Esposito Massimiliano, Salerno Monica, Chisari Mario Giuseppe, Sessa Francesco, Rapisarda Venerando, Pomara Cristoforo
Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, "Kore" University of Enna, Enna 94100, Italy.
Department of Medical, Surgical and Advanced Technologies "G.F. Ingrassia", University of Catania, Catania 95121, Italy.
Forensic Sci Int. 2024 Dec;365:112288. doi: 10.1016/j.forsciint.2024.112288. Epub 2024 Nov 4.
The phenomenon of migration is an international issue that mainly concerns Europe. In Italy, because of its close proximity to Africa, there are many migrant landings, especially on the islands of Lampedusa and Sicily. Migrants and asylum seekers suffer torture on their journey to their destination country, however, most of the time the signs are not always recognizable. In the present study, a scene investigation was carried out in a reception center for level II immigrants in Sicily, in order to evaluate the hygiene conditions of the migrants and asylum seekers inside this center. Subsequently 26 migrants and asylum seekers, all minors and males, were examined in a clinic of the Department of Forensic Medicine of the University of Catania, with the help of a native speaker interpreter and applying the Istanbul Protocol. The scene investigation demonstrated the poor clinical conditions of the reception center and the failure to comply with emergency regulations. The physical examination of the migrants and asylum seekers demonstrated that all the torture reported had taken place in Libya. However, only 4 migrants and asylum seekers showed signs of violence consistent with torture, compatible with the Istanbul Protocol. Nine migrants and asylum seekers (34.6 %) reported having pathologies and asked to undergo a medical examination in a hospital but were not listened to by the reception center staff. Two migrants and asylum seekers reported having worn the same clothes for several weeks to the reception center staff. In particular, all the migrants and asylum seekers reported having suffered torture using blunt instruments, especially beatings with truncheons. One migrant and asylum seeker reported being detained for days without food, instead 1 migrants and asylum seekers reported being kidnapped-blindfolded-stripped naked for days, and 1 migrants and asylum seekers reported having contracted infections, including scabies, with electrical and thermal trauma. Despite the international commitment to the phenomenon of migration, migrants and asylum seekers continue to receive abuse and torture. Furthermore, most migrants and asylum seekers studies primarily involve surveys, and few have applied the Istanbul Protocol to a sizable sample. An original aim of the study is the use of forensic tools to assess the sanitary and hygienic conditions of a migrant reception center, with the secondary aim of assessing alleged cases of torture.
移民现象是一个主要涉及欧洲的国际问题。在意大利，由于其与非洲地理位置相近，有许多移民登陆，尤其是在兰佩杜萨岛和西西里岛。移民和寻求庇护者在前往目的国的途中遭受酷刑，然而，大多数时候这些迹象并不总是能被识别出来。在本研究中，对西西里岛一个二级移民接待中心进行了现场调查，以评估该中心内移民和寻求庇护者的卫生状况。随后，在卡塔尼亚大学法医学系的一家诊所里，在一名以英语为母语的口译员的帮助下，对26名移民和寻求庇护者（均为未成年男性）进行了检查，并适用了《伊斯坦布尔议定书》。现场调查表明该接待中心临床条件差且未遵守应急规定。对移民和寻求庇护者的体格检查表明，所有报告的酷刑均发生在利比亚。然而，只有4名移民和寻求庇护者表现出与酷刑相符的暴力迹象，符合《伊斯坦布尔议定书》。9名移民和寻求庇护者（34.6%）报告有疾病，并要求在医院接受体检，但接待中心工作人员未予以理会。两名移民和寻求庇护者向接待中心工作人员报告说他们几周都穿着同样的衣服。特别是，所有移民和寻求庇护者都报告说遭受了使用钝器的酷刑，尤其是被警棍殴打。一名移民和寻求庇护者报告说被禁食数天，相反，一名移民和寻求庇护者报告说被蒙住眼睛、脱光衣服绑架了数天，一名移民和寻求庇护者报告说感染了包括疥疮在内的疾病，还有电伤和热伤。尽管国际社会对移民现象有所关注，但移民和寻求庇护者仍继续遭受虐待和酷刑。此外，大多数关于移民和寻求庇护者的研究主要涉及调查，很少有研究将《伊斯坦布尔议定书》应用于大量样本。本研究的一个初衷是使用法医工具评估移民接待中心的卫生状况，其次要目的是评估所称的酷刑案件。
