How do people survive solitary confinement?
"No-one knows that you are there, so you are nothing. You are zero."
For many months, Tabir was kept in solitary confinement in a cell in North Africa, imprisoned for his political views. His room didn't have a bed or a toilet. The sole feature was a small, high window which let a wan light through.
He recalls the countless, long days passing in complete silence. But then after sunset, and stretching through till dawn, he could hear the wailing of fellow prisoners being tortured - a sound that provided some comfort, since it was a confirmation that he was still alive in a world shared with other people.
UN special rapporteur on torture Juan Mendez defines solitary confinement as a regime in which an inmate is kept isolated, seeing only guards, for at least 22 hours a day. He has called for a ban on incarcerating people in these conditions in all but exceptional circumstances, and with a limit of 15 days even then.
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