Kneecapping
Kneecappingis a form of malicious wounding, often astorture,in which the victim is injured in theknee.The injury is typically inflicted by a low-velocitygunshotto theknee pitwith ahandgun.The term is considered a misnomer by medical professionals because only a very small minority of victims suffer damage to thekneecap.A review of eighty kneecapping victims found that only two had a fractured kneecap. Some victims have theirelbowsandanklesshot as well.[1]
Treatment
[edit]The severity of the injury can vary from simplesoft tissuedamage to a knee joint fracture withneurovasculardamage. The latter requires several weeks in hospital and intensiveoutpatientphysiotherapyfor recovery.[1]If the damage is too great,amputationmay be necessary,[2]but this rarely occurs. InNorthern Irelandthirteen people had their legs amputated as a consequence of limb punishment shootings over the duration ofthe Troubles.[3]In the long term it is estimated that one out of five victims will walk with alimpfor the rest of their lives.[4]
History
[edit]During the Troubles in Northern Ireland,paramilitariesconsidered themselves to be law enforcers in their own areas. They used limb shootings to 'punish' alleged drug pushers and childmolesters.If the crime was considered to be grave, the victim was also shot in the ankles and elbows, leaving them with six gunshot wounds (colloquially known as a six pack).[5]Approximately 2,500 people were victims of these paramilitary attacks, known as 'punishment shootings' at the time, through the duration of the conflict. Those who were attacked often facedsocial stigma.[6]
TheRed Brigades,an Italian militant organization, employed limb shootings (gambizzazioni) to warn their opponents. They used the method to punish at least 75 people up to December 1978.[7][8]
TheBangladesh Policehave started kneecapping in the country since 2009 to punish the opposition and prevent them from participating in protests against the government.Human Rights Watch(HRW) has published a report on kneecapping inBangladesh.[9]
During theIsraeli–Palestinian conflict,Israel Defense Forceshave been accused of systematically kneecapping over 100 Palestinians in theGaza Stripand theWest Banksince 2016, primarily teenagers.[10][11]
See also
[edit]Citations
[edit]- ^abBarr & Mollan 1989,pp. 740–741.
- ^Williams 1997,p. 79.
- ^Graham & Parke 2004,p. 229.
- ^Conroy 1980.
- ^Crawford, Duncan (28 January 2010)."Northern Ireland kneecapping victim 'shot four times'".Newsbeat.BBC News.Retrieved14 January2021.
- ^Williams 1997,pp. 78–80.
- ^Orsini 2011.
- ^Amnesty International Ireland 2009,p. 3.
- ^"Bangladesh: Stop 'Kneecapping' Detainees".29 September 2016.Retrieved10 May2017.
- ^Hass, Amira (27 August 2016)."Is the IDF Conducting a Kneecapping Campaign in the West Bank?".Haaretz.Retrieved1 November2022.
- ^Glazer, Hilo (6 March 2020)."'42 Knees in One Day': Israeli Snipers Open Up About Shooting Gaza Protesters ".Haaretz.Retrieved1 November2022.
General sources
[edit]- "Gaza: Hamas kneecappings, punishment beatings and killings of 'collaborators' revealed in new Amnesty report".Amnesty International UK. 10 February 2009.Retrieved8 January2014.
- "Hamas' deadly campaign in the shadow of the war in Gaza".Amnesty International Ireland.February 2009. Archived fromthe originalon 3 July 2015.Retrieved8 June2015.
- Barr, R. J.; Mollan, R. A. B. (1989)."The orthopaedic consequences of civil disturbance in Northern Ireland"(PDF).The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery.71(5): 739–744.doi:10.1302/0301-620X.71B5.2584241.PMID2584241.
- Conroy, John (1980)."Kneecapping".Alicia Patterson Foundation.Retrieved8 January2014.
- Graham, L. E.; Parke, R. C. (2004)."The Northern Ireland Troubles and limb loss: a retrospective study".Prosthetics and Orthotics International.28(3): 225–229.doi:10.3109/03093640409167754.PMID15658635.S2CID6061030.
- Orsini, Alessandro (2011).Anatomy of the Red Brigades: The Religious Mind-set of Modern Terrorists.Translated from Italian by Sarah J. Nodes. Cornell University Press.ISBN978-0-8014-6139-2.
- Williams, John (1997). "Casualties of Violence in Northern Ireland".International Journal of Trauma Nursing.3(3): 78–82.doi:10.1016/s1075-4210(97)90033-x.PMID9295579.