_ID{bob00398}
$Pretitle{}
$Title{Kuwait
Appendix C. Extracts From Medical Reports}
$Subtitle{}
$Author{Amnesty International}
$Affiliation{Amnesty International}
$Subject{left
injuries
wound
photograph
right
medical
side
scars
arm
either}
$Date{1990}
$Log{}
Title: Kuwait
Book: Iraq/Occupied Kuwait Human Rights Violations Since 2 August
Author: Amnesty International
Affiliation: Amnesty International
Date: 1990
Appendix C. Extracts From Medical Reports
The information below relates to Photographs 1 to 9 in Appendix D. It
consists of extracts from a) a medical report from a British doctor with
experience in the examination of victims of torture and, b) the written
medical opinion of a prominent British forensic pathologist.
PHOTOGRAPHS 1, 2 AND 3
These are photographs of the bodies of three unidentified persons. The
bodies were found in the streets of Kuwait City and brought to the
headquarters of the Red Crescent in the period late August/early September.
Amnesty International interviewed the doctor who took these photographs. He
stated that the victims had been tortured (beaten and burned) prior to their
execution. There was no autopsy examination. The following is the medical
opinion of the British forensic pathologist:
Photograph 1
There is clearly a lot of blood soaking the body which has most likely
arisen from either a wound to the head, neck or chest. A striking feature of
the photograph is the dark staining of the hands which may represent oil (or
a similar substance) or alternatively burns.
Photograph 3
This is a view of the top of the head together with the forehead. There
is an obvious gaping wound which extends from the left side of the forehead,
just in front of the hairline, backwards towards the top of the head. The
scalp is torn open in the front half of the wound and beneath it can be seen
white skull. The back half of the wound shows loss of scalp and skull and
there is brain tissue hanging out. Over the forehead at the front end of the
wound it has an arc shape and from this the main wound which is linear passes
backwards. I interpret this as most likely a tangential gunshot wound which
has barely penetrated the skull. The arc shape at the front of the wound is
likely to be the entry and, running backwards from this, the bullet has merely
penetrated the scalp; then in the most posterior part of the wound it has also
penetrated the skull and torn the brain. It is not possible to say what the
range of fire was other than that it was either a contact wound or fired from
a range of greater than 1m. There are clearly some marks to the face but it
is impossible to say whether these are injuries or dried blood stains.
PHOTOGRAPHS 4 TO 7
These show the traces of torture still apparent on the bodies of three
Kuwaiti men [identities withheld] who fled to Saudi Arabia in late September.
No medical report has been provided. The following is the medical opinion of
the British forensic pathologist:
Photograph 4
The man in this photograph shows prominent bruising to the right side of
the forehead and the right eye which might either represent a fall or a blow.
The most significant injuries from the point of view of interpretation are
those to the right upper arm and adjacent right chest. These comprise at least
three and possibly four loop shaped injuries made up of two parallel lines
(similar to curving railway lines in appearance). This is a forensic classic
and is produced by blows from a rope or electrical flex or similar object
which has been doubled up to form a loop. There is no doubt therefore that
this man has been assaulted. It is significant that the three or four blows
are very localised to the outside of the right shoulder since this implies
that he was not moving in an attempt to escape the blows at the time they were
struck. This might imply that he was unconscious or semi-conscious as a
result of his head injury or alternatively that he was in some way physically
restrained or that he was psychologically restrained by fear. The injuries
appear fresh and are likely to be only a few days old.
Photograph 5
This appears to be the back of the same man as in photograph 4. There are
irregular purple bruises over the left shoulderblade area. These are blunt
force injuries produced either as a result of a fall or one or more blows.
Photograph 6
This man has extensive healing injuries to the face particularly
involving the right side of the forehead and right cheek together with the
right upper eyelid and the bridge of the nose. There appear to be some minor
scabs over the left cheek. There are surgical sutures in the wounds and this
together with the general appearance suggests that the injuries are less than
two weeks old at the time of photography. Healing injuries are difficult to
interpret but the appearances suggest a series of lacerations ie tears to the
skin produced as a result of blunt force. In practice this means that of
either a fall or blow. The pattern of injuries would be consistent with either
a very heavy fall onto the nose and right side of the face or alternatively a
series of blows with a blunt object, for example a baton or a riflebutt.
Photograph 7
This elderly man shows some small irregular scabbed injuries to the
inside of his right elbow. One of these appears to have prominent puckering
of the skin around the margin which is common in the healing of skin injuries
where there has been a loss of surface tissue. The original injuries are
likely to have been abrasions or lacerations, ie. scrapes or tears of the skin
produced by blunt force trauma, ie. either through a fall or a blow. This
would be an unusual location for an injury produced in a fall although the
possibility cannot be discounted.
PHOTOGRAPH 8
This shows traces of torture on the arm of a 22-year-old Kuwaiti student
whose testimony appears in Appendix A4 of this document. The victim was
examined by a British doctor on 9 November, and the following are extracts
from his medical report:
ON EXAMINATION
There are nine 1cm circular scars, recently healed, arranged in a cluster
on the outer aspect of the left upper arm. There is a single similar one on
the adjacent area of the left chest.
There are two tiny, recently healed scars on the outer aspect of the
left arm and a single one on the right arm.
There is a recent 2cm transverse linear scar on the front of the left
thigh and a similar 1cm scar close by.
COMMENTS
He states that the nine circular scars on the left arm and the single
one on the chest were caused deliberately by cigarettes.
He attributes the tiny recent scars on both arms to scratches inflicted
during interrogation, the scabs of which have only recently finally separated.
He states that the recent linear scars on the left thigh were inflicted
deliberately with a razor blade.
OPINION
The circular scars on the left arm and chest are characteristic of
cigarette burns. Their appearance is of injuries which have healed only a few
weeks ago. Their distribution in a symmetrical cluster-pattern could only have
been deliberate. I have no hesitation in asserting that they were inflicted
deliberately by cigarettes within the past three months.
The tiny scars on both arms are compatible with scratch-marks which have
recently healed. Their appearance fits his story. The two linear scars on the
left thigh are clearly recent and would fit in with his statement that they
were caused by a razor blade.
PHOTOGRAPH 9
This shows the facial view of a 28-year-old Kuwaiti man [identity
withheld], the victim of an attempted extrajudicial killing interviewed by
Amnesty International. According to his testimony, Iraqi soldiers shot him on
24 August as he had just finished distributing food from the local cooperative
society to peoples' homes. He stated that soldiers started firing at him as
soon as they saw him, and he ran away. One of the bullets penetrated his neck,
exiting at the mouth. He suffered serious damage to the jaw and was fortunate
to survive. He was admitted to Mubarak Hospital for preliminary treatment, and
subsequently underwent surgery at a hospital in Saudi Arabia. The following
are extracts from the written medical opinion of the British forensic
pathologists, based on three photographs provided by Amnesty International:
"There is a circular scar on the back of the neck on the left side consistent
with the description given as a bullet wound inflicted one and a half months
previously. It is impossible to say with certainty that it is a bullet wound
but if it is then it is likely an entry wound. A wound in this site would not
necessarily strike the spinal column and, depending upon direction of the
wound track, not necessarily be lethal... The obvious lesion is to the left
lower face where their is a healing injury with loss of the left half of the
lower lip and a large scarred area involving the left side of the chin. A part
of this scarred area shows the absence of a beard. There is also a scar
passing in an arc shape from the lateral margin of the left nostril around the
left cheek to the point of the chin on the left side... [This] apparently
shows small dots along its margin which likely represent surgical suture marks
suggesting that whatever the underlying condition this man has had surgical
treatment. It is not possible to state conclusively that this damage to the
lower face was the result of trauma rather than natural disease. However taken
together [with the other photographs examined, the injuries shown in this
photograph] would be consistent with a gunshot entry to the back of the neck
on the left side with an exit through the left side of the face and resultant
disruption of the face probably including the jaw, which was then repaired
surgically."
The organization subsequently received his medical records, which
confirmed the nature of his injuries.