painful conditions, (ii) hooding under special conditions, (iii) sounding of loud music for prolonged periods, (iv) sleep deprivation for prolonged periods, (v) threats, including death threats, (vi) violent shaking, (vii) using cold air to chill […] constitute torture as defined in Article 1 of the CAT.”10 The then UN Special Rapporteur on torture, Peter Kooijamans, in his 1986 report, provided a detailed catalogue of those acts which involve the infliction of suffering severe enough to constitute the offence of torture, including: beating; extraction of nails, teeth, etc.; burns; electric shocks; suspension; suffocation; exposure to excessive light or noise; sexual aggression; administration of drugs in detention or psychiatric institutions; prolonged denial of rest or sleep; prolonged denial of food; prolonged denial of sufficient hygiene; prolonged denial of medical assistance; total isolation and sensory deprivation; being kept in constant uncertainty in terms of space and time; threats to torture or kill relatives; total abandonment, and simulated executions.11 The most important aspect of torture, apart from cruelty to the victim, is that it is an exercise of power and, from a legal point of view, an exercise of official power.12 Therefore, the 10 See, Human Rights Committee, General Comments No. 20 (1992), para. 3, and No. 29 (2001), para. 7. See also, Official Records of the General Assembly, 52nd session, Supp. No. 44 (A/52/44), para. 257. 11 UN Doc. E/CN 4/1986/15, para. 119. 12 W P Nagan and A Lucie, “The International Law of Torture: From Universal Proscription to Effective Application and Enforcement,” Harvard Human Rights Journal 14 (Spring, 2001): 105–106. 24