Some fell on my thighs and my back. I would fall when the whip reached my feet but the prison guard would raise me up to continue the whipping. It was terrible. I was amazed to find myself still alive after the 70th lash was given. Like other victims of flogging Amnesty International has spoken to, Donato Lama received no medical treatment for his injuries.
Women also receive lashes as a judicial punishment.
I could not explain the pain I experienced. The stick he used was like a bamboo, round but hard. Flogging is regularly inflicted in prisons as well as in public squares throughout the country and is carried out on men, women and children. It has almost unlimited scope of application and there appears to be no upper limit on the number of lashes judges can impose despite the severe physical and psychological consequences. Judges are also free to use it at their discretion in addition to other punishments such as imprisonment.