Other Definitions
bastinado (dict)
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BastinadoBastinado is a form of torture or corporal punishment which consists of beating the soles of the victims' bare feet with a hard object, like a cane or rod, a club, or a piece of wood. This torture is effective owing to the clustering of nerve endings in the feet, and the structure of the foot, with numerous small bones and tendons. The feet were often tied together or to a wooden plank, and the victim would be made to walk around on his or her damaged feet afterwards, sometimes carrying weights. This punishment has, at various times, been popular in China, as well the Middle East, where it is known by the Arabic word falaqa. This torture became well known because of the 1978 movie, Midnight Express. Uday Hussein, member of Iraq's now-fallen baath regime and son of Saddam Hussein, is alleged to have used this method of torture on Olympic athletes who did not perform according to standards. The word 'bastinado' can also refer to the device used to inflict the torture.
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