Araz News: As the world commemorated the International Day Against Torture on June 26, the Azerbaijan National Resistance Organization’s (ANRO) publishing arm released a booklet entitled “White Torture: Trick Interrogation – How to Fight It.” The ANRO distributed the booklet in various cities throughout South Azerbaijan, but primarily in Urmia and Tabriz.

The Persian-language publication contains 15 pages of information on how to deal with torture and the various interrogation tricks employed by the Islamic Republic’s prison system.

It attests to the sad fate of young Azerbaijani activists who were happy to see that such a booklet was released at a time when detentions and resultant torture continue to increase against South Azerbaijanis in Iran.

In a recent interview with CNN, former jailed Iranian dissident described his own personal experiences with white tortures, a means of psychological torture that includes isolation and sensory deprivation, in order to alienate the victim from himself and break him/her down. “The beatings, the broken bones, the squalid conditions, it was nothing compared to the pain that he suffered under white torture in an Iranian jail,” he said.

“We didn’t see any color, all of the cell was white, the floor was white, our clothes were white and also the light, 24 hours, was white. Our food, also, was white rice,” explains Fakhravar, now 25. “We couldn’t see any color and we couldn’t hear any voices.”

Amnesty International first documented Fakhravar’s case in 2004, saying such conditions of extreme sensory deprivation appear to be designed to weaken political prisoners.

White torture is often reserved for journalists and peaceful activists in Iran, who have not committed a serious physical crime. Journalists often released from prison with a range of psychological issues with the hope they desist from their political activities.

Many young Azerbaijanis have fallen victim to these brutal tactics. The ANRO hopes that its new booklet will at least allow young advocates and journalists to buffer some of the mental damage.

You can find a link to the full document at: Download link “White Torture: Trick Interrogation – How to Fight It” is published by the Publishing Committee  of Azerbaijan National Resistance Organization.