Torture
Human Rights Abuses
Refugees
Human Rights
Complicity
Social Control, Formal
War Crimes
Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic
Survivors of torture in a general medical setting: how often have patients been tortured, and how often is it missed? (1/107)
OBJECTIVES: To measure the frequency of people reporting torture among patients in a medical outpatient clinic and to determine primary care physicians' awareness of their patients' exposure to torture. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey followed by selected in-depth interviews of participants reporting a history of torture. Medical record review and interview of torture survivors' primary care physicians. SETTING: The internal medicine clinic of a large, urban medical center. PARTICIPANTS: A convenience sample of 121 adult patients who were not born in the United States and who were attending the adult ambulatory care clinic. INTERVENTIONS: All participants were interviewed using the Detection of Torture Survivors Survey, a validated instrument that asks about exposure to torture according to the World Medical Association definition of torture. Participants who reported a history of torture were interviewed in depth to confirm that they had been tortured. We reviewed the medical records of participants who reported a history of torture and interviewed their primary care physicians. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Self-reported history of torture. The awareness of primary care physicians of this history. RESULTS: Eight of 121 participants (6.6% [95% confidence interval: 3.1%-13.1%]) reported a history of torture. None of the survivors of torture had been identified as such by their primary care physician. CONCLUSIONS: Physicians of patients who have not been born in the United States and who attend urban general medical clinics frequently are unaware that their patients are survivors of torture. Primary care physicians can be the locus of intervention in the care of torture survivors. The first step is for physicians to recognize the possibility of torture survivors among their patients. (+info)The role of the pathologist in human rights abuses. (2/107)
The objective and unbiased statement is much valued in international work against human rights abuses. Pathologists play an increasingly important role. In this article, this role is illustrated by examples and the international set of rules is described. It is emphasised that under no circumstances should physicians assist in procedures, such as torture, which can weaken a human being. There is ongoing research into the sequelae of torture, both by gross and microscopic examination and in the living and dead victims. (+info)Stressor characteristics and post-traumatic stress disorder symptom dimensions in war victims. (3/107)
AIM: To evaluate how the type of trauma is related to specific symptom patterns in patients with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) criteria. METHODS: A total of 136 PTSD patients exposed to war-related traumatic experiences were divided in four groups: 79 veterans, 18 former prisoners (who witnessed or were subject to torture or frequent assaults), 15 victims of rape, and 24 refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Each group was homogenous in regard to traumatic experiences. RESULTS: Significant inter-group differences were found in symptoms listed in the DSM-IV criteria, and under criteria C (avoidance) and D (arousal). No such differences were observed in symptoms listed under criterion B (intrusive symptoms). The results indicate that stressor characteristics may play a role not only in the variety of symptoms exhibited, but particularly in the number of avoidance and arousal symptoms. Victims of rape tended to present with more avoidance symptoms and fewer hyperarousal symptoms, whereas former prisoners and veterans tended to report more hyperarousal symptoms. Rape victims and former prisoners also reported more symptoms than the other groups. CONCLUSION: There is a strong indication that stressor characteristics influence the variety and number of exhibited intrusive, avoidance, and arousal symptoms. More research is needed to precisely define individual symptom dimensions possibly relating to particular stressor characteristics. Additional studies are needed to determine whether PTSD, as it is currently defined in the DSM-IV, is really a homogenous diagnostic category. (+info)Changes of cytolytic cells and perforin expression in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. (4/107)
AIM: To define phenotypic characteristics of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer cells (NK) in peripheral blood, frequency of somatic symptoms, and level of anxiety and depression in 25 patients clinically diagnosed with chronic post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). METHODS: Patients were divided into two sub-groups according to the stressor: 18 PTSD patients with the battlefield experience and 7 PTSD patients with battlefield experience who were tortured as the prisoners of war (POW) in Bosnian-Serbian camps. The control group consisted of 15 healthy volunteers matched to the patients by sex and age. We tested all patients using Becks depression inventory, Spielberger anxiety test, and somatic disturbance list, and analyzed their peripheral blood lymphocytes using flow cytometry with the double fluorescence staining of cell surface antigens (CD3, CD4, CD8, CD16, and CD56) and intracellular cytolytic molecule perforin (P), a mediator of cytolytic action at the molecular level. RESULTS: All PTSD patients showed a significant level of anxiety, depression, and numerous somatic symptoms. The only significant difference between PTSD patients with and without POW experience was in the anxiety level (median, 71; range 61-79; vs median, 65; range, 49-77). PTSD patients with POW experience had significantly higher levels of CD16+ cells (median, 37%; range, 16-55%) than those without it (median, 12%; range, 5-37%). Double labeling for intracellular P antigen and cell surface antigens showed the highest levels of CD16+P+ (median, 33%; range, 15-40%; vs median, 10%; range, 3-29%) and CD56+P+ (median, 21%; range, 11-40%; vs median 8%; range, 1-30%) cells in PTSD-POW patients. CONCLUSION: Chronic PTSD patients who survived concentration camps show the most numerous alterations in PBL phenotype, the highest number of perforin-containing cells, and a significantly higher level of anxiety. (+info)Proceedings of the International Symposium on Torture and the Medical Profession. (5/107)
... The main topic of this publication is the involvement of professional medical doctors in the course of torture in, generally speaking, the following ways: 1. Medical scientific knowledge and experience is used in the design of the methods and techniques of torture, for example pharmacological torture; 2. Doctors teach the torturers/perpetrators regarding the practical application of these methods; 3. Doctors actively participate in carrying out torture and in executions in relation to the death penalty; 4. Doctors are present -- "passive" -- during the implementation of torture (in more than sixty per cent of cases) for example monitoring the clinical condition of the victim in order to prevent death; are present when the death sentence is carried out, and then write out death certificates. Many of these are later shown by forensic documentation to be false.... This supplement is based on an international symposium, Torture and the Medical Profession, which was held at the University of Tromso in June 1990.... (+info)Annual report of Council, 1983-1984: medical ethics.(6/107)
(+info)Annual report of Council, 1985-1986: medical ethics.(7/107)
(+info)P(8/107)
ersonal view: (+info)Torture is not typically defined in medical terms, but it is recognized as a severe violation of human rights by the World Medical Association (WMA), the United Nations (UN), and other international bodies. The UN defines torture as:
"any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions."
The WMA's Declaration of Tokyo states that "physicians shall not countenance, condone or participate in the practice of torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" and defines torture as "the deliberate, systematic or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons acting alone or on behalf of others."
Medical professionals play a critical role in identifying, documenting, and reporting torture, as well as providing care and support to survivors.
Human rights abuses in a medical context can refer to violations of the right to health, which is a fundamental human right recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations. This includes:
* Denial of access to necessary healthcare, including sexual and reproductive health services
* Discrimination in the provision of healthcare based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, disability, sexual orientation, or other status
* Use of torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment in healthcare settings
* Experimentation on human subjects without their informed consent
* Violation of confidentiality and privacy in the provision of healthcare services
* Inhumane living conditions in places of detention, such as prisons and immigration detention centers, which can lead to negative health outcomes.
Additionally, Human rights abuses can also refer to violations of other human rights that have an impact on a person's health, such as:
* Violence against women, children, LGBTQ+ individuals, minorities and other marginalized groups
* Forced displacement and migration
* Denial of the right to education, food, water and sanitation
* Inhumane working conditions
* Torture and ill-treatment
* Arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances
* Violations of freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly.
These abuses can lead to physical and mental health problems, including chronic illnesses, disabilities, and psychological trauma. They can also exacerbate existing health conditions and make it more difficult for individuals to access necessary healthcare services.
Medically, the term "refugees" does not have a specific definition. However, in a broader social and humanitarian context, refugees are defined by the United Nations as:
"People who are outside their country of nationality or habitual residence; have a well-founded fear of persecution because of their race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular social group or political opinion; and are unable or unwilling to avail themselves of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution."
Refugees often face significant health challenges due to forced displacement, violence, trauma, limited access to healthcare services, and harsh living conditions. They may experience physical and mental health issues, including infectious diseases, malnutrition, depression, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Providing medical care and support for refugees is an important aspect of global public health.
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "Human Rights" is a social, political, and legal concept, rather than a medical one. Human rights are basic rights and freedoms to which all individuals are entitled, regardless of nationality, sex, ethnicity, religion, language, or any other status. They include civil and political rights, such as the right to life, liberty, and freedom of expression; as well as social, cultural and economic rights, like the right to participate in culture, the right to food, and the right to work and receive an education.
However, in the context of healthcare, human rights are crucial. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights recognizes the right to medical care and the right to enjoy the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health. Healthcare providers have a responsibility to respect and protect their patients' human rights, ensuring that they receive care without discrimination, that their privacy is protected, and that they are involved in decisions regarding their healthcare.
Violations of human rights can significantly impact an individual's health and well-being, making the promotion and protection of human rights a critical public health issue.
Complicity, in a medical context, generally refers to the state of being involved or associated with someone else's wrongful actions or negligence, typically as an accessory or partner. This can include situations where a healthcare professional knows about and fails to report or take action to prevent harm caused by another person, or where they actively assist in the commission of unethical or illegal acts. Complicity can also refer to the act of providing assistance or encouragement to someone who is engaging in harmful behavior, such as a patient who is abusing drugs or alcohol. In all cases, complicity implies a level of responsibility and accountability for the negative outcomes that result from the actions of oneself or others.
Forensic medicine, also known as legal medicine or medical jurisprudence, is a branch of medicine that deals with the application of medical knowledge to legal issues and questions. It involves the examination, interpretation, and analysis of medical evidence for use in courts of law. This may include determining the cause and manner of death, identifying injuries or diseases, assessing the effects of substances or treatments, and evaluating the competency or capacity of individuals. Forensic medicine is often used in criminal investigations and court cases, but it can also be applied to civil matters such as personal injury claims or medical malpractice suits.
I'm sorry for any confusion, but "war" is not a medical term. It refers to a state of armed conflict between different nations or states or between political or social groups, usually with large-scale violence and loss of life. If you have any questions related to medicine or health, I would be happy to try to help answer them.
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a legal penalty in which a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime. The crimes that are punishable by death vary by country, but typically include murder, treason, and espionage. In the United States, for example, federal and state laws allow for the use of capital punishment in cases involving murder, terrorism, and certain types of treason.
The methods used to carry out capital punishment also vary by country, but common methods include lethal injection, electrocution, hanging, and firing squad. The use of the death penalty is a controversial issue, with some people arguing that it is a necessary tool for deterring crime and protecting society, while others argue that it is a violation of human rights and that there is a risk of executing innocent people.
Genocide is not a medical term, but it is a legal and sociological concept. It is defined by the United Nations as acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group, including:
* Killing members of the group
* Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members of the group
* Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part
* Imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group
* Forcibly transferring children of the group to another group
Genocide is a crime under international law, and it is considered one of the most serious crimes a person can commit. Medical professionals may play a role in documenting evidence of genocide or providing care to survivors.
Formal social control, in the context of medical sociology or health sciences, refers to the systematic mechanisms and processes through which society regulates and guides the behavior of its members in accordance with established laws, rules, and norms, particularly in relation to health and healthcare. This can include various formal institutions and agencies such as governmental bodies, regulatory authorities, professional organizations, and healthcare providers that are responsible for enforcing standards, policies, and regulations aimed at ensuring quality, safety, and effectiveness of healthcare services and products.
Examples of formal social control in healthcare may include licensing and accreditation requirements for healthcare professionals and facilities, clinical guidelines and protocols for diagnosis and treatment, quality improvement initiatives, and regulatory oversight of pharmaceuticals and medical devices. These mechanisms help to maintain order, promote compliance with ethical and professional standards, and protect the public's health and well-being.
I am not a medical professional, but I can tell you that the term "war crimes" is a legal concept and does not fall under the category of medical definitions. War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in armed conflicts. They include acts such as deliberate attacks on civilians or civilian infrastructure, torture, hostage-taking, and the use of weapons that cause unnecessary suffering or superfluous injury.
If you have any questions related to medical definitions or health-related topics, I would be happy to try to help answer them!
Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a psychiatric condition that can occur in people who have experienced or witnessed a traumatic event such as a natural disaster, serious accident, war combat, rape, or violent personal assault. According to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 5th Edition (DSM-5), PTSD is characterized by the following symptoms, which must last for more than one month:
1. Intrusion symptoms: These include distressing memories, nightmares, flashbacks, or intense psychological distress or reactivity to internal or external cues that symbolize or resemble an aspect of the traumatic event.
2. Avoidance symptoms: Persistent avoidance of stimuli associated with the traumatic event, including thoughts, feelings, conversations, activities, places, or people.
3. Negative alterations in cognitions and mood: This includes negative beliefs about oneself, others, or the world; distorted blame of self or others for causing the trauma; persistent negative emotional state; decreased interest in significant activities; and feelings of detachment or estrangement from others.
4. Alterations in arousal and reactivity: This includes irritable behavior and angry outbursts, reckless or self-destructive behavior, hypervigilance, exaggerated startle response, problems with concentration, and sleep disturbance.
5. Duration of symptoms: The symptoms must last for more than one month.
6. Functional significance: The symptoms cause clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.
It is essential to note that PTSD can occur at any age and can be accompanied by various physical and mental health problems, such as depression, substance abuse, memory problems, and other difficulties in cognition. Appropriate treatment, which may include psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both, can significantly improve the symptoms and overall quality of life for individuals with PTSD.
Torture
Torture chamber
Torture Garden
Tickle torture
Water torture
Rat torture
Torture Killer
Box (torture)
Torture (journal)
Torture Central
Torture Tactics
Mr. Torture
Torture Ship
Torture murder
Whirligig (torture)
Psychological torture
Torture Squad
Hope Torture
Medical torture
Severe Torture
Torture (disambiguation)
Interrogational torture
Genital torture
Brodequin (torture)
Torture Money
Combing (torture)
Beat Torture
Boot (torture)
Torture (album)
Torture - Wikipedia
UN demands answers on Chinese torture
Torture and ill treatment - Portal
Palestinians compensated over torture claims
Torture | The Week
Impact box 12 torture - Portal
Make torture legal, say two academics
PC Torture? | Dissident Voice
BBC NEWS | UK | Ban on 'torture documents' lifted
Nobel Winners to Obama: Admit Torture
Amnesty Urges Kyiv To Eradicate Torture
Egypt: Ten years of torture - Amnesty International
Torture and Non-Refoulement | Human Rights Watch
Torture
Dog Dies From Teen's Alleged Torture | PETA
The Logic of Torture | Human Rights Watch
police torture Archives - Chicago Reader
Coffee vs. torture | The Week
Mexican police accused of torture
Complicity in Torture | Dissident Voice
Landmark day for US as report exposes torture
Independent Review Concludes U.S. 'Indisputably' Used Torture
Senate Torture Report - FOIA | American Civil Liberties Union
Opinion | The Torture Secrets Are Coming | Common Dreams
Committee against Torture considers report of China | OHCHR
Torture In Truth or Consequences | The Smoking Gun
Anti-torture condemns Israel | Green Left
The Banalization of Torture
We Must Denounce Torture - Progressive.org
Facing the Truth About Torture (Video)
Detainees12
- Swedish officials waited five weeks before visiting the detainees in Egypt and lacked specific expertise in detecting torture and ill-treatment. (hrw.org)
- Rights group Amnesty International is urging Ukraine to eliminate torture and other ill-treatment of detainees as the European Union is mulling offering Kyiv closer ties with the bloc. (rferl.org)
- The report concludes that both the use of torture and the high level of secrecy surrounding the rendition and torture of detainees has no justification. (rferl.org)
- The ACLU filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit demanding that the CIA, and the Departments of Defense, Justice, and State release a 6,900-page report of a comprehensive investigation into the CIA's post-9/11 program of detention, torture, and other abuse of detainees. (aclu.org)
- The summary describes how the CIA repeatedly misled Congress, the Justice Department, the White House, the media, and the public about its torture program-including misrepresentations about the "effectiveness" of torture, the brutality of the agency's techniques, and the number of detainees in its custody. (aclu.org)
- Following years of other litigation and advocacy by the ACLU, the government has released well over 100,000 pages of documents concerning the abuse and torture of detainees by the CIA and Department of Defense. (aclu.org)
- Anti-torture training was mandatory for all staff of detention facilities and prisons, while the system incorporated the prohibition of extortion of confessions by torture or abuse of detainees. (ohchr.org)
- That we will have one is largely due to former Guantanamo detainees, having alleged that they had been tortured and that UK intelligence officials had known and been present at interrogations, suing the government for compensation. (dissidentvoice.org)
- Wheel of Torture " - police spin a Wheel of Torture to decide how to torture detainees. (amnesty.org)
- We had, after all, already heard the testimony of Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff to then-Secretary of State Colin Powell, that more than one hundred detainees had died in U.S. custody, many of them tortured to their death. (dissentmagazine.org)
- Indeed, we can't even agree on whether we actually tortured detainees. (dissentmagazine.org)
- An international panel commissioned by King Hamad to probe the government's clampdown found out that excessive force and torture had been used against protesters and detainees. (gulfnews.com)
Beatings3
- the most common form of physical torture is beatings. (wikipedia.org)
- Jabali said some of those demanding compensation claimed that they were tortured in more extreme ways, such as severe beatings, threats of severe violence, the withholding of food and drink, not being allowed access to a bathroom or shower, threats of imprisonment and harming family members, denial of medical treatment, or being locked in a tiny cell with cold air being pumped in. (ynetnews.com)
- Movies and television entertain us with realistic and bloody dramatizations of murders, beatings, and tortures. (cdc.gov)
Convention against7
- The definition put forth by the United Nations Convention against Torture only considers torture carried out by the state. (wikipedia.org)
- Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) provides that no state shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected to torture. (hrw.org)
- The Committee against Torture concluded this afternoon its consideration of the fifth periodic report of China, including Hong Kong and Macao Special Administrative Regions, on its implementation of the provisions of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. (ohchr.org)
- If you are physically present in the U.S., and are applying for asylum , you should also apply for protection under the United Nations Convention Against Torture ("CAT") if you fear torture in your country of origin. (nolo.com)
- For a discussion of all three forms of relief that might be available to you, see " Differences Between Asylum Withholding of Removal, and Protection Under Convention Against Torture . (nolo.com)
- 157 - the number of countries that have ratified the United Nations Convention against Torture . (amnesty.org)
- To date, the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture has been ratified by 91 states . (ohchr.org)
Allegedly4
- Most of us haven't come to terms with what that meant, or means today, but we must reckon with torture, the torture done in our name, allegedly for our safety. (truthdig.com)
- By Onozure Dania - Lagos A 60-year-old building contractor, Mr Olajide Fowotade, wept, while taking an oath before the panel, narrated how he was allegedly tortured by policemen in plain clothes, from the Ketu Division. (vanguardngr.com)
- A "wheel of torture" in the Philippines allegedly used to pick a list of torture techniques meted out to prisoners. (amnesty.org)
- CHICAGO - A lawsuit accusing former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of personal responsibility for U.S. forces allegedly torturing two American whistleblowers who worked for an Iraqi contracting firm will be allowed to move forward, a federal appeals court ruled Monday. (heraldnet.com)
Suspects9
- Some suspects have been sent to countries with well-documented histories of torture and ill-treatment and where they have been detained in circumstances that raise grave concerns about their treatment. (hrw.org)
- In an attempt to meet their non-refoulement obligations, some sending states have sought and obtained "diplomatic assurances" from receiving countries that suspects would not be subject to the death penalty or tortured after they are transferred. (hrw.org)
- A dozen winners of the Nobel Peace Prize are urging President Obama to make "full disclosure to the American people of the extent and use of torture" by the United States, including the release of a long-delayed Senate report about the CIA's harsh treatment of terrorism suspects after the 9/11 attacks. (thedailybeast.com)
- The information we've gotten from torturing other suspects has so far included lies about Saddam Hussien giving chemical and biological weapons training to Al Qaeda, so we would be better off sticking with coffee-at least until we "need someone to tell us that Iran is up to no good. (theweek.com)
- The report says there is evidence that Mexican police tortured some of the key suspects arrested in the disappearance of the students. (abc15.com)
- MEXICO CITY (AP) - There is strong evidence that Mexican police tortured some of the key suspects arrested in the disappearance of 43 students, according to a report released Sunday by an outside group of experts. (abc15.com)
- We know that Haspel supervised a "black site" in Thailand where Al Qaeda suspects were waterboarded in 2002, but it's unknown if she had any connection to Mohammed's torture. (nymag.com)
- Suspects abducted by U.S. agents have been flown to third countries, such as Uzbekistan, Egypt, Jordan and Syria, for interrogation and torture. (americanfreepress.net)
- There are versions of the suspects regarding other incidents but that is after torture, and we understand that the suspects would say anything in order not to return to the abuse of the Shabak. (israelnationalnews.com)
Government's7
- The progress of official investigations into complaints of torture is examined and the Egyptian Government's response to an earlier AI report is reproduced here. (amnesty.org)
- The U.S. government has not explained why it sent him to Syria rather than to Canada, where he resides, nor why it believed Syrian assurances to be credible in light of the government's record of torture. (hrw.org)
- But the allegations of torture could endanger any chance of convictions in one of the highest-profile human rights cases in Mexican history, especially because the government's version of events - that corrupt police handed the students over to drug gang members who killed them and burned their bodies at a trash dump - hangs in large part on the testimony of some drug gunmen who now say they were tortured into confessing. (abc15.com)
- The promised inquiry was asked for by the Joint Human Rights Committee, when they were studying the previous government's role in torture, but was refused. (dissidentvoice.org)
- But while Miliband was Foreign Secretary he fought hard to prevent any evidence of UK security personnel involvement being made public, endlessly repeating that 'The UK unreservedly condemns the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment', hoping perhaps, that if said often enough, it would be believed - a vain hope, considering his government's record since 2001. (dissidentvoice.org)
- In fact, the government's blanket of secrecy over its torture methods is designed to keep the American people in the dark. (wsws.org)
- The torture memos make clear that the actions on the ground rested directly on the green light from the American government's Justice Department. (dissentmagazine.org)
Inhuman7
- Another approach, preferred by scholars such as Manfred Nowak and Malcolm Evans, distinguishes torture from other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment by considering only the torturer's purpose, and not the severity. (wikipedia.org)
- In its annual resolution on torture, the Commission on Human Rights should reaffirm the absolute obligation of states not to return ("refouler") a person to a country where he or she is at risk of being subjected to torture or other cruel or inhuman treatment. (hrw.org)
- The judgment from the European Court of Human Rights said that although the men had been subjected to inhuman and degrading treatment, it did not constitute torture. (rte.ie)
- One of the memos declared that none of the torture techniques then being used by the Central Intelligence Agency against alleged terrorists constituted "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (wsws.org)
- This legal opinion, issued by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, was obtained to give the administration legal cover to flout a pending congressional bill banning torture and defining it as "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. (wsws.org)
- Ever since, the administration has been providing pseudo-legal guidelines defining torture and "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment in such a way as to evade court rulings and congressional mandates and continue its sadistic abuse of prisoners. (wsws.org)
- The mandate of the SPT is to prevent torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of persons deprived of their liberty, through visits and recommendations to States parties to the Optional Protocol. (ohchr.org)
Interrogation12
- Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. (wikipedia.org)
- He said he was tortured with much violence, with tear gas thrown during his interrogation, being handcuffed to the ceiling while his body hung in the air, being beaten with a water pipe and a club, being shaken, and being withheld water and food. (ynetnews.com)
- With political pressure mounting to ban torture, CIA sources last week described six 'Å“enhanced interrogation techniques' to ABC News. (theweek.com)
- Torture should be legalised and is a 'morally defensible' interrogation method, even if it causes the death of innocent people, according to an article by two Victorian academics that has sparked outrage here and overseas. (theage.com.au)
- Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, a number of states have taken actions that have weakened the principle of non-refoulement by returning persons suspected of involvement in terrorism to their home countries or sending them to third countries for detention and interrogation despite the known likelihood that they would be tortured. (hrw.org)
- President Trump has often spoken highly of so-called "enhanced interrogation," and he once proclaimed " torture works " (though Mohammed offered up false information during such interrogations). (nymag.com)
- These are the two people, one of them is overseeing the whole interrogation"-by which Salvatore meant John, the presumed American-"and the other is doing the questioning and ordering the torture. (thedailybeast.com)
- A day after Miss Rice left Germany, the front-page story of the Garmisch-Partenkirchner Tagblatt focused on Khaled Masri, the innocent Lebanese-born German citizen who was kidnapped by the CIA in Macedonia in December 2003 and flown to Afghanistan for interrogation and torture, where he was held for five months. (americanfreepress.net)
- The lawyers revealed in a press conference on Thursday night in Jerusalem that the interrogation has included severe torture, of a nature that has not been conducted in Israel before. (israelnationalnews.com)
- President George Bush on Friday categorically defended his authorization of interrogation methods defined by international and US law and viewed the world over as torture. (wsws.org)
- This is not a small matter, since the interrogation methods Bush has authorized and continues to defend are flagrant violations of the Geneva Conventions and international conventions against torture and cruel and degrading treatment. (wsws.org)
- others insist that we didn't torture anybody-that waterboarding, a torture technique that despotic governments have used since the Spanish Inquisition, was just another one of the "enhanced interrogation techniques" we needed to get information that was vital to our national security. (dissentmagazine.org)
Survivors6
- The director of the Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture, Paris Aristotle, said he was shocked when a colleague sent him a copy of the paper, which will appear in the July edition of the University of San Francisco Law Review . (theage.com.au)
- For example, the Washington Times recently reported that "[s]ome of the most feared forms of torture cited" by survivors of the North Korean gulag "were surprisingly mundane: Guards would force inmates to stand perfectly still for hours at a time, or make them perform exhausting repetitive exercises such as standing up and sitting down until they collapsed from fatigue. (hrw.org)
- Inside Yemen's prisons can be found torture, rape, disappearances, a snarling dog nicknamed Shakira-and, according to survivors, the American sponsors of a dirty war. (thedailybeast.com)
- 21 - the number of survivors who were tortured as children in the Philippines who spoke to Amnesty International, out of a total of 55 torture survivors interviewed. (amnesty.org)
- Survivors of torture. (cdc.gov)
- Holtan, N R "Survivors of torture. (cdc.gov)
Custody3
- He says while in US custody in Morocco he was tortured at the behest of the CIA and asked questions supplied by British intelligence agency MI5. (bbc.co.uk)
- Other issues discussed included the existence of "black jails", provisions of the law on domestic violence, the use of solitary confinement, deaths in custody, and using torture to extract confessions. (ohchr.org)
- 50% of people in Nigeria would not feel safe from torture if they were held in custody. (amnesty.org)
Officials5
- By allowing Libi to be tortured, U.S. officials made 'Å“a pact with the devil. (theweek.com)
- After holding him for ten days, U.S. immigration authorities flew him to Jordan, where he was driven across the border and handed to Syrian authorities, despite his repeated statements to U.S. officials that he would be tortured in Syria. (hrw.org)
- A nonpartisan panel that includes former senior U.S. officials has issued a report stating that 'it is indisputable that the United States engaged in the practice of torture. (rferl.org)
- Taken together, these episodes send an ugly but resounding message: Senior U.S. officials face no real consequences for the crime of torture. (counterpunch.org)
- Senior officials ordered the torture of men at military bases and detention facilities in Afghanistan and Iraq, in secret CIA prisons set up across the globe, and in other countries - including Libya and Egypt - where abusive regimes were asked to do Washington's dirty work. (truthdig.com)
Alleges2
- Arar alleges he was in fact tortured during his ten months of confinement in a Syrian prison. (hrw.org)
- e 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago comes just days after a similar decision by a federal judge in Washington, D.C., that gave the green light to an Army veteran - who also alleges he was tortured in Iraq - to sue Rumsfeld for damages. (heraldnet.com)
CIA's4
- Rachel Maddow remarks on the historic nature of the revelations of the CIA's torture program under the Bush administration as detailed in the newly released Senate report. (msnbc.com)
- Then-SSCI Chairman Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) asked that the full report be made available within the executive branch to help make sure that the CIA's detention and torture program never happens again. (aclu.org)
- The release of the full torture report is still necessary to illuminate the program's legal and moral failings, the CIA's evasions and misrepresentations to Congress, the White House, and the American public, and to make sure the CIA never again engages in unlawful detention and torture. (aclu.org)
- Last week, the European Court of Human Rights finally rendered a judgment in his favor, confirming the accuracy of the story he's told for years about his sufferings, fining the Macedonian government for its role in his case, and concluding for the first time in a court of law that "the CIA's rendition techniques amounted to torture. (antiwar.com)
Death penalty1
- Richard Dieter, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), agrees, calling it "akin to a form of torture where people are told they're going to die again and again and then spared. (thenation.com)
Prisoners7
- Most victims of torture are poor and marginalized people suspected of crimes, although torture against political prisoners or during armed conflict has received disproportionate attention. (wikipedia.org)
- Binding prisoners in painful positions is a torture technique widely used in countries such as China and Burma, and repeatedly condemned by the United States. (hrw.org)
- Salvatore's account is fragmentary, as is that of another ex-detainee interviewed by The Daily Beast named Adel Salem Nasser al-Hasani, who gave similar accounts of a U.S. presence in Yemeni torture prisons based on what he saw-victims weren't always blindfolded-heard, and heard other prisoners say. (thedailybeast.com)
- Yes, I know that we can't compare the systematic torture that was the policy of the German government then with American CIA agents who tortured a few prisoners? (dissentmagazine.org)
- Well, I don't know if the Japanese guards who waterboarded American prisoners during the Second World War were careful or not, but I bet they told themselves similar tales about why what they did wasn't torture. (dissentmagazine.org)
- Principles of medical ethics relevant to the protection of prisoners against torture = Principes d'éthique médicale concernant la protection des prisonniers contre la torture. (who.int)
- This essay discusses the dissemination of atrocity images in contemporary mass media, from the photographs of mass-graves in the Nazi concentration camps to the pictures of torture of Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib. (lu.se)
Cruel1
- While many countries made significant strides in combating torture, governments around the world are still using torture to extract information, force confessions, silence dissent or simply as a cruel form of punishment. (amnesty.org)
Widespread4
- If you accept that torture is widespread and should therefore be legalised, why wouldn't we then legalise crime? (theage.com.au)
- Human Rights Watch questions the legal sufficiency of diplomatic assurances, particularly in cases where the receiving government engages in widespread or systematic torture. (hrw.org)
- There is no persuasive evidence in the public record that the widespread use of torture against suspected terrorists was necessary, that is that it produced significant information of value that could not have been otherwise obtained,' Hutchinson said. (rferl.org)
- LONDON - Human rights group Amnesty International says torture and executions are widespread in political prisons in North Korea that can be the size of large cities. (voanews.com)
Methods of torture2
- Among the methods of torture used against them during several weeks in military camps was sleep deprivation and a practice known as "walling," in which subjects are blindfolded and walked into walls, according to the lawsuit. (heraldnet.com)
- Early in his career as a pain researcher, Daniel Whibley, PhD, was struck by an article that drew parallels between methods of torture and the experiences of patients with insomnia and chronic pain. (medscape.com)
Committee against1
- China has compiled five reports to the Committee against Torture. (telegraph.co.uk)
Detention3
- But Salvatore and al-Hasani's accounts also challenge the official U.S. position, which is that despite American service-members being present in Yemeni prisons, the U.S. doesn't know anything about any torture that happens in detention centers run by U.S. allies. (thedailybeast.com)
- The campaign wants greater protection from torture through a wide range of measures - such as independent checks on detention centres, prompt access to lawyers and courts, and independent investigations into torture allegations - until torture is completely stamped out. (amnesty.org)
- GENEVA (12 May 2022) - The UN Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture (SPT) is concerned about the prolonged pre-trial detention, overcrowding and deplorable living conditions in places of deprivation of liberty that it observed during its second visit to Lebanon. (ohchr.org)
Revelations3
- Every American should be filled with anger and disgust at the continuing revelations of torture by U.S. troops. (progressive.org)
- Revelations of illegal abductions, torture flights and secret U.S.-run gulags in Europe have been the front-page news around the world for weeks. (americanfreepress.net)
- The memos disclosed by the Times are part of a series, going back to the infamous "torture" memo secretly drafted in 2002 and exposed in 2004, following the Abu Ghraib revelations, which narrowed the definition of torture to techniques that cause organ failure. (wsws.org)
Amnesty10
- the paper cites Amnesty International reports of torture and ill-treatment in 132 countries to argue that international bans have not stopped torture, and it should therefore be regulated to allow greater public scrutiny. (theage.com.au)
- Amnesty International spokeswoman Nicole Bieske, who is also a lawyer, was stunned by the idea of regulating torture. (theage.com.au)
- This document presents evidence of a pattern of torture gathered by Amnesty International over the last ten years from torture victims, court judgements and forensic reports. (amnesty.org)
- Amnesty noted that Kyiv had taken 'important steps' to reduce the practice but said torture must be more 'promptly, effectively, and independently investigated. (rferl.org)
- On 26 June, the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture , Amnesty International members and supporters in more than 55 countries will hold events to remind people that thousands are being tortured around the world. (amnesty.org)
- Amnesty International launched the Stop Torture campaign on 13 May 2014 to expose a global crisis on torture. (amnesty.org)
- 141 - the number of countries in which Amnesty has reported on torture or other ill-treatment in the past five years. (amnesty.org)
- 82% - torture or other ill-treatment was reported in four-fifths of the countries covered in Amnesty International's 2014 annual report . (amnesty.org)
- Since launching its Stop Torture campaign in May 2014, Amnesty International has issued reports on torture in Mexico , Morocco , Nigeria , the Philippines and Uzbekistan . (amnesty.org)
- Amnesty International's Stop Torture campaign has mobilized millions of people into direct action since its launch in 2014 through a variety of tactics and activities targeting five specific governments. (amnesty.org)
David Miliband2
- When the High Court gave its original judgement on the case last year, a seven paragraph summary of Mr Mohamed's torture claims was removed on the orders of Foreign Secretary David Miliband. (bbc.co.uk)
- When Prime Minister David Cameron announced in Parliament that there would be an inquiry (chaired by Sir Peter Gibson) into the United Kingdom's complicity in torture, two former Foreign Secretaries, Jack Straw and David Miliband, turned white. (dissidentvoice.org)
Allegations1
- The US also denies any allegations of torture concerning Mr Mohamed and a former senior official in the Bush administration told the BBC releasing the material would have an 'enormous chilling effect' on US-UK relations. (bbc.co.uk)
Reportedly2
- A study by the law school of New York University has reportedly concluded that a nation is in violation of international law when it allows a torture flight to use its facilities. (americanfreepress.net)
- Buckley was reportedly tortured for months. (foxnews.com)
19991
- Its report claimed that the number of criminal charges brought because torture was used to extort confessions had fallen from 143 in 1999 to 53 in 2004. (telegraph.co.uk)
Release of the torture2
- The response to the SSCI's public release of the torture report's executive summary shows how important it is for the full report to be released. (aclu.org)
- Whatever the psychological consequences, the release of the torture memos has opened a spirited debate among Americans, revealing yet again the ideological chasm that separates us. (dissentmagazine.org)
Memos3
- A co-author of the piece was John Yoo, who, during his tenure with the Bush administration at the Justice Department, was the author of legal memos purporting to justify torture. (counterpunch.org)
- These memos served a purpose - they were used to facilitate torture. (counterpunch.org)
- President Obama, who gave the okay to release the memos and promises that the United States will not torture again, says also that those whose behavior was within "the four corners" of what the Bush administration defined as legal doctrine will not be prosecuted. (dissentmagazine.org)
Police officers1
- Dubai: Bahrain's chief prosecutor announced on Monday that 15 police officers will be charged with torturing doctors arrested during anti-government protests in the country early last year. (gulfnews.com)
19911
- 7 - the number of torture convictions achieved at federal level in Mexico since 1991, when torture was made a crime. (amnesty.org)
People11
- Professor Bagaric told The Age that he expected to be criticised for his views, particularly on torturing innocent people. (theage.com.au)
- Earlier this month, eight members of the Bush administration were found guilty of torture and war crimes by an unofficial tribunal in Malaysia for defying international law and torturing people in the post-9/11 era. (truthdig.com)
- So Americans have been sorely pressed to come to terms with the fact that after 9/11 our government began to torture people, and did so in defiance of domestic and international law. (truthdig.com)
- It must have been obvious to anyone with half a brain that rendition flights involved moving illegally detained people to secret (and therefore unmonitored) prisons, or to 'friendly' countries that were, and are, well known for using torture during interrogations. (dissidentvoice.org)
- 2 million - the number of times people took action as part of the Stop Torture campaign since May 2014, from writing letters to attending demonstrations. (amnesty.org)
- 340,000 - the number of people who signed a petition delivered to the Mexican Federal Attorney General asking for a full investigation to be opened into the case of Claudia Medina , who was tortured by marines in order to force her to incriminate herself and others in drug-related crimes. (amnesty.org)
- At his press appearance, Bush made his standard pro-forma disavowal: "This government does not torture people. (wsws.org)
- He then sought to foist responsibility for his use of torture onto the American people, saying, "Because the American people expect us to find out information, actionable intelligence, so we can defend them. (wsws.org)
- He concluded by declaring his intention to continue his torture program, saying, "The American people expect their government to take action to protect them from further attack. (wsws.org)
- There's one particular nightmare that Americans need to face: in the first decade of the twenty-first century we tortured people as national policy. (antiwar.com)
- Other objectives of the visit were to establish direct contact with the recently established national monitoring body, and to examine the treatment of people deprived of their liberty and their safeguards against torture and ill-treatment. (ohchr.org)
Form of torture1
- This is a subject that has over the years been used as a form of torture for thousands of computer science students but it deserves better! (i-programmer.info)
Forms of torture1
- Judicial corporal punishment and capital punishment are sometimes seen as forms of torture, but this label is internationally controversial. (wikipedia.org)
Evidence of torture2
- There is archaeological evidence of torture in Early Neolithic Europe, about 7,000 years ago. (wikipedia.org)
- The judges have made clear what we have said all along - it is irrational to pretend that evidence of torture should be classified as a threat to national security,' he said. (bbc.co.uk)
Complaints of torture1
- 1,505 - The number of reported complaints of torture and other ill-treatment in Mexico in 2013, 600% more than in 2003. (amnesty.org)
Practice1
- During the seventeenth century, torture remained legal in Europe, but its practice declined. (wikipedia.org)
Investigations1
- Despite the crumbling of torture's legal facade, investigations into the crime of torture have made little progress. (counterpunch.org)
Rape1
- These are the probable cause affidavits filed by New Mexico criminal investigators handling the kidnapping, rape, and torture case against David Ray and Cindy Hendy. (thesmokinggun.com)
20021
- and in 2002, a Taiwanese video artist re-enacting a century-old photograph of Chinese torture. (lu.se)
Face torture2
- In other words, if another country where you would not face torture is willing to take you, the U.S. government could send you there. (nolo.com)
- Nawaf Hamza, chief investigator in the prosecutor's office, said in a statement he was officially making known that members of the forces of law and order would face torture charges resulting from the unrest. (gulfnews.com)
Constitute torture1
- She refused to say whether the administration considered such methods as water-boarding or head-slapping to constitute torture. (wsws.org)
Psychological torture2
- But human rights experts believe that repeated trips to the death chamber, followed by last-minute reprieves, amount to psychological torture. (thenation.com)
- The recurrent themes felt helplessness, enduring physical, emotional and psychological torture, accepting fate with reservation and being strangers in marital union. (who.int)
Iraq1
- The US government has apparently failed to provide compensation or other redress to Iraqis who suffered torture and other abuse by US forces at Abu Ghraib and other US-run prisons in Iraq two decades ago. (juancole.com)
Ghraib1
- Their views caused such a stir at the University of San Francisco, the journal's home, that last month a public debate on torture was organised, and Professor Bagaric was flown over to talk alongside keynote speaker General Janis Karpinski (since demoted to colonel), the officer formerly in charge of the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. (theage.com.au)
Egypt1
- The two Egyptians, Ahmed Agiza and Mohammed al-Zari, were picked up by Swedish police and turned over to U.S. authorities at a Stockholm airfield where they were stripped, drugged and hooded before being put on a plane bound for Egypt, where they were apparently tortured. (americanfreepress.net)
Governments1
- The right to be free from torture cannot be papered over through the use of diplomatic pledges from the very governments whose record on torture casts doubt on the reliability of their assurances. (hrw.org)
Chambers1
- The distance between American ideals of freedom, due process of law, and democracy and the reality of the torture chambers has grown into a gaping wound. (progressive.org)
Accused of mur1
- most torture victims were men accused of murder, treason, or theft. (wikipedia.org)
Morocco1
- Ethiopian-born Binyam Mohamed, 31, who spent four years in Guantanamo Bay, claims British authorities colluded in his torture while he was in Morocco. (bbc.co.uk)
Bush1
- In this way, American courts, including the Supreme Court, typically avoided the subject of Bush administration and CIA torture tactics. (antiwar.com)
Painful positions1
- The Palestinians claimed they were tortured through shakings, being tied up in painful positions, being forced to crouch for a long time, the placing of a sack over their head, and sleep deprivation. (ynetnews.com)
Search1
- Results of search for 'su:{Torture. (who.int)
Crimes2
- It's time for a full-scale investigation not just of particular instances of torture and the American personnel directly involved, but of the directors of policy at the highest levels who continue to perpetrate these crimes. (progressive.org)
- The reports show that torture is a frequent event in these countries, while the perpetrators of torture continue to enjoy impunity for their crimes. (amnesty.org)
Severe pain1
- Torture is defined as the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on someone under the control of the perpetrator. (wikipedia.org)
Consequences1
- Torture and its consequences : current treatment approaches / edited by Metin Basoglu. (who.int)
Congressional1
- In May 2015, a federal district court dismissed the case, finding that the full torture report is a congressional record and therefore not subject to FOIA, which applies only to executive branch records. (aclu.org)
Convictions1
- the number of torture convictions secured under the Philippines ' Anti-Torture Act since it was adopted in 2009. (amnesty.org)
Lawyers2
- The growing force of Chinese lawyers played an ever greater role in law-based governance and combatting torture. (ohchr.org)
- Lawyers for the "Hooded Men" have begun High Court proceedings to seek an order to compel the Attorney General and the Minister for Foreign Affairs to apply to the European Court of Human Rights for a revision of its 1978 torture judgment. (rte.ie)
International law1
- Torture is prohibited under international law for all states under all circumstances and is explicitly forbidden by several treaties. (wikipedia.org)
Morally1
- In most ancient, medieval, and early modern societies, torture was legally and morally acceptable. (wikipedia.org)
Lawsuit1
- Also, former Mayor Daley is scheduled for deposition in January in a Jon Burge-related torture lawsuit. (chicagoreader.com)
Prohibition1
- In the latest report, dated June 2007, it said that the "prohibition of torture has been a consistent position of the Chinese government" and listed a number of regulations that have been brought into place to guard human rights. (telegraph.co.uk)
Legally1
- Asked if he believed interrogators should be able to legally torture an innocent person to death if they had evidence the person knew about a major public threat, such as the September 11 attacks, Professor Bagaric replied: 'Yes, you could. (theage.com.au)