Detention ← Forensic Architecture

I.118 Three Days at Al-Azhar University: 28-30 January 2024

Date: 28 Jan 2024 – 30 Jan 2024
Summary: Since October 2023, Israeli evacuation orders have repeatedly displaced Palestinians throughout Gaza, often to areas designated as 'humanitarian' or ‘safe zones’ but that in fact were no less dangerous and critically lacking in life-sustaining provisions. Through the account of a couple from Beit Hanoun, this narrative study tells a harrowing story of endurance in the midst of persistent violence.

Date of Incident: 2013 – 2019
Location: North Sinai, Egypt
Forums: United Nations, Human Rights Report, Media
In Partnership With: Sinai Foundation for Human Rights
Summary: Testimonies collected by the Sinai Foundation for Human Rights point to the existence of mass graves used by the Egyptian military to bury the bodies of civilians killed during their campaign against ISIS-affiliated militants in North Sinai. We investigated one of these sites to establish a timeline of its use and identify patterns of military activity.

Date of Incident: None
Location: Libya
Forums: Legal Process, Human Rights Report
An FA-supported project by: Forensis
Summary: Countless migrants and refugees remain trapped in Libya’s network of brutal detention centres, tortured and mistreated. Through interviews with survivors and local experts, Forensis traces the evolution of state-affiliated detention centres out of people-trafficking networks, and their entanglement with EU support.

Date of Incident: 08 Sep 2020
Location: Lesvos, Greece
Forums: Legal Process, Exhibition, Media
Commissioned By: Lawyers for the Moria 6
Summary: The fire which destroyed the Moria refugee camp on the Greek island of Lesvos was at least the 247th outbreak to have occurred in and around the overcrowded camp since 2013. Six young asylum seekers who came to be known as the 'Moria 6' were accused of arson and jailed. FA and Forensis reconstructed the fire’s spread, casting significant doubt on the basis for those convictions.

Date of Incident: 01 Feb 2020
Location: Evros/Meriç river, Greek-Turkish border
Forums: Legal Process, United Nations, Human Rights Report, Media
Commissioned By: European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR)
Summary: At Europe’s southeastern river border, migrants report being beaten, detained, and illegally ‘pushed back’ to Turkey from Greece by unidentified masked men. Greek and EU authorities refuse to investigate. We worked with Parvin, a young woman from Iran, to analyse evidence she had gathered during her crossings and reconstruct her journey and experiences of ‘pushback’.

Date of Incident: 01 Feb 2021 – Ongoing
Location: Myanmar
Forums: Media
In Partnership With: Al Jazeera English
Summary: Since the February 1st coup over 6,000 people have been detained in covert facilities in Myanmar. Forensic Architecture was invited by Al Jazeera to verify the location and layout of a detention centre where four witnesses were held.

Date of Incident: 04 May 2019 – 05 May 2019
Location: Evros/Meriç river, Greece/Turkey
Forums: Legal Process, Media
In Partnership With: HumanRights360
Summary: Ayşe Erdoğan crossed the Evros/Meriç river into Greece in 2019, fleeing persecution in Turkey. She and two friends recorded their journey. Using messages, location data, photos, and videos, we confirmed they had reached Greece before being ‘pushed back’, and arrested and imprisoned in Turkey.

Date of Incident: 24 Aug 2014 – 03 Sep 2014
Location: Ilovaisk, Ukraine
Forums: Legal Process, Media
Commissioned By: European Human Rights Advocacy Centre (EHRAC)
Summary: The victory of pro-Russian separatists over the Ukrainian army in the battle for control of Ilovaisk was a defining moment in the 2014 conflict in eastern Ukraine. We used machine learning to search for evidence of Russian military involvement.

Date of Incident: 01 Dec 2016
Location: Bujumbura, Burundi
Forums: Media
Commissioned By: BBC Africa Eye
Summary: A video posted to social media shows what looks like blood pouring from the drains of an unremarkable suburban house in Burundi’s capital. What was going on behind its walls? Employing our techniques of situated testimony, and collaborating with investigative reporters, we sought to find out.

Date of Incident: 01 Jan 2015 – 01 Jan 2016
Location: Far North, Cameroon
Forums: Media
Commissioned By: Amnesty International
Summary: In the US-backed war against Boko Haram, Cameroon’s security forces are detaining and torturing civilians with impunity. Investigating allegations made by survivors from two sites of illegal detention, we found US military personnel living and working in close proximity to sites of torture.

Date of Incident: 01 Jan 2011 – 08 Dec 2024
Location: Saydnaya, Syria
Forums: Legal Process, Exhibition, Media, Web Platform
Commissioned By: Amnesty International
Summary: Since the start of the Syrian Civil War, thousands of Syrians have been detained, tortured and executed at the notorious Saydnaya Prison. Using architectural and acoustic modelling, we worked with five survivors to rebuild the prison and explore their memories of life and death inside its walls.