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ISTANBUL PROTOCOL IV. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR INTERVIEWS

to use when listening to the interviewee disclose detail, including: the level of trust and rapport,
information about torture or ill-treatment. Empathy gender alignment in the interview, age, social class,
refers to the ability to recognize and understand the literacy and level of education, cultural factors, and
emotional experience of an interviewee by considering clinical conditions affecting cognitive processes.
and acknowledging how the interviewee might be
feeling. Empathy can be communicated through 10. Techniques of questioning
active listening, appropriate facial expressions or by
verbally acknowledging the interviewee’s emotions. 333. Several techniques may assist in obtaining
In some cases, clinicians may find it helpful to state information from interviewees.
their clear position against human rights violations,
including torture and ill-treatment. Clinicians (a) Types of questions
should acknowledge the distress that they observe
in their clinical interviews while maintaining 334. The use of open-ended questions as an interview
professional boundaries and clinical objectivity. technique significantly increases both the amount
and the accuracy of information provided by the
9. Level of detail in the history interviewee. Open-ended questions often start with
the words “tell”, “explain” or “describe” (e.g.
329. In the course of obtaining a narrative account of events “Tell me what happened” and “Describe what you
and experiences, the clinician should attempt to obtain mean when you said …”). Open-ended questions
as much detail as possible that is relevant to conducting give interviewees the freedom to respond by
the assessment. Extensive and detailed narratives can reporting their history in their own words as they
provide more information from which to asses the remember it. This style of questioning therefore
correlation between the allegations and the findings; encourages people to take on the active role of
they frequently provide a sense of “being there”, generating and providing information, rather than
which adjudicators often consider useful. However, a passive role of simply answering questions.
the inclusion of detailed historical information may
be considered irrelevant by some adjudicators. 335. To clarify open-ended responses or motivate hesitant
interviewees, it is appropriate to use focused or probing
330. Attempts to obtain a detailed history may elicit questions. Focused questions may start with the words
accounts of events and experiences of which individuals “who”, “what”, “where”, “when” and “how”.
are less certain. Interviewees should be advised to
be forthcoming about uncertainty, for example by 336. Closed-ended questions might be required to specify
saying when they are sure or unsure of something. things, for example “Did that happen before or
after …?” or “Which person did that?”. Closed-
331. A high level of detail, or a strong degree of certainty ended questions (sometimes known as “specific
with which a memory is held, are helpful when present, questions” or “option-posing questions”) generally
but their absence cannot be taken to indicate that the elicit shorter answers; therefore, they are not effective
memory is unreliable. Inconsistencies may arise within as a main interview technique. Caution should be
the account or between the account and other sources taken in closed-ended questioning as the use of
of information and these should be explored during the rapid-fire closed-ended questions is known to restrict
interview. The evaluating clinician should assess clinical both the amount and the accuracy of information
reasons for limitations in recalling and recounting provided by the interviewee. Furthermore, asking
experiences, as discussed in paragraph 342 below. too many questions too quickly might confuse
individuals, creating contradictory responses or
332. Interviewees should be reminded about the even reminding them of being interrogated.
importance of reporting only what they recall and
be transparent about when injuries are unrelated to 337. Leading questions are to be avoided wherever possible,
their alleged torture or ill-treatment. The evaluating because individuals may answer with what they
clinician should acknowledge potential limitations think the interviewer wants to hear. This is especially
in recalling all events. In addition, a lack of detail important when interviewing for medico-legal purposes
should not be considered as an indication of in situations in which the testimony may be challenged
being untruthful as there may be important social, in court. Children are particularly susceptible to
cognitive and contextual reasons for the lack of leading questions that suggest a desired response.

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