People ‘traumatized’ after terrifying simulation shows how widely-known torture method actually works

Warning: This article contains discussion of torture which some readers may find distressing

A horrifying video show why a widely-known form of torture actually works.

The clip shows the biological aspects of the method, which is widely known as being extremely painful and horrible for anyone who is forced to undergo it.

This is Waterboarding. A method in which a victim is held down and a damp cloth placed over their nose and mouth. Water is then poured over the damp cloth, with the method recreating a feeling of what it is like to drown.

The video showed how the technique works (YouTube / zackdfilms)

It might sound like a simple and crude way, but there is an awful reason why the torture method is so effective.

The practice of Waterboarding is considered to be a form of torture by a large number of international bodies.

This includes human rights organisations, legal experts, veterans, and politicians.

But why is it so effective?

As water is poured into the mouth this goes into the respiratory tract, similar to drinking water and it 'goes down the wrong way'.

This causes the victim to start coughing and spluttering as their body tries to eject the fluid from their windpipe and lungs.

However, the fluid is blocked from escaping by the damp cloth, meaning that the victim feels as though they are drowning.

Waterboarding is among the most infamous torture techniques to be employed in modern times.

Perhaps its most widely known modern use was at the US Guantanamo Bay detention centre.

After the September 11 attacks in 2001, President George W Bush launched the War on Terror.

This included ground invasions in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as intelligence operations to track down the perpetrators of 9/11.

Among the people who have been subjected to Waterboarding is Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, who confessed to being the mastermind of the September 11th attacks.

This is how it actually works (YouTube / zackdfilms)

James Mitchell is a psychologist who was contracted by the CIA to develop 'enhanced interrogation techniques'.

In a chilling testimony, Mitchel said: “If it were today, I would do it again.”

He said: “I thought of my moral obligation to protect American lives against the temporary discomfort of terrorists who took up arms against America. I decided I would just live with it."

But the technique itself was not initially used by the US as a means of torture.

It was reportedly first developed as a way to steel US soldiers against interrogation techniques used by North Korea and Vietnam.