stress position#Helicopter position

File:Mura punishment (cropped).jpg

Murga (also spelled murgha) is a stress position used as a corporal punishment mainly in parts of the Indian subcontinent (specifically Northern India, Pakistan and Bangladesh) where the punished person must squat, loop their arms behind their knees, and hold their earlobes.{{cite book |author=Madan Mohan Jha |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JxiZjWgDwlYC&pg=PA51 |title=From Special To Inclusive Education In India: Case Studies Of Three Schools In Delhi |date=1 September 2010 |publisher=Pearson Education India |isbn=978-81-317-3217-5 |page=51 |accessdate=27 November 2012}} The word murga means "chicken" or "rooster",{{cite book |last1=Rai |first1=Pramod Kumar |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5zP3DwAAQBAJ&dq=murga+squat+knees&pg=PA21 |title=TUNTUN - Pursuits of education in the dowry land |date=15 August 2020 |publisher=OrangeBooks Publication |language=en}} and the name reflects how the adopted pose resembles that of a chicken laying an egg.{{cn|date=December 2022}}

It is used primarily in educational institutions, domestically, and occasionally by the police as a summary, informal punishment for petty crime.{{cite news |last1=Srivastava |first1=Arunima |date=June 29, 2006 |title=Public prosecution: Crime and instant punishment! |newspaper=The Times of India |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1690507.cms}} The punishment is usually administered in public view with the purpose being to halt the offense by inflicting pain, deter recurrence of the offense by shaming the offender, and provide a salutary example to others.

The hands up punishment is a stress position given out as punishment in schools of the Indian subcontinent (India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Pakistan).{{Citation needed|date=February 2024}} In this punishment, one is made to raise their hands above their head for a period of time.{{Citation needed|date=November 2022}} The recipient of the punishment is not permitted to join their hands above their head, and if they do so, punishment time may be increased. The hands up position becomes painful within ten or fifteen minutes. The punishment is usually given for 30 minutes or more at a time. Sometimes one may be required to keep one leg up along with their hands. The student is not allowed to change legs. The hands up punishment can also be done two other ways. It can be done with the hands in front of the recipient or out the sides, and they cannot raise or lower the arms, only hold them out for a long time.

In Eritrea in the twenty-first century, several different stress-position torture methods are used.{{cite Q|Q126913055|url-status=live}}

In the "helicopter position", the victim's arms and feet are tied behind their back. Their upper torso is bare, and they lie prone on the ground. They are typically kept in the position for one or two weeks, through all weather conditions, non-stop except for brief food and toilet breaks. In a variant of the method, the cord tying the arms and feet together is tied to a tree branch, suspending the victim from the ground.{{rp|20}}{{cite Q|Q126913125|url-status=live}} One Eritrean prisoner survived 55 days in the helicopter position, at temperatures of up to {{convert|50|C}}, after which his skin peeled off, and he was held for eight months with one hand and arm tied behind his back. The prisoner escaped from Eritrea and studied law in Canada.{{cite news | last1=Reljic | first1=Teodor | title= Learning the hard way {{!}} Elizabeth Chyrum | date= 2015-11-18 |newspaper= Malta Today | url= https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/interview/59298/learning_the_hard_way__elizabeth_chyrum |access-date=2021-02-07 |archive-url= https://archive.today/20210128223957/https://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/interview/59298/learning_the_hard_way__elizabeth_chyrum |archive-date= 2021-01-28 |url-status=live }}

In the "Jesus Christ position", known to have been used since 2003 in Adi-Abeto Prison, the victim's upper torso is bare, the victim stands on a block, their arms are tied to branches of a tree, and the block is removed, leaving them in a similar position to that of crucifixion. The victim is then beaten on the back. The duration of this torture position is normally limited to about ten to fifteen minutes to allow the victim to survive.{{rp|21}}

• Psychological torture
• Imaginary chair
• Strappado also known as the corda or Palestinian hanging
• Submission hold
• Shabeh (torture)
• Pau de arara

{{Reflist}}

• Human Rights First; [https://web.archive.org/web/20100703000035/http://www.humanrightsfirst.info/pdf/07801-etn-leave-no-marks.pdf Leave No Marks: Enhanced Interrogation Techniques and the Risk of Criminality]

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Category:Human positions

Category:Prisoner abuse

Category:Squatting position

Category:Torture