Credible medical evidence of widespread torture in Darfur

(Press-News.org) Allegations of widespread, sustained torture and other human rights violations by the Government of Sudan and Janjaweed forces against non-Arabic-speaking civilians are corroborated in a study published in this week's PLoS Medicine. In the study medical forensic experts reviewed the medical records of patients seen at a clinic in Darfur.

The authors, co-led by Alexander Tsai based at Harvard University and Mohammed Eisa based at Physicians for Human Rights, both in Cambridge, USA, conclude: "The widespread, organized, and sustained pattern of attacks documented in our study indicates that the actions of Janjaweed and [Government of Sudan] forces may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, and/or possibly acts of genocide."

In their study, the researchers analyzed the medical records of 325 patients attending the Amel Center for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (which provided free clinical and legal services to civilians affected by human rights violations) in Nyala, South Darfur, between 2004 and 2006.

According to their medical records, 292 patients from 12 different non-Arabic-speaking tribes alleged that they had been attacked by Government or Janjaweed forces in rural areas across Darfur. Half of them claimed that they had been beaten, two-fifths reported gunshot wounds, and 36 out of the 73 women seen at the center disclosed that they had been sexually assaulted.

The researchers were able to determine whether the documented medical evidence was consistent with the alleged abuses in 198 medical records, and importantly, in all of these cases judged that the medical evidence was consistent with, highly consistent with or virtually diagnostic of the alleged abuses.

The authors say: "our study of non-Arabic-speaking civilian patients who visited the Amel Centre in Nyala, Darfur, between 2004 and 2006 found that in all of the medical records that contained sufficient detail, the recorded medical evidence was considered at least consistent with the alleged incidents of torture and other human rights violations. There were no cases in which the reports of medical examinations were considered not consistent with, or unrelated to, the recorded allegations."

They continue: "These data substantially enhance the credibility of the patients' claims of abuse. Importantly, however, the medical records provided the forensic reviewers with no data that could be used to corroborate either claims of assailant identities or claims of genocidal intent."

###Funding: This study was funded by Physicians for Human Rights with support from the Open Society Institute/Eastern Africa and the Sudan Aid Fund of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts. ACT received salary support through the Robert Wood Johnson Health & Society Scholars Program. MAE received salary support through Physicians for Human Rights, the Open Society Institute/Eastern Africa, the Sudan Aid Fund of the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, the Scholar Rescue Fund of the Institute for International Education, and the Robert F. Kennedy Center for Justice and Human Rights, as well as in-kind support from the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative. No funding bodies had any role in the study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Competing Interests: Six of the study authors are currently affiliated with organizations that advocate for the prevention of mass atrocities, protection of internationally guaranteed rights, and/or prosecution of those who violate human rights: the Amel Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation of Victims of Torture (MAE), Physicians for Human Rights (MAE, SC, SS, MH, VI), the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative (MAE), the Francois-Xavier Bagnoud Center for Health and Human Rights at the Harvard School of Public Health (JL), and the Human Rights Center at the University of California at Berkeley (VI). From 2004 to 2009, one of the study authors (MAE) served as medical director of the clinic from which the data were obtained. All authors have declared that no financial conflicts of interest exist.

Citation: Tsai AC, Eisa MA, Crosby SS, Sirkin S, Heisler M, et al. (2012) Medical Evidence of Human Rights Violations against Non-Arabic-Speaking Civilians in Darfur: A Cross-Sectional Study. PLoS Med 9(4): e1001198. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1001198

CONTACT: Alex Tsai
Robert Wood Johnson Health and Society Scholars Program
Harvard University
Cambridge, Massachusetts
United States of America
atsai@hsph.harvard.edu