What torture method? What's the context of that quote? Who said it?

The statement about Michael VIII Palaiologos being the last to use political mutilation against his enemies appears to be false. For example, his successor Andronikos II Palaiologos blinded a rebellious general Alexios Philanthropenos. At the time Andronikos was at war with the Turks, so it seems unlikely that the Ottomans could have "forced" the Emperor to commit this act. The blinding appears to have been motivated by the fact that Alexios was part of an uprising that aimed to overthrow the emperor.

Since the wikipedia article does not give any sources for the statement and the factual content seems to be a bit off, I would regard it as spurious.

Dont you mean political mutilation? It was some what usual to cut a pretender's nose or even blinding the.