...In the interrogation room, the hoods were removed. The prisoners had their hands tied behind their backs with cuffs and rope; Faraj's wrist is still cross-hatched with scars from when he was bound. They were then hoisted by a rope attached to a hook in the ceiling so they dangled above the ground, the tendons in their shoulders tearing under the strain. The ball and socket in the shoulders of some prisoners completely rotated, Attar said.

The prisoners were lashed with cables. Clips were attacked to their earlobes, nipples and genitals and they were administered electric shocks. When they passed out, as they almost invariably did, they were dragged back to the corridor and cuffed again to the radiator, a dozen former prisoners recalled in interviews.

This torture continued for several days, hours at a time, even after the prisoners broke. Nearly all eventually signed forced confessions put in front of them and stamped them with a single fingerprint, their hands lifted to the paper by the guards because the prisoners no longer had the strength.

Prisoners who held out longer than expected were subject to further horrors. Faraj saw his mother dragged in front of him. His mother's gown was roughly lifted, exposing her bare legs and underwear as the police said they would rape her. The humiliation, he said, was unbearable. Kharqani and two other inmates were forced to watch three other prisoners killed with acid...