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Torture of a Norwegian ship's crew
Author(s) -
Weisæth Lars
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
acta psychiatrica scandinavica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.849
H-Index - 146
eISSN - 1600-0447
pISSN - 0001-690X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1600-0447.1989.tb05255.x
Subject(s) - crew , torture , traumatic stress , psychiatry , acute stress disorder , psychology , anxiety , depression (economics) , mental state , norwegian , medicine , clinical psychology , law , aeronautics , political science , economics , engineering , human rights , macroeconomics , linguistics , philosophy
During the summer of 1984, 14 seamen, the entire crew of a Norwegian ship, were seized upon arrival in Libya. They were kept under arrest for 67 days and subjected to psychological and physical torture because they were suspected of being enemies of the Libyan state. Within the first few days of imprisonment one seaman had been murdered, another had been abducted and was believed to be dead, and a third had been severely physically maltreated. The immediate reactions to the extreme stress were fear, depression and rage. Not a single seaman gave in to the torture. Shortly after their release, all the seamen underwent thorough medical examinations. Six of them suffered from clear‐cut post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one more seaman developed the disorder two months later. In spite of comprehensive treatment, the same seven sailors, or 54% of the crew, still suffered from post‐traumatic stress disorder six months after their release. Used in conjunction with clinical interview, general mental status rating scales (GHQ 20, STAI, State Anxiety Inventory), and specific post‐traumatic rating scales (Amnesty Score, IES intrusion subscale, PTSS‐10) had a high sensitivity and specificity in discriminating between cases and non‐cases.