(Newswire.net — August 24, 2018) — A man from Britain, who once worked as a barman, responded to court after being accused of abusing his girlfriend by putting her head into a towel and then waterboarding her.
As Prosecutor Jones told the Royal Court at Kingston Hall, the girl “lost breath and thought she was going to die”. Later on July 20, 2016, Simons pulled out a knife in jealousy, threatening to kill his girlfriend.
After the two incidents, the victim remained in touch with him for a short time, but later moved in an attempt to escape from him. She stated that “she will not be safe if Sean is released from custody”.
“I’m aware of how little saved me from death for that short time I spent with Simons and I do not believe that I would stay alive if we met again,” Simon’s ex-girlfriend told the police. She added that she had to leave him fearing that he would most certainly kill her if she didn’t run away.
The couple met on Facebook this summer and almost immediately began dating. The girl said he was very dear to her, but soon realized he was extremely jealous.
It all started as a game, the victim told prosecutors. Simons tied her hands together with a belt and lead her to the bathroom. Then he wrapped her head in thick towel, pushed her in the bath tub and ran water over her head. She thought she was going to drown.
Simons pleaded guilty to assault and inflicting physical injury, threatening murder, insulting police and sending threatening messages.
Waterboarding, designated as illegal by U.S. generals in the Vietnam War, is a form of torture by air deprivation resulting in a drowning simulation. It is also called a dry drowning. Although banned as extremely cruel, it was widely reported that CIA introduced this form of torture as The Enhanced Interrogation Technique during the “War on Terror” that G. W. Bush initiated after the 9/11 attack.
There are numerous reports on civilian waterboarding in the US predominately from husbands who submited their wifes to this ‘Enhanced Interrogation Technique.’ Richard David Schlosser, 36, allegedly attacked his 65-year-old wife in their home in January and held her prisoner for hours. Allegedly he conducted waterboarding besides beating his wife.
Besides death, waterboarding can cause extreme pain, lung damage, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, other physical injuries including broken bones due to struggling against restraints, and lasting psychological damage. Adverse physical consequences can manifest themselves months after the event, while psychological effects can last for years.