Torture, according to the
United Nations Convention Against TortureThe United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
, is:
In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may be motivated to inflict torture on others for similar reasons to those of a state; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of the torturer, as was the case in the
Moors murdersThe Moors murders were carried out by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley between July 1963 and October 1965, in and around what is now Greater Manchester, England. The victims were five children aged between 10 and 17—Pauline Reade, John Kilbride, Keith Bennett, Lesley Ann Downey and Edward Evans—at least...
.
Torture is prohibited under
international lawPublic international law concerns the structure and conduct of sovereign states, analogous entities, such as the Holy See, and intergovernmental organizations. To a lesser degree, international law also may affect multinational corporations and individuals, an impact increasingly evolving beyond...
and the domestic laws of most countries.
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
estimates that at least 81 world governments currently practice torture, some openly.
Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of effecting political re-education and coercion. In the 21st century, torture is widely considered to be a violation of
human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the
UNThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world...
. Signatories of the
Third Geneva ConventionThe Third Geneva Convention of 1949 , one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of prisoners of war , and also touched on other topics...
and
Fourth Geneva ConventionThe Fourth Geneva Convention relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any military occupation by a foreign power. This should not be confused with the better known Third Geneva Convention, which deals with the treatment of prisoners of war...
officially agree not to torture prisoners in armed conflicts. Torture is also prohibited by the
United Nations Convention Against TortureThe United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
, which has been ratified by 145 states.
National and international legal prohibitions on torture derive from a consensus that torture and ill-treatment are immoral, as well as being impractical. Despite these international conventions, however, many organizations (e.g. Amnesty International) that monitor abuses of human rights report a widespread use of torture condoned by states in many regions of the world.
Etymology
The word 'torture' comes from the
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
torture, originating in the
Late LatinLate Latin is the scholarly name for the written Latin of Late Antiquity. The English dictionary definition of Late Latin dates this period from the 3rd to the 6th centuries AD. extending in Spain to the 7th. This somewhat ambiguously defined period fits between Classical Latin and Medieval Latin...
tortura and ultimately deriving the past participle of
torquere meaning 'to twist'.
The word may be used loosely for more ordinary or daily discomforts which would be described as tedious rather than painful.
For example: "The making of this web site was torture!"
Laws against torture
On December 10, 1948 the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world...
(UDHR). Article 5 states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Since that time a number of other international treaties have been adopted to prevent the use of torture. Two of these are the
United Nations Convention Against TortureThe United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
and for international conflicts the
Geneva ConventionsThe Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating...
III and IV.
United Nations Convention Against Torture
The
United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentThe United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
(UNCAT) came into force in June 1987. The most relevant articles are Articles 1, 2, 3, and the first paragraph of Article 16.
Note several points:
- Article 1: Torture is "severe pain or suffering". The European Court of Human Rights
The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
(ECHR) influences discussions on this area of international law. See the section Other conventions for more details on the ECHR ruling.
- Article 2: There are "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever" where a state can use torture and not break its treaty obligations".
- Article 16: Obliges signatories to prevent "acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", in "any territory under its jurisdiction".
[When ratifying the treaty the United States added a reservation that the definition of "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" meant "the cruel, unusual and inhumane treatment or punishment prohibited by the Fifth, Eighth, and/or Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States".(Yee, Sienho (2004). International crime and punishment: selected issues, University Press of America, ISBN 0761828877, 9780761828877 p. 208, Footnote 18. cites Convention Against Torture, Annex I,I.). See also Torture and the United States.][The unanimous Law Lords judgment on December 8, 2005 ruled that, under English law tradition, "torture and its fruits" could not be used in court (Torture evidence inadmissible in UK courts, Lords rules by Staff and agencies in The Guardian]The Guardian is a British daily newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. Founded in 1821, it is unique among major British newspapers in being owned by a foundation .The Guardian Weekly, which circulates worldwide, provides a compact digest of four newspapers...
December 8, 2005). But the information thus obtained could be used by the British police and security services as "it would be ludicrous for them to disregard information about a ticking bomb if it had been procured by torture."(Torture ruling's international impact by Jon Silverman BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
8 December 2005)
As of June 2008, 145 states are parties to the Convention against Torture, and another nine states have signed but not ratified the treaty.
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture
The
Optional Protocol to the Convention Against TortureThe Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an important addition to the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture...
(OPCAT) entered into force on 22 June 2006 as an important addition to the UNCAT. As stated in Article 1, the purpose of the protocol is to "establish a system of regular visits undertaken by independent international and national bodies to places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." Each state ratifying the OPCAT, according to Article 17, is responsible for creating or maintaining at least one independent national preventive mechanism for torture prevention at the domestic level.
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court
The
Rome StatuteThe Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court is the treaty that established the International Criminal Court . It was adopted at a diplomatic conference in Rome on 17 July 1998 and it entered into force on 1 July 2002...
, which established the
International Criminal CourtThe International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .The court came into being on 1 July 2002 — the...
(ICC), provides for criminal prosecution of individuals responsible for
genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
,
war crime.War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war"; including "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns...
s, and crimes against humanity. The statute defines torture as "intentional infliction of severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, upon a person in the custody or under the control of the accused; except that torture shall not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to, lawful sanctions". Under Article 7 of the statute, torture may be considered a crime against humanity "when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack". Article 8 of the statute provides that torture may also, under certain circumstances, be prosecuted as a war crime.
The ICC came into existence on 1 July 2002 and can only prosecute crimes committed on or after that date. The court can generally exercise
jurisdictionJurisdiction is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted legal body or to a political leader to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility.Alternatively, jurisdiction is the authority given...
only in cases where the accused is a national of a state party to the Rome Statute, the alleged crime took place on the territory of a state party, or a situation is referred to the court by the
United Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. The court is designed to complement existing national judicial systems: it can exercise its jurisdiction only when national courts are unwilling or unable to investigate or prosecute such crimes. Primary responsibility to investigate and punish crimes is therefore reserved to individual states.
Geneva Conventions
The four
Geneva ConventionsThe Geneva Conventions consist of four treaties and three additional protocols that set the standards in international law for humanitarian treatment of the victims of war. The singular term Geneva Convention refers to the agreements of 1949, negotiated in the aftermath of World War II, updating...
provide protection for people who fall into enemy hands.
The conventions do not clearly divide people into combatant and non-combatant roles. The conventions refer to "wounded and sick combatants or non-combatants" separately from "civilian persons who take no part in hostilities, and who, while they reside in the zones, perform no work of a military character" as well as "Members of the armed forces of a Party to the conflict as well as members of militias or volunteer corps forming part of such armed forces", "Members of other militias and members of other volunteer corps, including those of organized resistance movements", "Members of regular armed forces who profess allegiance to a government or an authority not recognized by the Detaining Power", "Persons who accompany the armed forces without actually being members thereof, such as civilian members of military aircraft crews, war correspondents, supply contractors, members of labour units or of services responsible for the welfare of the armed forces", "Inhabitants of a non-occupied territory"
The
thirdThe Third Geneva Convention of 1949 , one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of prisoners of war , and also touched on other topics...
(GCIII) and
fourthThe Fourth Geneva Convention relates to the protection of civilians during times of war "in the hands" of an enemy and under any military occupation by a foreign power. This should not be confused with the better known Third Geneva Convention, which deals with the treatment of prisoners of war...
(GCIV) Geneva Conventions are the two most relevant for the treatment of the victims of conflicts. Both treaties state in Article 3, in similar wording, that in a non-international armed conflict, "Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms... shall in all circumstances be treated humanely." The treaty also states that there must not be any "violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds,
mutilationMutilation or maiming is an act or physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage of term :...
, cruel treatment and torture" or "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment".
GCIV covers most
civilianA civilian under international humanitarian law is a person who is not a member of his or her country's armed forces. The term is also often used colloquially to refer to people who are not members of a particular profession or occupation, especially by law enforcement agencies, which often use...
s in an international armed conflict, and says they are usually "Protected Persons" (see exemptions section immediately after this for those who are not). Under Article 32, protected persons have the right to protection from "murder, torture, corporal punishments, mutilation and medical or scientific experiments...but also to any other measures of brutality whether applied by non-combatant or military agents".
GCIII covers the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs) in an international armed conflict. In particular, Article 17 says that "No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted or exposed to unpleasant or disadvantageous treatment of any kind." POW status under GCIII has far fewer exemptions than "Protected Person" status under GCIV. Captured enemy combatants in an international armed conflict automatically have the protection of GCIII and are POWs under GCIII unless they are determined by a competent tribunal to not be a POW (GCIII Article 5).
Geneva Convention IV exemptions
GCIV provides an important exemption:
Also nationals of a State which is not bound by the Convention are not protected by it, and nationals of a neutral State in the territory of a combatant State, and nationals of a co-belligerent State, cannot claim the protection of GCIV if their home state has normal diplomatic representation in the State that holds them (Article 4), as their diplomatic representatives can take steps to protect them. The requirement to treat persons with "humanity" implies that it is still prohibited to torture individuals not protected by the Convention.
The
George W. Bush administrationThe Presidency of George W. Bush began on his inauguration on January 20, 2001 as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
afforded fewer protections, under GCIII, to detainees in the "War on Terror" by codifying the legal status of an "
unlawful combatantAn unlawful combatant or unprivileged combatant/belligerent is a civilian who directly engages in armed conflict in violation of International Humanitarian Law and may be detained or prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action.-Introduction:The Geneva Conventions apply...
". If there is a question of whether a person is a lawful combatant, he (or she) must be treated as a POW "until their status has been determined by a competent tribunal" (GCIII Article 5). If the tribunal decides that he is an unlawful combatant, he is not considered a protected person under GCIII. However, if he is a protected person under GCIV he still has some protection under GCIV, and must be "treated with humanity and, in case of trial, shall not be deprived of the rights of fair and regular trial prescribed by the present Convention" (GCIV Article 5).
"Every person in enemy hands must have some status under international law: he is either a prisoner of war and, as such, covered by the Third Convention, a civilian covered by the Fourth Convention, or again, a member of the medical personnel of the armed forces who is covered by the First Convention. There is no intermediate status; nobody in enemy hands can be outside the law. We feel that this is a satisfactory solution – not only satisfying to the mind, but also, and above all, satisfactory from the humanitarian point of view.", because in the opinion of the ICRC "If civilians directly engage in hostilities, they are considered 'unlawful' or 'unprivileged' combatants or belligerents (the treaties of humanitarian law do not expressly contain these terms). They may be prosecuted under the domestic law of the detaining state for such action" (Jean Pictet (ed.) – Commentary: IV Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War (1958) – 1994 reprint edition). Geneva Conventions Protocol I Article 51.3 also covers this interpretation "Civilians shall enjoy the protection afforded by this section, unless and for such time as they take a direct part in hostilities".Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions
There are two additional protocols to the Geneva Convention:
Protocol IProtocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern...
(1977), relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts and
Protocol IIProtocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders...
(1977), relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. These clarify and extend the definitions in some areas, but to date many countries, including the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, have either not signed them or have not ratified them.
Protocol IProtocol I is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts. It reaffirms the international laws of the original Geneva Conventions of 1949, but adds clarifications and new provisions to accommodate developments in modern...
does not mention torture but it does affect the treatment of POWs and Protected Persons. In Article 5, the protocol explicitly involves "the appointment of Protecting Powers and of their substitute" to monitor that the Parties to the conflict are enforcing the Conventions. The protocol also broadens the definition of a lawful combatant in wars against "alien occupation, colonial domination and racist regimes" to include those who carry arms openly but are not wearing uniforms, so that they are now lawful combatants and protected by the Geneva Conventions—although only if the Occupying Power has ratified Protocol I. Under the original conventions combatants without a recognisable insignia could be treated as criminals, and potentially be executed. It also mentions spies, and defines who is a mercenary. Mercenaries and spies are considered an unlawful combatant, and not protected by the same conventions.
Protocol IIProtocol II is a 1977 amendment protocol to the Geneva Conventions relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts. It defines certain international laws that strive to provide better protection for victims of internal armed conflicts that take place within the borders...
"develops and supplements Article 3 [relating to the protection of victims of non-international armed conflicts] common to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 without modifying its existing conditions of application" (Article 1). Any person who does not take part in or ceased to take part in hostilities is entitled to humane treatment. Among the acts prohibited against these persons are, "Violence to the life, health and physical or mental well-being of persons, in particular murder as well as cruel treatment such as torture, mutilation or any form of corporal punishment" (Article 4.a), "Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment, rape, enforced prostitution and any form of indecent assault" (Article 4.e), and "Threats to commit any of the foregoing acts" (Article 4.h). There are clauses in other articles which implore humane treatment of enemy personnel in an internal conflict, which have a bearing on the use of torture, but there are no other clauses which explicitly mention torture.
Other conventions
In accordance with the optional UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955),
"corporal punishmentCorporal punishment is the deliberate infliction of pain as retribution for an offence, or for the purpose of disciplining or reforming a wrongdoer, or to change an undesirable attitude or behaviour...
, punishment by placing in a dark cell, and all cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments shall be completely prohibited as punishments for disciplinary offences." The
International Covenant on Civil and Political RightsThe International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a multilateral treaty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 16, 1966, and in force from March 23, 1976...
, (16 December 1966), explicitly prohibits torture and
"cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" by signatories.
European agreements
In 1950 during the
Cold WarThe Cold War was the continuing state of political conflict, military tension, and economic competition existing after World War II , primarily between the USSR and its satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, including the United States...
, the participating member states of the
Council of EuropeThe Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
signed the
European Convention on Human RightsThe Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms , was adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe in 1950 to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms in Europe...
. The treaty was based on the UDHR. It included the provision for a court to interpret the treaty, and Article 3
"Prohibition of torture" stated;
"No one shall be subjected to torture or to inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."
In 1978, the
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
ruled that the
five techniquesThe term five techniques refers to certain interrogation practices adopted by the Northern Ireland and British governments during Operation Demetrius in the early 1970s...
of "
sensory deprivationSensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
" were not torture as laid out in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, but were "
inhuman or degrading treatment" (see Accusations of use of torture by United Kingdom for details). This case occurred nine years before the United Nations Convention Against Torture came into force and had an influence on thinking about what constitutes torture ever since.
On 26 November 1987 the member states of the
Council of EuropeThe Council of Europe is the oldest international organisation working towards European integration, having been founded in 1949. It has a particular emphasis on legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
, meeting at
StrasbourgStrasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in north-eastern France. With 702,412 inhabitants in 2007, its metropolitan area is the ninth largest in France...
, adopted the
European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentThe European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment was adopted by the member states of the Council of Europe, meeting at Strasbourg on 26 November 1987. It was subsequently amended by two Protocols that entered into force on 1 March 2002...
(ECPT). Two additional Protocols amended the Convention, which entered into force on 1 March 2002. The Convention set up the
Committee for the Prevention of TortureThe European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment or shortly Committee for the Prevention of Torture is the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe...
to oversee compliance with its provisions.
Inter-American Convention
The
Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish TortureThe Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture is an international human rights instrument, created within the Western Hemisphere Organization of American States and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities....
, currently ratified by 17 nations of the
AmericasThe Americas, or America, are lands in the Western hemisphere or New World, comprising the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions. America may be ambiguous in English, as it is more commonly used to refer to the United States of America...
and in force since 28 February 1987, defines torture more expansively than the United Nations Convention Against Torture.
Supervision of anti-torture treaties
The
Istanbul ProtocolThe Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences...
, an official UN document, is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences. It became a United Nations official document in 1999.
Under the provisions of
OPCATThe Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an important addition to the 1984 United Nations Convention Against Torture...
that entered into force on 22 June 2006 independent international and national bodies will regularly visit places where people are deprived of their liberty, in order to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Each state that ratified the OPCAT, according to Article 17, is responsible for creating or maintaining at least one independent national preventative mechanism for torture prevention at the domestic level.
The European Committee for the Prevention of Torture, citing Article 1 of the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, stipulates, "visits, [countries to] examine the treatment of persons deprived of their liberty with a view to strengthening, if necessary, the protection of such persons from torture and from inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment".
In times of armed conflict between a signatory of the Geneva conventions and another party, delegates of the
International Committee of the Red CrossThe International Committee of the Red Cross is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. States parties to the four Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005, have given the ICRC a mandate to protect the victims of international and...
(ICRC) monitor the compliance of signatories to the Geneva Conventions, which includes monitoring the use of torture. Human rights organizations, such as
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
, the World Organization Against Torture, and Association for the Prevention of Torture work actively to stop the use of torture throughout the world and publish reports on any activities they consider to be torture.
Municipal law
StatesA sovereign state is a political association with effective internal and external sovereignty over a geographic area and population which is not dependent on, or subject to any other power or state...
that ratified the
United Nations Convention Against TortureThe United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
have a treaty obligation to include the provisions into
municipal lawMunicipal law is the national, domestic, or internal law of a sovereign state defined in opposition to international law. Municipal law includes not only law at the national level, but law at the state, provincial, territorial, regional or local levels...
. The laws of many states therefore formally prohibit torture. However, such
de jureDe jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact"....
legal provisions are by no means a proof that,
de factoDe facto is a Latin expression that means "by [the] fact". In law, it is meant to mean "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but without being officially established"...
, the signatory country does not use torture.
To prevent torture, many legal systems have a right against self-incrimination or explicitly prohibit undue force when dealing with suspects.
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
abolished torture in about 1640 (except peine forte et dure, which England only abolished in 1772);
ScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
in 1708;
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
in 1740;
DenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe and the senior member of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries; southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and it is bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark borders both the Baltic and the North Sea...
around 1770;
AustriaThe Habsburg Monarchy covered the territories ruled by the junior Austrian branch of the House of Habsburg , and then by the successor House of Habsburg-Lorraine , between 1526 and 1867/1918. The capital was mainly Vienna, except from 1583 to 1611, when the capital was Prague...
in 1776;
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1801,
BadenBaden is a historical state on the east bank of the Rhine River in the southwest of Germany, now the western part of the Baden-Württemberg of Germany....
in 1831;
Japanis an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
in 1873.
The
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
1789
Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the CitizenThe Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen is a fundamental document of the French Revolution, defining the individual and collective rights of all the estates of the realm as universal. Influenced by the doctrine of natural rights, the rights of Man are universal: valid at all times...
, of constitutional value, prohibits submitting suspects to any hardship not necessary to secure his or her person. Statute law explicitly makes torture a crime. In addition, statute law prohibits the police or justice from interrogating suspects under oath.
The
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
includes this protection in the fifth amendment to its
federal constitutionThe Constitution of the United States of America is the supreme law of the United States. It is the foundation and source of the legal authority underlying the existence of the United States of America and the federal government of the United States...
, which in turn serves as the basis of the
Miranda warningA Miranda warning is a warning given by police in the United States to criminal suspects in police custody, or in a custodial situation, before they are interrogated. A custodial situation is one in which the suspect's freedom of movement is restrained , even if he is not under arrest...
, which law enforcement officers issue to individuals upon their arrest. Additionally, the US Constitution's eighth amendment forbids the use of "cruel and unusual punishments", which is widely interpreted as a prohibition of the use of torture. Finally, 18 U.S.C. § 2340
et seq. define and forbid torture outside the United States.
As the United States Constitution recognizes
customary international lawCustomary international law are those aspects of international law that derive from custom. Coupled with general principles of law and treaties, custom is considered by the International Court of Justice, jurists, the United Nations, and its member states to be among the primary sources of...
, or the law of nations, the U.S. Alien Tort Claims Act also provides legal remedies for victims of torture in the United States. Specifically, the status of torturers under the law of the United States, as determined by a famous legal decision in 1980,
Filártiga v. Peña-IralaFilártiga v. Peña-Irala, was a landmark case in United States and international law. It set the precedent for United States federal courts to punish non-American citizens for tortious acts committed outside the United States that were in violation of public international law or any treaties to...
,
630 F.2d 876Case citation is the system used in many countries to identify the decisions in past court cases, either in special series of books called reporters or law reports, or in a 'neutral' form which will identify a decision wherever it was reported...
(1980), is that, "the torturer has become, like the pirate and the slave trader before him,
hostis humani generisHostis humani generis is a legal term of art, originating from the admiralty law, and referring to the peculiar status, before the public international law, of maritime pirates, since time immemorial, and slavers, since the 18th century...
, an enemy of all mankind."
Use of torture
"Recent times" in the context of this article is from 10 December 1948, when the
United Nations General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
adopted the
Universal Declaration of Human RightsThe Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly . The Guinness Book of Records describes the UDHR as the "Most Translated Document" in the world...
.
Torture in the past
The Romans used torture for interrogation. Until the second century AD, torture was used only on slaves (with a few exceptions). After this point it began to be extended to all members of the lower classes. A slave's testimony was admissible
only if extracted by torture, on the assumption that slaves could not be trusted to reveal the truth voluntarily.
CrucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
was not regarded as torture, though it was a deliberately horrible way to execute people as an example to frighten others. Prior to crucifixion, victims were often savagely whipped with barbed metal lashes, also to frighten others. Over time the conceptual definition of torture has been expanded and remains a major question for ethics, philosophy, and law, but clearly includes the practices of many subsequent cultures.
Modern scholars find the concept of torture to be compatible with society's concept of Justice during the time of Jesus Christ. Romans, Jews, Egyptians and many others cultures during that time included torture as part of their justice system. Romans had crucifixion, Jews had stoning and Egyptians had desert sun death. All these acts of torture were considered necessary (as to deter others) or good (as to punish the immoral).
Medieval and early modern European courts used torture, depending on the accused's crime and social status. Torture was deemed a legitimate means to extract confessions or to obtain the names of accomplices or other information about a crime. Often, defendants already sentenced to death would be tortured to force them to disclose the names of accomplices. Torture in the
Medieval InquisitionThe Medieval Inquisition is a series of Inquisitions from around 1184, including the Episcopal Inquisition and later the Papal Inquisition...
began in 1252 and ended in 1816 when a
papal bullA Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a pope. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end to authenticate it....
forbade its use.
While secular courts often treated suspects ferociously,
WillWilliam James Durant was a prolific American writer, historian, and philosopher. He is best known for the 11-volume The Story of Civilization, written in collaboration with his wife Ariel and published between 1935 and 1975...
and Ariel Durant argued in
The Age of Faith that many of the most vicious procedures were inflicted upon pious
hereticsHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
by even more pious friars. The
DominicansThe Order of Preachers , after the 15th century more commonly known as the Dominican Order or Dominicans, is a Catholic religious order founded by Saint Dominic in the early 13th century in France...
gained a reputation as some of the most fearsomely innovative torturers in medieval Spain.
Torture was usually conducted in secret, in underground dungeons. By contrast, torturous executions were typically public, and woodcuts of English prisoners being
hanged, drawn and quarteredTo be hanged, drawn and quartered was the penalty for high treason in medieval England, and remained on the statute book but seldom used in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until abolished under the Treason Act 1814...
show large crowds of spectators, as do paintings of Spanish
auto-da-féAuto da Fé is a 1935 novel by Elias Canetti; the title of the English translation refers to the burning of heretics by the Inquisition...
executions, in which heretics were burned at the stake.
Throughout the early modern period, the
torture of witchesThe torture of witches is the various acts of torment and persecution used against the accused during the witch-trials in Early Modern Europe. Varied from non-physical, to extremely painful and even death, these tortures were used primarily to coerce confessions from the accused and perhaps cause...
became commonplace. Countless people were targeted and tortured for their supposed relationship with the devil.
In 1613
Anton PraetoriusAnton Praetorius was a German Calvinist pastor who spoke out against the persecution of witches and against torture.-Life and writings :...
described the situation of the prisoners in the dungeons in his book
Gründlicher Bericht Von Zauberey und Zauberern (
Thorough Report about Sorcery and Sorcerers). He was one of the first to protest against all means of torture.
In early modern times under certain conditions, torture was used in England. For example the confession of
Marc SmeatonMark Smeaton was a musician at the court of Henry VIII of England in the household of Queen Anne Boleyn. He was one of five men executed for alleged treason and adultery with Queen Anne.-Smeaton's background:...
at the trial of
Anne BoleynAnne Boleyn was Queen of England as the second wife of King Henry VIII, the mother of Queen Elizabeth I, and Marquess of Pembroke in her own right. Henry's marriage to Anne, and her subsequent execution, made her a key figure in the political and religious upheaval that was the start of the...
was presented in written form only, either to hide from the court that Smeaton had been tortured on
the rackThe Rack is the debut album by Asphyx. It was released in 1991 by Century Media Records.-Track listing:# "The Quest for Absurdity" – 1:21# "Vermin" – 4:02# "Diabolical Existence" – 3:55# "Evocation" – 5:31# "Wasteland of Terror" – 2:16...
for four hours, or because Thomas Cromwell was worried that he would recant his confession if cross examined. When
Guy FawkesGuy Fawkes , also known as Guido Fawkes, the name he adopted while fighting for the Spanish in the Low Countries, belonged to a group of Roman Catholic restorationists from England who planned the Gunpowder Plot of 1605...
was arrested for his role in the
Gunpowder PlotThe Gunpowder Conspiracy of 1605, as it was then known, was a failed assassination attempt by a group of provincial English Catholics against King James I of England and VI of Scotland...
of 1605 he was tortured until he revealed all he knew about the plot. This was not so much to extract a confession, which was not needed to prove his guilt, but to extract from him the names of his fellow conspirators. By this time torture was not routine in England and a special warrant from King
James IJames VI & I was King of Scots as James VI from 1567 to 1625, and King of England and Ireland as James I from 1603 to 1625....
was needed before he could be tortured. The wording of the warrant shows some concerns for humanitarian considerations, the severity of the methods of interrogation were to be increased gradually until the interrogators were sure that Fawkes had told all he knew. In the end this did not help Fawkes much as he was broken on the only rack in England, which was in the
Tower of LondonHer Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, more commonly known as the Tower of London , is a historic fortress and scheduled monument in central London, England, on the north bank of the River Thames...
. Torture was abolished in England around 1640 (except
peine forte et dure which was abolished in 1772).
In
Colonial AmericaThe term colonial history of the United States refers to the history of the land that would become the United States from the start of European settlement to the time of independence from Europe, and especially to the history of the thirteen colonies of Britain which declared themselves independent...
women were sentenced to the
stocksStocks are devices used since medieval times for torture, public humiliation, and corporal punishment. The stocks partially immobilized its victims exposing them in public place to the scorn of the local people, who often took to insulting, kicking, spitting and in some cases urinating and...
with wooden clips on their tongues or subjected to the "dunking stool" for the gender-specific crime of talking too much.
While in Egypt in 1798, Napoleon Bonaparte wrote to Major-General Berthier that the
barbarous custom of whipping men suspected of having important secrets to reveal must be abolished. It has always been recognized that this method of interrogation, by putting men to the torture, is useless. The wretches say whatever comes into their heads and whatever they think one wants to believe. Consequently, the Commander-in-Chief forbids the use of a method which is contrary to reason and humanity.
Johann Graefe in 1624 published Tribunal Reformation, a case against torture. Cesare Beccaria, and Italian lawyer, published in 1764 "An Essay on Crimes and Punishments", in which he argued that torture unjustly punished the innocent and should be unnecessary in proving guilt
Torture was abolished by Frederick the Great in
PrussiaPrussia was a historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries this state had substantial influence on German and European history...
in 1740. Italy followed suit in 1786, followed by
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
in 1789 and
RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in 1801.
The last European jurisdictions to abolish legal torture were
PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
(1828) and the canton of
GlarusGlarus is the capital of the Canton of Glarus in Switzerland.Glarus lies on the Linth River at the foot of the Glärnisch foothills in the Glarus Alps. The municipality has about 5800 inhabitants. Very few buildings built before the fire of 1861 remain. Wood, textile, and plastics, as well as...
in
SwitzerlandSwitzerland , officially the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 states named cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities...
(1851).
Torture in recent times
Modern sensibilities have been shaped by a profound reaction to the war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by the
Axis PowersThe Axis powers comprised the countries that were opposed to the Allies during World War II. The three major Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—were part of a military alliance on the signing of the Tripartite Pact in September 1940, which officially founded the Axis powers...
in the Second World War, which have led to a sweeping international rejection of most if not all aspects of the practice. Even so, many states engage in torture; however, few wish to be described as doing so, either to their own citizens or to international bodies. A variety of devices bridge this gap, including state
denialPlausible deniability refers to the denial of blame in loose and informal chains of command where upper rungs quarantine the blame to the lower rungs. In the case that illegal or otherwise disreputable and unpopular activities become public, high-ranking officials may deny any awareness of such act...
, "
secret policeSecret police are a police agency which operates in secrecy to maintain national security against internal threats to the state....
", "
need to knowThe term "need to know", when used by government and other organizations , describes the restriction of data which is considered very sensitive...
", denial that given treatments are torturous in nature, appeal to various laws (national or international), use of jurisdictional argument, claim of "overriding need", and so on. Many states throughout history, and many states today, have engaged in torture (unofficially). Despite worldwide condemnation and the existence of treaty provisions that forbid it, torture still occurs in two thirds of the world's nations.
Torture by proxy
In 2003,
BritainThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
's Ambassador to
UzbekistanUzbekistan, officially the Republic of Uzbekistan , is a doubly landlocked country in Central Asia, formerly part of the Soviet Union...
,
Craig MurrayCraig John Murray is a British political activist, former ambassador to Uzbekistan and current Rector of the University of Dundee....
, made accusations that information was being extracted under extreme torture from dissidents in that country, and that the information was subsequently being used by Western, democratic countries that officially disapproved of torture.
The accusations did not lead to any investigation by his employer, the
Foreign and Commonwealth OfficeThe Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO, is the British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, and he resigned after disciplinary action was taken against him in 2004. No misconduct by him was proven. The
National Audit OfficeThe National Audit Office is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies...
is investigating the Foreign and Commonwealth Office because of accusations of victimisation, bullying, and intimidating its own staff.
Murray later stated that he felt that he had unwittingly stumbled upon what others called "torture by proxy" and with the euphemism of "
extraordinary renditionExtraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the apprehension and illegal transfer of a person from one state to another...
". He thought that Western countries moved people to regimes and nations knowing that torturers would extract and disclose information. Murray alleged that this practice circumvented and violated international treaties against torture. If it was true that a country participated in torture by proxy and it had signed the UN Convention Against Torture then that country would be in specific breach of Article 3 of that convention.
Ethical arguments regarding torture
Torture has been criticized on humanitarian and moral grounds, also on the grounds that evidence extracted by torture can be unreliable and that the use of torture corrupts institutions which tolerate it.
Organizations like
Amnesty InternationalAmnesty International is an international secular non-governmental organisation which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London in 1961, AI...
argue that the universal legal prohibition is based on a universal philosophical consensus that torture and ill-treatment are repugnant, abhorrent, and immoral. But since shortly after the
September 11, 2001 attacksThe September 11 attacks were a series of coordinated suicide attacks by Al-Qaeda upon the United States on September 11, 2001. On that morning, 19 Al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial passenger jet airliners...
there has been a debate in the United States about whether torture is justified in some circumstances. Some people, such as Alan M. Dershowitz and Mirko Bagaric, have argued the need for information outweighs the moral and ethical arguments against torture. However, after coercive practices were banned, interrogators in Iraq saw an increase of 50 percent more high-value intelligence. Maj. Gen. Geoffrey D. Miller, the American commander in charge of detentions and interrogations, stated "
a rapport-based interrogation that recognizes respect and dignity, and having very well-trained interrogators, is the basis by which you develop intelligence rapidly and increase the validity of that intelligence." Others including
Robert MuellerRobert Swan Mueller III is the current Director of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation .-Early life and education:...
, FBI Director since July 5, 2001, have pointed out that despite former Bush Administration claims that
waterboardingWaterboarding is a form of torture that consists of immobilizing the victim on his or her back with the head inclined downwards, and then pouring water over the face and into the breathing passages, causing the captive to believe he or she is dying. By forced suffocation and inhalation of water,...
has "disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks", they do not believe that evidence gained by the U.S. government through enhanced interrogation techniques has disrupted a single attack and no one has come up with a documented example of lives saved thanks to these techniques. On June 19, 2009, the US government announced that it was delaying the scheduled release of declassified portions of a report by the CIA Inspector General which reportedly cast doubt on the effectiveness of the "enhanced" interrogation techniques employed by CIA interrogators, according to references to the report contained in several Bush-era Justice Department memos declassified in the Spring of 2009 by the US Justice Department.
The
ticking time bomb scenarioThe ticking time bomb scenario is a thought experiment that has been used in the ethics debate over whether torture can ever be justified.Simply stated, the consequentialist argument is that nations, even those such as the United States that legally disallow torture, can justify its use if they...
, a
thought experimentA thought experiment, sometimes called a gedankenexperiment in German, is a proposal for an experiment that would test or illuminate a hypothesis or theory....
, asks what to do to a captured terrorist who has placed a nuclear
time bombA time bomb is an improvised explosive device with a timer so that it can be set to detonate any given time.-Explosive charge:...
in a populated area. If the terrorist is tortured, he may explain how to defuse the bomb. The scenario asks if it is ethical to torture the terrorist. A 2006
BBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
poll held in 25 nations gauged support for each of the following positions:
- Terrorists pose such an extreme threat that governments should be allowed to use some degree of torture if it may gain information that saves innocent lives.
- Clear rules against torture should be maintained because any use of torture is immoral and will weaken international human rights.
An average of 59% of people worldwide rejected torture. However there was a clear divide between those countries with strong rejection of torture (such as Italy, where only 14% supported torture) and nations where rejection was less strong (Israel showed 43% supporting torture, but 48% opposing, India showed 37% supporting torture and only 23% opposing).
Within nations there is a clear divide between the positions of members of different ethnic groups, religions, and political affiliations. The study found that among Jewish persons in Israel 53% favored some degree of torture and only 39% wanted strong rules against torture while Muslims in Israel were overwhelmingly against any use of torture. In one 2006 survey by the Scripps Center at Ohio University, 66% of Americans who identified themselves as strongly Republican supported torture, whereas 24% of those who identified themselves as strongly Democratic. In a 2005 U.S. survey 72% of American Catholics supported the use of torture in some circumstances compared to 51% of American secularists. A Pew survey in 2009 similarly found that the religiously unaffiliated are the least likely (40 percent) to support torture, and that the more a person attends church, the more likely he or she is to condone it; among racial/religious groups, white evangelical Protestants were far and away the most likely (62 percent) to support inflicting pain as a tool of interrogation.
A
CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll "found that sizable majorities of Americans disagree with tactics ranging from leaving prisoners naked and chained in uncomfortable positions for hours, to trying to make a prisoner think he was being drowned".
There are also different attitudes as to what constitutes torture, as revealed in an ABC News/Washington Post poll, where more than half of the Americans polled thought that techniques such as
sleep deprivationSleep deprivation, a sleep disorder characterized by having too little sleep, can be either chronic or acute. Long-term sleep deprivation causes death in lab animals...
were not torture.
In practice, "enhanced" interrogation techniques were employed by the CIA in situations that did not involve the "ticking time bomb" scenario that has been the subject of opinion polls and public debate. In April 2009 a former senior U.S. intelligence official and a former Army psychiatrist stated that the Bush administration applied pressure on interrogators to use the "enhanced" interrogation techniques on detainees to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime. The purported link between al Qaida and Hussein's regime, which has been disproven, was a key political justification for the
Iraq WarThe Iraq War, also known as the Occupation of Iraq or Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an ongoing military campaign which began on March 20, 2003 with the invasion of Iraq by a multinational force led by troops from the United States and the United Kingdom.Prior to the war, the governments of the United...
. On May 13, 2009, former NBC News investigative producer Robert Windrem reported, as confirmed by former Iraq Survey Group leader Charles Duelfer, that the Vice President's Office suggested that an interrogation team led by Duelfer waterboard an Iraqi prisoner suspected of knowing about a relationship between al Qaeda and Saddam.
Utilitarian arguments against torture
There is a strong utilitarian argument against torture; namely, that there is simply no scientific evidence supporting its effectiveness.
The lack of scientific basis for the effectiveness of torture as an interrogation techniques is summarized in a 2006 Intelligence Science Board report titled "EDUCING INFORMATION, Interrogation: Science and Art, Foundations for the Future".
Rejection of torture
A famous example in which the use of torture was rejected was cited by the Argentine National Commission on the Disappearance of Persons in whose report, Italian general
Carlo Alberto Dalla ChiesaCarlo Alberto Dalla Chiesa was a general of the Italian carabinieri notable for campaigning against terrorism during the 1970s in Italy, and later assassinated by the Mafia in Palermo....
was reputed to have said in connection with the investigation of the disappearance of prime minister
Aldo MoroAldo Moro was an Italian politician and two-time Prime Minister of Italy, from 1963 to 1968, and then from 1974 to 1976...
, "Italy can survive the loss of Aldo Moro. It would not survive the introduction of torture."
Incrimination of innocent people
One well documented effect of torture is that, with rare exceptions, its victims will say or do anything to escape the situation, including untrue "confessions" and implication of others without genuine knowledge, who may well then be tortured in turn. That information may have been extracted from the
Birmingham SixThe Birmingham Six were six men—Hugh Callaghan, Patrick Joseph Hill, Gerard Hunter, Richard McIlkenny, William Power and John Walker—sentenced to life imprisonment in 1975 in the United Kingdom for the Birmingham pub bombings...
through the use of police beatings was counterproductive because it made the convictions unsound as the confessions were worthless. There are rare exceptions, such as Admiral
James StockdaleVice Admiral James Bond Stockdale was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the United States Navy....
,
Medal of HonorThe Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States government. It is bestowed on a member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes themselves "conspicuously by gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of his life above and beyond the call of duty while...
recipient, who refused to provide information under torture.
Secrecy
Before the emergence of modern policing, torture was an important aspect of policing and the use of it was openly sanctioned and acknowledged by the authority. The Economist magazine proposed that one of the reasons torture endures is that torture does indeed work in some instances to extract information/confession, if those who are being tortured are indeed guilty.
http://www.economist.com/world/international/displaystory.cfm?story_id=9832909
Depending on the culture, torture has at times been carried on in silence (official denial), semi-silence (known but not spoken about), or openly acknowledged in public (in order to instill fear and obedience).
In the 21st century, even when states sanction their interrogation methods, torturers often work outside the law. For this reason, some prefer methods that, while unpleasant, leave victims alive and unmarked. A victim with no visible damage may lack credibility when telling tales of torture, whereas a person missing fingernails or eyes can easily prove claims of torture. Mental torture, however can leave scars just as deep and long-lasting as physical torture. Professional torturers in some countries have used techniques such as electrical shock, asphyxiation, heat, cold, noise, and sleep deprivation which leave little evidence, although in other contexts torture frequently results in horrific mutilation or death. However the most common and prevalent form of torture worldwide in both developed and under-developed countries is beating.
Torture methods and devices
Physical torture methods have been used throughout recorded history and can range from a beating with nothing more than fist and boot, through to the use of sophisticated custom designed devices such as the rack. Other types of torture can include
sensorySensory deprivation or perceptual isolation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. Simple devices such as blindfolds or hoods and earmuffs can cut off sight and hearing respectively, while more complex devices can also cut off the sense of smell, touch,...
or
sleep deprivationSleep deprivation, a sleep disorder characterized by having too little sleep, can be either chronic or acute. Long-term sleep deprivation causes death in lab animals...
, restraint or being held in awkward or damaging positions, uncomfortable extremes of heat and cold, loud noises or any other means that inflicts severe physical or mental pain. The boundary between torture and legitimate interrogation techniques is not universally agreed. In a separate opinion, at the end of the 1978 in the
European Court of Human RightsThe European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg is an international judicial body established under the European Convention on Human Rights of 1950 to monitor respect of human rights by states...
(ECHR) trial "
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
v. the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
" (Case No. 5310/71), Judge Zekia stated that "It seems to me permissible, in ascertaining whether torture or inhuman treatment has been committed or not, to apply not only the objective test but also the subjective test. As an example I can refer to the case of an elderly sick man who is exposed to a harsh treatment - after being given several blows and beaten to the floor, he is dragged and kicked on the floor for several hours. I would say without hesitation that the poor man has been tortured. If such treatment is applied on a wrestler or even a young athlete, I would hesitate a lot to describe it as an inhuman treatment and I might regard it as a mere rough handling".
Psychological torture uses non-physical methods which are used to cause psychological
sufferingSuffering, or pain, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical, or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and frequency of...
. Its effects are not immediately apparent unless they alter the
behaviorBehavior or behaviour refers to the actions or reactions of an object or organism, usually in relation to the environment. Behavior can be conscious or subconscious, overt or covert, and voluntary or involuntary....
of the tortured person. Since there is no international political consensus on what constitutes psychological torture, it is often overlooked, denied, and referred to in different names.
Psychological torture is less well known than physical torture and tends to be subtle and much easier to conceal. In practice the distinctions between physical and psychological torture are often blurred. Physical torture is the inflicting of severe pain or suffering on a person. In contrast, psychological torture is directed at the psyche with calculated violations of psychological needs, along with deep damage to psychological structures and the breakage of beliefs underpinning normal
sanitySanity refers to the soundness, rationality and reasonableness of the human mind. A person is sane if they are rational. In modern society, the terms have become exclusively synonymous with compos mentis , in contrast with non compos mentis, or insane.- Legal status :In criminal and mental health...
. Torturers often inflict both types of torture in combination to compound the associated effects.
Psychological torture also includes deliberate use of extreme stressors and situations such as mock execution,
shunningShunning is the act of deliberately avoiding association with, and habitually keeping away from an individual or group. It is a sanction against association often associated with religious groups and other tightly-knit organizations and communities...
, violation of deep-seated social or sexual
normSocial norms are the behavioral expectations and cues within a society or group. This sociological term has been defined as "the rules that a group uses for appropriate and inappropriate values, beliefs, attitudes and behaviors." These rules may be explicit or implicit...
s and taboos, or extended
solitary confinementSolitary confinement is a punishment or special form of imprisonment in which a prisoner is denied contact with any other persons, excluding members of prison staff. Usually cited as an additional measure of protection from the criminal, it has also been called a form of torture...
. Because psychological torture needs no physical violence to be effective, it is possible to induce severe psychological pain, suffering, and
traumaPsychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event. When that trauma leads to posttraumatic stress disorder, damage may involve physical changes inside the brain and to brain chemistry, which damage the person's ability to adequately cope with...
with no externally visible effects.
RapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
and other forms of
sexual abuseSexual abuse, also referred to as molestation, is the forcing of undesired sexual behavior by one person upon another, when that force falls short of being a sexual assault. The offender is referred to as a sexual abuser or molester...
are often used as methods of torture for interrogative or punitive purposes.
Medical tortureMedical torture describes the involvement and sometimes active participation of medical professionals in acts of torture, either to judge what victims can endure, to apply treatments which will enhance torture, or as torturers in their own right...
is a practice in which medical practitioners use torture to judge what victims can endure, to apply treatments which will enhance torture, or as torturers in their own right.
Josef MengeleDr. Josef Mengele was a German SS officer and a physician in the Nazi concentration camp Auschwitz-Birkenau. He held two earned doctorates, one in anthropology from Munich University and one in medicine from Frankfurt University...
and
Shirō Ishiiwas a Japanese microbiologist and the lieutenant general of Unit 731, a biological warfare unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during the Second Sino-Japanese War and accused War Criminal.- Early years :...
were infamous during and after
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
for their involvement in medical torture and murder.
Saltwater was also used as an effective torture device; while much water mixed with salt creates a healing saline used for destroying bacteria, little water mixed in with salt creates a searing substance which eats into flesh and irritates raw muscles. Slaveholders would often splash or rub saltwater into a slave's back after the slave had been flogged. The result is a biting pain and can be fatal if the victim is of a weak constitution.
Torture murder
Torture murder involves torture to the point of murder as for punishment in
law enforcement agenciesIn North American English, a Law enforcement agency is an organisation that enforces the law.Outside North America, such organisations are called police services. In North America, some of these services are called police, others have other names In North American English, a Law enforcement agency...
of countries that allow torture. Murderers might also torture their victims to death for sadistic reasons.
Effects of torture
Organizations like the
Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of TortureThe Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, also known as the Medical Foundation , is a British registered charity dedicated solely to the treatment of torture survivors....
try to help survivors of torture obtain medical treatment and to gain forensic medical
evidenceThe law of evidence governs the use of testimony and exhibits or other documentary material which is admissible in a judicial or administrative proceeding .-Relevance and social policy:Legal scholars of the...
to obtain
political asylumUnder the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, a refugee is a person who owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted on account of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of their nationality,...
in a safe country and/or to prosecute the perpetrators.
Torture is often difficult to prove, particularly when some time has passed between the event and a medical examination, or when the torturers are immune from prosecution. Many torturers around the world use methods designed to have a maximum psychological impact while leaving only minimal physical traces. Medical and Human Rights Organizations worldwide have collaborated to produce the
Istanbul ProtocolThe Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, commonly known as the Istanbul Protocol, is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences...
, a document designed to outline common torture methods, consequences of torture, and medico-legal examination techniques. Typically deaths due to torture are shown in an autopsy as being due to "natural causes" like heart attack, inflammation, or embolism due to extreme
stressStress is a biological term for the consequences of the failure of a human or animal to respond appropriately to emotional or physical threats to the organism, whether actual or imagined....
.
For survivors, torture often leads to lasting
mentalMental health is a term used to describe either a level of cognitive or emotional well-being or an absence of a mental disorder. From perspectives of the discipline of positive psychology or holism mental health may include an individual's ability to enjoy life and procure a balance between life...
and physical health problems.
Physical problems can be wide-ranging, e.g. sexually transmitted diseases, musculo-skeletal problems,
brain injuryTraumatic brain injury occurs when an outside force traumatically injures the brain. TBI can be classified based on severity, mechanism , or other features...
, post-traumatic
epilepsyEpilepsy is a common chronic neurological disorder characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures...
and
dementiaDementia is a serious cognitive disorder. It may be static, the result of a unique global brain injury or progressive, resulting in long-term decline in cognitive function due to damage or disease in the body beyond what might be expected from normal aging...
or chronic pain syndromes.
Mental health problems are equally wide-ranging; common are
post-traumatic stress disorderPosttraumatic stress disorder is an anxiety disorder that can develop after exposure to one or more traumatic events that threatened or caused great physical harm....
,
depressionMajor depressive disorder is a mental disorder characterized by an all-encompassing low mood accompanied by low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities...
and
anxiety disorderAnxiety disorder is a blanket term covering several different forms of abnormal and pathological fears and anxieties which only came under the aegis of psychiatry at the very end of the 19th century. Current psychiatric diagnostic criteria recognize a wide variety of anxiety disorders...
.
Psychic deadness, erasure of
intersubjectivityIntersubjectivity is something which is shared by two or more subjects.-Definition:Intersubjectivity is "The sharing of subjective states by two or more individuals." The term is used in three ways:...
, refusal of meaning-making, perversion of agency, and an inability to bear desire constitute the core features of the post-traumatic psychic landscape of torture.
On August 19, 2007, the
American Psychological AssociationThe American Psychological Association is a professional organization representing psychologists in the U.S., with around 150,000 members and an annual budget of around $70m...
(APA) voted to bar participation, to intervene to stop, and to report involvement in a wide variety of interrogation techniques as torture, including "using
mock executionA mock execution is a method of psychological torture, whereby the subject is made to believe that he is being led to his execution. This usually involves blindfolding the subject, making him recount last wishes, or making him dig his own grave, and sometimes it can go as far as forcing the victim...
s, simulated drowning, sexual and religious humiliation, stress positions or sleep deprivation", as well as "the exploitation of prisoners' phobias, the use of mind-altering drugs, hooding, forced nakedness, the use of dogs to frighten detainees, exposing prisoners to extreme heat and cold, physical assault and threatening the use of such techniques against a prisoner or a prisoner's family."
However, the APA rejected a stronger resolution that sought to prohibit “all psychologist involvement, either direct or indirect, in any interrogations at U.S. detention centers for foreign detainees or citizens detained outside normal legal channels.” That resolution would have placed the APA alongside the American Medical Association and the American Psychiatric Association in limiting professional involvement in such settings to direct patient care. The APA echoed the Bush administration by condemning isolation, sleep deprivation, and sensory deprivation or over-stimulation only when they are likely to cause lasting harm.
Treatment of torture-related medical problems might require a wide range of expertise and often specialized experience. Common treatments are psychotropic
medicationA pharmaceutical drug, also referred to as medicine, medication or medicament, can be loosely defined as any chemical substance intended for use in the medical diagnosis, cure, treatment, or prevention of disease.- Classification :...
, e.g.
SSRI Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors or serotonin-specific reuptake inhibitor are a class of compounds typically used as antidepressants in the treatment of depression, anxiety disorders, and some personality disorders...
antidepressants, counseling, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, family systems therapy and physiotherapy.
- See Psychology of torture
Torture, whether physical or psychological or both, depends on complicated interpersonal relationships between those who torture, those tortured, bystanders and others. Torture also involves deeply personal processes in those tortured, in those who torture and in others...
for psychological impact, and aftermath, of torture.
Methods of execution and capital punishment
For most of recorded history, capital punishments were often cruel and inhumane. Severe historical penalties include
breaking wheelThe breaking wheel, also known as the Catherine wheel or simply the wheel, was a torture device used for capital punishment in the Middle Ages and early modern times for public execution by cudgeling to death...
,
boiling to death-Methodology:This penalty was carried out using a large cauldron filled with water, oil, tar, tallow or even molten lead. Sometimes the victim was immersed, the liquid then being heated, or he was plunged into the already boiling contents, usually head first. The executioner could then help speed...
,
flayingFlaying is the removal of skin from the body. Generally, an attempt is made to keep the removed portion of skin intact.-Scope:An animal may be flayed in preparation for human consumption, or for its hide or fur; this is more commonly called skinning....
, slow slicing,
disembowelmentDisembowelment is the removing of some or all of the vital organs, usually from the abdomen.-Disembowelment as torture:...
,
crucifixionCrucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
,
impalementImpalement is a term that refers to situations in which objects are driven through the body, causing deep stabbing wounds. It can refer either to accidental events or to deliberate wounding used as a method of torture or execution...
,
crushingDeath by crushing or pressing is a method of execution that has a long history during which the techniques used varied greatly from place to place. This form of execution is no longer sanctioned by any governing body....
,
stoningStoning, or lapidation, refers to a form of capital punishment. For the method of metalworking using sharpening stones see stoning ....
,
execution by burningDeath by burning is death brought about by combustion. As a form of capital punishment, burning has a long history as a method in crimes such as treason, heresy and witchcraft...
,
dismembermentDismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...
,
sawingSawing is a method of torture and execution.The condemned was hung upside down and then sawed apart down the middle, starting at the rectum. Since the condemned was hanging upside-down, the brain received a continuous blood supply in spite of the unsightly bleeding...
,
decapitationDecapitation is the separation of the head of an animal from its body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by means of a guillotine...
,
scaphismScaphism, also known as the boats, was an ancient Persian method of execution designed to inflict torturous death. The name comes from the Greek word skaphe, meaning "scooped out"....
, or
necklacingNecklacing refers to the practice of summary execution carried out by forcing a rubber tire , filled with gasoline, around a victim's chest and arms, and setting it on fire.-Necklacing in South Africa:...
.
Slow slicing, or
death by/of a thousand cuts, was a form of execution used in
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
from roughly 900 AD to its abolition in 1905. According to apocryphal lore,
língchí began when the torturer, wielding an extremely sharp knife, began by putting out the eyes, rendering the condemned incapable of seeing the remainder of the torture and, presumably, adding considerably to the psychological terror of the procedure. Successive rather minor cuts chopped off ears, nose, tongue, fingers, toes, and such before proceeding to grosser cuts that removed large collops of flesh from more sizable parts, e.g., thighs and shoulders. The entire process was said to last three days, and to total 3,600 cuts. The heavily carved bodies of the deceased were then put on a parade for a show in the public.
Impalement was a method of torture and execution whereby a person is pierced with a long
stakeStake may refer to:* In business, a stake is a share of ownership of a company.* Stake , an administrative unit of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and other Latter Day Saint denominations...
. The penetration can be through the sides, from the
rectumThe rectum is the final straight portion of the large intestine in some mammals, and the gut in others, terminating in the anus. The human rectum is about 12 cm long...
, or through the
mouthThe mouth, buccal cavity, or oral cavity is the first portion of the alimentary canal that receives food and begins digestion by mechanically breaking up the solid food particles into smaller pieces and mixing them with saliva...
. This method would lead to slow, painful, death. Often, the victim was hoisted into the air after partial impalement. Gravity and the victim's own struggles would cause him to slide down the pole, especially if the pole were on a wagon carrying war prizes and prisoner. Death could take many days. Impalement was frequently practiced in
AsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.6% of the earth's total surface area and with approximately 4 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population.Asia is traditionally defined as part of the...
and
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
throughout the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
. Vlad III Dracula, who learned the method of killing by impalement while staying in
ConstantinopleIstanbul is the largest city in Turkey and fifth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is also a megacity, as well as the cultural and financial centre of Turkey. The city covers 39 districts of the Istanbul province...
, the capital of the
Ottoman EmpireThe Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State , also known by its contemporaries as the Turkish Empire or Turkey , was an empire that lasted from 1299 to November 1, 1922 The Ottoman Empire or Ottoman State (Ottoman Turkish: دَوْلَتِ عَلِیَّهِ عُثْمَانِیَّه Dawlet-il ʿAliyyat-il ʿOs̠māniyye, Modern Turkish:...
, as a prisoner, and Ivan the Terrible have passed into legend as major users of the method.
The
breaking wheel was a torturous
capital punishmentCapital punishment or the death penalty, is the execution of a person by judicial process as a punishment for an offense. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences....
device used in the
Middle AgesThe Middle Ages of European history is a period of European history covering roughly a millennium in the 5th century through 16th centuries. More specific starting and ending points are sometimes adopted by scholars to suit their respective specializations or current focus...
and early modern times for public execution by
cudgelingA club is among the simplest of all weapons. A club is essentially a short staff, or stick, usually made of wood, and wielded as a weapon....
to death, especially in France and Germany. In France the condemned were placed on a cart-wheel with their limbs stretched out along the spokes over two sturdy wooden beams. The wheel was made to slowly revolve. Through the openings between the spokes, the executioner hit the victim with an iron hammer that could easily break the victim's bones. This process was repeated several times per limb. Once his bones were broken, he was left on the wheel to die. It could take hours, even days, before shock and dehydration caused death. The punishment was abolished in Germany as late as 1827.
Saltwater was also used as an effective torture device; while much water mixed with salt creates a healing saline used for destroying bacteria, little water mixed in with salt creates a searing substance which eats into flesh and irritates raw muscles. Slaveholders would often splash or rub saltwater into a slave's back after the slave had been flogged. The result is a biting pain and can be fatal if the victim is of a weak constitution.
See also
- Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights and freedoms that protect individuals from unwarranted government action and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression....
- Crimes against humanity
- Enhanced interrogation techniques
Enhanced interrogation techniques or alternative set of procedures were terms adopted by the George W. Bush administration in the United States for interrogation methods newly approved for use by US military intelligence and the Central Intelligence Agency to extract information from individuals...
- Human rights
Human rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
- Moral rights
Moral rights are rights of creators of copyrighted works generally recognized in civil law jurisdictions and, to a lesser extent, in some common law jurisdictions. They include the right of attribution, the right to have a work published anonymously or pseudonymously, and the right to the integrity...
- Psychological torture
Psychological torture is a type of torture that relies primarily on psychological effects, and only secondarily on any physical harm inflicted. Although not all psychological torture involves the use of physical violence, there is a continuum between psychological torture and physical torture...
- Torture and the United States
Torture in the United States includes documented and alleged cases inside the United States and outside the border by government personnel. Note that while some are, not all of such incidents are the policy of or done with the approval of the United States government.-Legislation and treaties...
- War crime
.War crimes are "violations of the laws or customs of war"; including "murder, the ill-treatment or deportation of civilian residents of an occupied territory to slave labor camps", "the murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war", the killing of hostages, "the wanton destruction of cities, towns...
- Ticking time bomb scenario
The ticking time bomb scenario is a thought experiment that has been used in the ethics debate over whether torture can ever be justified.Simply stated, the consequentialist argument is that nations, even those such as the United States that legally disallow torture, can justify its use if they...
Organizations
- International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims
The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims , is an independent, international health professional organisation that promotes and supports the rehabilitation of torture victims and works for the prevention of torture worldwide....
- Physicians for Human Rights
Physicians for Human Rights is an international non-governmental organization, headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that promotes health by protecting human rights. It is an organization that believes that human rights are essential preconditions for the health and well-being of all people...
- Medical Foundation for Care of Victims of Torture
The Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture, also known as the Medical Foundation , is a British registered charity dedicated solely to the treatment of torture survivors....
- Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims
The Rehabilitation and Research Centre for Torture Victims is a self-governing institution independent of party politics. It is located in Denmark.RCT's main fields of activity are:* Clinical research* Method development...
- United Nations Convention Against Torture
The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment is an international human rights instrument, under the review of the United Nations, that aims to prevent torture around the world....
- World Organisation Against Torture
The World Organisation Against Torture is the world’s largest coalition of non-governmental organisations fighting against arbitrary detention, torture, summary and extrajudicial executions, forced disappearances and other forms of violence...
External links