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Torture, according to the United Nations Convention Against Torture, is "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."[2] In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may inflict torture on others for the same reasons as those acting in an official capacity; however, another motive for torture can be for the sadistic gratification of the torturer, as was the case in the Moors Murders. Look up torture in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
Nikolai Getman Moving out. ...
Getmans painting of Nagaevo, Magadans port Nikolai Getman (Russian: , Ukrainian: ), an artist, was born in 1917 in Kharkiv, Ukraine, and died in Orel, Russia, in 2004. ...
The Jamestown Foundation (founded 1984) is an American think tank whose mission is to inform and educate policy makers about events and trends which are current strategic importance to the United States. ...
CAT states: members in green, non-members in grey The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is an international human rights instrument, organized by the United Nations and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. ...
Mug shots of Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady at the time of their arrest in October 1965. ...
Torture is prohibited under international law and the domestic laws of most countries; however, Amnesty International estimates that 75% of the world's governments currently practice torture.[3] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience...
Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of effecting political re-education. In the 21st century, torture is widely considered to be a violation of human rights, and is declared to be unacceptable by Article 5 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In times of war, signatories of the Third Geneva Convention and Fourth Geneva Convention agree not to torture protected persons (POWs and enemy civilians) in armed conflicts. Re-education is to educate again or anew so as to rehabilitate or adapt to new situations. ...
Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ...
UN and U.N. redirect here. ...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is an advisory declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). ...
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Third Geneva Convention The Third Geneva Convention (or GCIII) of 1949, one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs), and also touched on other topics. ...
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Fourth Geneva Convention The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war in the hands of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power. ...
Geneva Convention definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...
International legal prohibitions on torture derive from a philosophical consensus that torture and ill-treatment are immoral.[4] These international conventions and philosophical propositions not withstanding, organizations such as Amnesty International that monitor abuses of human rights report a widespread use of torture condoned by states in many regions of the world.[5] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience...
Etymology The word 'torture' comes from the French torture, originating in the Late Latin tortura and ultimately deriving the past participle of torquere meaning 'to twist'.[6] Vulgar Latin (in Latin, sermo vulgaris) is a blanket term covering the vernacular dialects of the Latin language spoken mostly in the western provinces of the Roman Empire until those dialects, diverging still further, evolved into the early Romance languages — a distinction usually assigned to about the ninth century. ...
In linguistics, a participle is an adjective derived from a verb. ...
The word may be used loosely for more ordinary or daily discomforts which would be described as tedious rather than painful.
Laws against torture On December 10, 1948 the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). Article 5 states, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment."[7] 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 Torture and the Geneva Conventions III & IV. In the 16th century, Catherine de Medici built herself a house in the country here on Chaillot hill, later occupied by the Marshall of Bassompière. ...
The Trocadéro is an area of Paris, in the 16th arrondissement, across the Seine from the Eiffel Tower. ...
UN and U.N. redirect here. ...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is an advisory declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). ...
is the 344th day of the year (345th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
The United Nations General Assembly (GA, UNGA) is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation. ...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (abbreviated UDHR) is an advisory declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, 10 December 1948 at Palais de Chaillot, Paris). ...
CAT states: members in green, non-members in grey The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is an international human rights instrument, organized by the United Nations and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. ...
Original document. ...
United Nations Convention Against Torture The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) came into force in June 1987. The most relevant articles are Articles 1, 2, 3, and the first paragraph of Article 16. CAT states: members in green, non-members in grey The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is an international human rights instrument, organized by the United Nations and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. ...
Article 1
1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means 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.
2. This article is without prejudice to any international instrument or national legislation which does or may contain provisions of wider application. An official is, in the primary sense, someone who holds an office in an organisation, of any kind. ...
Article 2
1. Each State Party shall take effective legislative, administrative, judicial or other measures to prevent acts of torture in any territory under its jurisdiction.
2. No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.
3. An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked as a justification of torture. Article 3
1. No State Party shall expel, return ("refouler") or extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
2. For the purpose of determining whether there are such grounds, the competent authorities shall take into account all relevant considerations including, where applicable, the existence in the State concerned of a consistent pattern of gross, flagrant or mass violations of human rights. Article 16
1. Each State Party shall undertake to prevent in any territory under its jurisdiction other acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment which do not amount to torture as defined in article I, when such acts are committed by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. In particular, the obligations contained in articles 10, 11, 12 and 13 shall apply with the substitution for references to torture of references to other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Note several points: - Section 1: Torture is "severe pain or suffering".[8] The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) influences discussions on this area of international law. See the section Other conventions for more details on the ECHR ruling.
- Section 2: There are "no exceptional circumstances whatsoever" where a state can use torture and not break its treaty obligations".[9] The applicable sanction is publicity that nonconforming signatories have broken their treaty obligations.[10]
- Section 16: Obliges signatories to prevent "acts of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", in "any territory under its jurisdiction".[11]
About half of the world's countries have signed the UN Convention against Torture treaty.[citation needed] European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), often referred to informally as the Strasbourg Court, was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints against States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by...
Optional Protocol to the UN Convention Against Torture The Optional Protocol to the 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."[12] 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. The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) (2006) is an important addition to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (1984). ...
is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court The Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court, limits jurisdiction of the Court to "the most serious crimes of concern to the international community as a whole", which includes torture, in Article 7, "Crimes against humanity", and Article 8, "War Crimes". The Statute describes torture as "the 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" (Article 7.e).[13] The ICC began operation on July 1, 2002, and does not apply to offenses which occurred before that date. Cases also may not be brought to the ICC unless national criminal justice institutions of those states party to the Rome Statute are unwilling or unable to act. More than half of the population of the world are not subject to ICC jurisdiction although more than half of the nations have agreed to ICC jurisdiction.[citation needed] Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2616 × 3488 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 450 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (2616 × 3488 pixel, file size: 1. ...
Hague redirects here. ...
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court Opened for signature June 17, 1998[1] at Rome Entered into force July 1, 2002 Conditions for entry into force 60 ratifications Parties 99[2] The Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (or Rome Statute) is the treaty which established the International...
The official logo of the ICC The International Criminal Court (ICC or ICCt)[1] was established in 2002 as a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression, although it cannot currently exercise jurisdiction over the crime of aggression. ...
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In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...
is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Also see: 2002 (number). ...
Geneva Conventions The four Geneva Conventions provide protection for people who fall into enemy hands. It divides people into two explicit groups: combatants and non-combatants.[citation needed] Original document. ...
Non-combatant is a military and legal term describing civilians not engaged in combat. ...
The third (GCIII) and fourth (GCIV) Geneva Conventions are the two most relevant for the treatment of the victims of conflicts.[citation needed] 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, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture" or "outrages upon personal dignity, in particular humiliating and degrading treatment".[14][15] Wikisource has original text related to this article: Third Geneva Convention The Third Geneva Convention (or GCIII) of 1949, one of the Geneva Conventions, is a treaty agreement that primarily concerns the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs), and also touched on other topics. ...
Wikisource has original text related to this article: Fourth Geneva Convention The Fourth Geneva Convention (or GCIV) relates to the protection of civilians during times of war in the hands of an enemy and under any occupation by a foreign power. ...
Mutilation or maiming is an act or physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of the (human) body, usually causing death. ...
GCIV covers most civilians 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". In times of armed conflict a civilian is any person who is not a combatant. ...
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 definition A prisoner of war (POW) is a soldier, sailor, airman, or marine who is imprisoned by an enemy power during or immediately after an armed conflict. ...
Geneva Convention IV exemptions GCIV provides an important exemption: Where in the territory of a Party to the conflict, the latter is satisfied that an individual protected person is definitely suspected of or engaged in activities hostile to the security of the State, such individual person shall not be entitled to claim such rights and privileges under the present Convention [ie GCIV] as would ... be prejudicial to the security of such State ... In each case, such persons shall nevertheless be treated with humanity (GCIV Article 5) 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. Since nearly every state has diplomatic recognition of every other state, most citizens of neutral countries in a war zone are not able to claim any protection from GCIV.[citation needed]
Unlawful combatants have fewer protections under GCIII.[citation needed] If there is a question of whether a person is an unlawful 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).[16] Unlawful combatant (also illegal combatant or unprivileged combatant) describes a person who engages in combat without meeting the requirements for a lawful combatant according to the laws of war as specified in the Third Geneva Convention. ...
Additional Protocols to the Geneva Conventions There are two additional protocols to the Geneva Convention: Protocol I (1977), relating to the protection of victims of international armed conflicts and Protocol II (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 States, have either not signed them or have not ratified them. Protocol I: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts. ...
Protocol II: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. ...
Protocol I 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.[17] The protocol also broadens the definition of a lawful combatant in occupied territory 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. It also defines who is a mercenary, and implicitly an unlawful combatant, and not protected by the same conventions. Protocol I: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts. ...
A combatant (also referred to as an enemy combatant) is a soldier or guerrilla member who is waging war. ...
Protocol II "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).[18] 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. Protocol II: Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949, and Relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts. ...
Other conventions In accordance with the non-binding UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (1955), "corporal punishment, punishment by placing in a dark cell, and all cruel, inhuman or degrading punishments shall be completely prohibited as punishments for disciplinary offences."[19] The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, (16 December 1966), explicitly prohibits torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment" by signatories.[20] The Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners were adopted on 30 August 1955 by the United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Geneva, and approved by the Economic and Social Council in resolutions of 31 July 1957 and 13 May...
Parties to the ICCPR: members in green, non-members in grey The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is a United Nations treaty based on the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, created in 1966 and entered into force on 23 March 1976. ...
is the 350th day of the year (351st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1966 (MCMLXVI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar) of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. ...
European agreements In 1950 during the Cold War, the participating member states of the Council of Europe signed the European Convention on Human Rights. 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."[21] The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union is a document containing human rights provisions, solemnly proclaimed by the European Parliament, the Council of the European Union, and the European Commission in December 2000. ...
Year 1950 (MCML) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...
For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...
Anthem Ode to Joy (orchestral) ten founding members joined subsequently observer at the Parliamentary Assembly observer at the Committee of Ministers official candidate Seat Strasbourg, France Membership 47 European states 5 observers (Council) 3 observers (Assembly) Leaders - Secretary General Terry Davis - President of the Parliamentary Assembly Rene van der Linden...
“ECHR†redirects here. ...
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (also UDHR) is a declaration adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (A/RES/217, December 10, 1948), outlining basic human rights. ...
In 1978 the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the five techniques of "sensory deprivation" were not torture as laid out in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights, but were "inhuman or degrading treatment"[22] (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.[23] European Court of Human Rights building in Strasbourg The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), often referred to informally as the Strasbourg Court, was created to systematise the hearing of human rights complaints against States Parties to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted by...
The term five techniques refers to certain interrogation practices adopted by the Northern Ireland and British governments in the early 1970s. ...
Sensory deprivation is the deliberate reduction or removal of stimuli from one or more of the senses. ...
Torture, the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain upon an individual to extract information, a confession or as a punishment, is prohibited by international law and illegal in most countries. ...
On 26 November 1987 the member states of the Council of Europe, meeting at Strasbourg, adopted the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (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 Torture to oversee compliance with its provisions. is the 330th day of the year (331st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...
Anthem Ode to Joy (orchestral) ten founding members joined subsequently observer at the Parliamentary Assembly observer at the Committee of Ministers official candidate Seat Strasbourg, France Membership 47 European states 5 observers (Council) 3 observers (Assembly) Leaders - Secretary General Terry Davis - President of the Parliamentary Assembly Rene van der Linden...
For other uses, see Strasburg. ...
The 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. ...
is the 60th day of the year (61st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Also see: 2002 (number). ...
Committee for the Prevention of Torture (CPT) is the anti-torture committee of the Council of Europe. ...
Inter-American Convention The Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture, currently ratified by 17 nations of the Americas and in force since 28 February 1987, defines torture more expansively than the United Nations Convention Against Torture. "For the purposes of this Convention, torture shall be understood to be any act intentionally performed whereby physical or mental pain or suffering is inflicted on a person for purposes of criminal investigation, as a means of intimidation, as personal punishment, as a preventive measure, as a penalty, or for any other purpose. Torture shall also be understood to be the use of methods upon a person intended to obliterate the personality of the victim or to diminish his physical or mental capacities, even if they do not cause physical pain or mental anguish.[citation needed] The Inter-American Convention to Prevent and Punish Torture (IACPPT) is an international human rights instrument, created within the Western Hemisphere Organization of American States and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. ...
is the 59th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 1987 (MCMLXXXVII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays 1987 Gregorian calendar). ...
The concept of torture shall not include physical or mental pain or suffering that is inherent in or solely the consequence of lawful measures, provided that they do not include the performance of the acts or use of the methods referred to in this article."[24]
Supervision of anti-torture treaties The Istanbul Protocol, 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. The Manual on Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (the Istanbul Protocol) is the first set of international guidelines for documentation of torture and its consequences. ...
Under the provisions of OPCAT 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 Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT) (2006) is an important addition to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (1984). ...
is the 173rd day of the year (174th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...
Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
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".[25] The 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. ...
In times of armed conflict between a signatory of the Geneva conventions and another party, delegates of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) monitor the compliance of signatories to the Geneva Conventions, which includes monitoring the use of torture. Human rights organizations, such as Amnesty International, 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.[26] The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is a private humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland. ...
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty International (commonly known as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as to undertake research and action focused on preventing and ending grave abuses of the rights to physical and mental integrity, freedom of conscience...
The World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT) 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. ...
Municipal law States that ratified the United Nations Convention Against Torture have a treaty obligation to include the provisions into municipal law. The laws of many states therefore formally prohibit torture. However, such de jure legal provisions are by no means a proof that, de facto, the signatory country does not use torture. The term state may refer to: a sovereign political entity, see state unitary state nation state a non-sovereign political entity, see state (non-sovereign). ...
CAT states: members in green, non-members in grey The United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT) is an international human rights instrument, organized by the United Nations and intended to prevent torture and other similar activities. ...
Municipal law is an international law term used to denote the national, domestic, or internal law of a state. ...
Look up De jure in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...
De facto is a Latin expression that means in fact or in practice. It is commonly used as opposed to de jure (meaning by law) when referring to matters of law or governance or technique (such as standards), that are found in the common experience as created or developed without...
To prevent torture, many legal systems have a right against self-incrimination or explicitly prohibit undue force when dealing with suspects. The right to silence is a legal protection enjoyed by people undergoing police interrogation or trial in certain countries. ...
England abolished torture in about 1640 (except peine forte et dure which England only abolished in 1772), in Scotland in 1708, in Prussia in 1740, in Denmark around 1770, in Austria in 1776, in Russia in 1801, in Baden in 1831, in Japan in 1873.[27][28][29] For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ...
Peine forte et dure, (Law French for strong and hard punishment) was formerly a method of torture in the common law legal system, where the defendant who refused to plead (stood mute) would be subjected to having heavier and heavier stones placed upon the chest until a plea was entered...
This article is about the country. ...
For other uses, see Prussia (disambiguation). ...
Baden is a historical state in the southwest of Germany, on the right bank of the Rhine. ...
The French 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, 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. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen: Revolutionary patriotism borrows familiar iconography of the Ten Commandments Wikisource has original text related to this article: Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (French: La...
The United States includes this protection in the fifth amendment to its federal constitution, which in turn serves as the basis of the Miranda warning, 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 [30] et seq. define and forbid torture outside the United States. The Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, guarantees several protections related to legal procedure. ...
Wikisource has original text related to this article: The United States Constitution The United States Constitution is the supreme law of the United States of America. ...
The Miranda warning is a police warning that is given to criminal suspects in police custody or in a custodial situation in the United States before they are asked questions relating to the commission of a crime. ...
The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the U.S. Bill of Rights, protects against excessive bail or fines, as well as against cruel and unusual punishment. ...
History
 Catholic clerics presiding over the torture of a man suspected to be a heretic before his subsequent execution during the Spanish Inquisition. Circa 1700 AD. According to Herrera Puga the authorities: "...placed no limits on the means; in this way they used the rack, the lash, fire, etc. In some cases...they applied padlocked irons to the flesh which even led to the amputation of a hand..." The Romans used torture only for interrogation before judgment; officials did not regard crucifixion as torture, as they only authorized it after issuing a death sentence. In the Roman Republic, a slave's testimony was admissible only if it had been extracted by torture, on the assumption that slaves could not be trusted to reveal the truth voluntarily.[31][citation needed] 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. Image File history File links Gnome-globe. ...
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Various torture instruments. ...
Nürnberg redirects here. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ...
Death Penalty World Map Color Key: Blue: Abolished for all crimes Green: Abolished for crimes not committed in exceptional circumstances (such as crimes committed in time of war) Orange: Abolished in Practice Red: Legal Form of Punishment Execution of a soldier of the 8th Infantry at Prescott, Arizona, 1877 Execution...
This article is about one of the historical Inquisitions. ...
A torture rack in the Tower of London The rack is a term for certain physical punishment devices. ...
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Partial hand amputation Amputation is the removal of a body extremity by trauma or surgery. ...
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This article is about the state which existed from the 6th century BC to the 1st century BC. For the state which existed in the 18th century, see Roman Republic (18th century). ...
In much of Europe, medieval and early modern courts freely inflicted torture, depending on the accused's crime and the social status of the suspect. Torture was deemed a legitimate means for justice to extract confessions or to obtain the names of accomplices or other information about the crime. Often, defendants sentenced to death would be tortured prior to execution, so as to have a last chance to disclose the names of their accomplices. Torture in the Medieval Inquisition began in 1252, although a papal bull centuries later in 1816 forbade its use in Catholic countries. Pedro Berruguete. ...
Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla. ...
In the Middle Ages especially and up into the 18th century, torture was deemed a legitimate way to obtain testimonies and confessions from suspects for use in judicial inquiries and trials. While, in some instances, the secular courts treated suspects more ferociously than the religious courts, Will and Ariel Durant argued in The Age of Faith that many of the most vicious procedures were inflicted, not upon stubborn prisoners by governments, but upon pious heretics by even more pious friars. For example, the Dominicans gained a reputation as some of the most fearsomely innovative torturers in medieval Spain. Many of the victims of the Spanish Inquisition did not know (and were not informed) that, had they just confessed as required, they might have faced penalties no more severe than mild penance; confiscation of property; and even, perhaps, a few strokes of the whip.[citation needed] They thus ended up exposing themselves to torture. Many conceivably clung to "the principle of the thing", however noble (or foolhardy) that torture victims may face. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ...
(17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ...
In law and in religion, testimony is a solemn attestation as to the truth of a matter. ...
This article is about the practice of confession in the Modern confessional in the Church of the Holy Name, Dunedin, New Zealand. ...
For the 1987 movie starring Cher, see Suspect (film). ...
In legal parlance, a trial is an event in which parties to a dispute present information (in the form of evidence) in a formal setting, usually a court, before a judge, jury, or other designated finder of fact, in order to achieve a resolution to their dispute. ...
Will Durant William James Durant (November 5, 1885–November 7, 1981) was an American philosopher, historian, and writer. ...
This article is about one of the historical Inquisitions. ...
One of the most common forms of medieval inquisition torture was strappado.[citation needed] Torturers bound the accused's hands behind the back with a rope, then the torturer suspended the accused by hauling up the hands, painfully dislocating the shoulder joints. The torturer could add weight to the legs, dislocating their joints as well. The prisoner and weights could be hauled up and suddenly dropped. This refined torture (with dropping added) was called squassation. Other torture methods could include the rack (stretching the victim’s joints to breaking point), the thumbscrew, the boot (some versions of which crushed the calf, ankle, and heel between vertically positioned boards, while others tortured the instep and toes between horizontally oriented plates), water (massive quantities of water forcibly ingested—or even mixed with urine, pepper, feces, etc., for additional persuasiveness), and red-hot pincers (typically applied to fingers, toes, ears, noses, and nipples, although one tubular version [the "crocodile shears"] was specially devised for application to the penis in cases of regicide),[citation needed] although church policy sometimes forbade bodily mutilation. If the torturer needed stronger methods, or if a death sentence was issued, the person was sent over to the secular authorities, who had no restrictions. Strappado is a form of torture in which a victim is suspended in the air by means of a rope attached to his hands which are tied behind his back. ...
Strappado is a form of torture in which a victim is suspended in the air by means of a rope attached to his hands which are tied behind his back. ...
The rack consists of a rectangular, usually wooden frame, with a roller at one end. ...
Scottish thumbscrew Scottish thumbscrews This page is about the torture device. ...
The boot was an instrument of torture and interrogation designed to crush the foot and leg. ...
The crocodile shears was an instrument of torture used in late mediaeval Europe and typically reserved for regicides, , those who attempted (and, perhaps, succeeded) to assassinate the king. ...
For other uses, see Regicide (disambiguation). ...
Torturous interrogations were generally conducted in secret, inside underground dungeons. By contrast, torturous executions were typically public, and woodcuts of English prisoners being hanged, drawn, and quartered show large crowds of spectators, as do paintings of Spanish auto-da-fé executions, in which heretics were burned at the stake. Seventeenth century print of the execution, by hanging, drawing and quartering, of the members of the Gunpowder plot. ...
Pedro Berruguete. ...
In 1613 Anton Praetorius described the situation of the prisoners in the dungeons in his book Gründlicher Bericht über Zauberei und Zauberer (Thorough Report about Sorcery and Sorcerers). He was one of the first to protest against all means of torture. Lippstadt Anton Praetorius (Lippstadt 1560 – 6 December 1613 near Heidelberg in Laudenbach (Rhein-Neckar)/Bergstrasse in Germany), Protestant pastor and fighter against the persecution of witches (witchhunts, witchcraft trials) and against torture. ...
In ancient and medieval torture, there was little inhibition on inflicting bodily damage. People generally assumed that no innocent person would be accused, so anybody who appeared in the torture chamber was ultimately destined for execution[citation needed], typically of a gruesome nature. Any minor mutilations due to rack or thumbscrew would not be noticed after a person had been burned at the stake. Besides, the torturer operated under the full authority of the church, the state, or both. Burning of two sodomites at the stake (execution of individuals by fire. ...
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 Powers in the Second World War, which have led to a sweeping international rejection of most if not all aspects of the practice.[dubious – discuss] Even so, many countries find it expedient from time to time to use torturous techniques; at the same time few wish to be described as doing so, either to their own citizens or international bodies. A variety of devices bridge this gap, including state denial, "secret police", "need to know", 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, view torture as a tool (unofficially and when expedient and desired). As a result, and despite worldwide condemnation and the existence of treaty provisions that forbid it, torture still occurs in two thirds of the world's nations.[32] Torture, the infliction of severe physical or psychological pain upon an individual to extract information, a confession or as a punishment, is prohibited by international law and illegal in most countries. ...
In the context of war, a war crime is a punishable offense under International Law, for violations of the laws of war by any person or persons, military or civilian. ...
This article is in need of attention. ...
Black: Zenith of the Axis Powers Capital Not applicable Political structure Military alliance Historical era World War II - Tripartite Pact September 27, 1940 - Anti-Comintern Pact November 25, 1936 - Pact of Steel May 22, 1939 - Dissolved 1945 This article is about the independent countries (states) that comprised the Axis powers. ...
Mushroom cloud from the nuclear explosion over Nagasaki rising 18 km into the air. ...
Plausible deniability also Deniability is the term given to the creation of loose and informal chains of command in government, which allow controversial instructions given by high-ranking officials to be denied if they become public. ...
This article is about secret police as organizations. ...
Government organizations, especially those related to defence and intelligence, often deal with information which is considered very sensitive. ...
The term jurisdiction has more than one sense. ...
Torture remains a frequent method of repression in totalitarian regimes, terrorist organizations, and organized crime. In authoritarian regimes, torture extracts confessions from political dissenters, so that they admit to espionage or conspiracy, probably manipulated by some foreign country. Most notably, such a dynamic of forced confessions marked the justice system of the Soviet Union during the reign of Stalin (thoroughly described in Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn's Gulag Archipelago). In addition to state-sponsored torture, individuals or groups may inflict torture on others for similar reasons; however, the motive for torture can also be for the sadistic gratification of the torturer, as was the case in the Moors Murders. Totalitarianism is a term employed by some political scientists, especially those in the field of comparative politics, to describe modern regimes in which the state regulates nearly every aspect of public and private behavior. ...
Terrorist redirects here. ...
Organized crime or criminal organizations are groups or operations run by criminals, most commonly for the purpose of generating a monetary profit. ...
SPY may refer to: SPY (spiders), ticker symbol for Standard & Poors Depository Receipts SPY (magazine), a satirical monthly, trademarked all-caps SPY (Ivory Coast), airport code for San Pédro, Côte dIvoire SPY (Ship Planning Yard), a U.S. Navy acronym SPY, short for MOWAG SPY, a...
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. ...
Iosif (usually anglicized as Joseph) Vissarionovich Stalin (Russian: Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин), original name Ioseb Jughashvili (Georgian: იოსებ ჯუღაშვილი; see Other names section) (December 21, 1879[1] – March 5, 1953) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and leader of the Soviet Union. ...
Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn (Russian: , IPA: ; born December 11, 1918) is a Russian novelist, dramatist and historian. ...
The Gulag Archipelago. ...
Mug shots of Moors murderers Myra Hindley and Ian Brady at the time of their arrest in October 1965. ...
Torture by proxy In 2003, Britain's Ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, 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 which officially disapproved of torture.[33] Craig Murray (born October, 1958)[1] is a British political activist, university rector and former ambassador to Uzbekistan. ...
The accusations did not lead to any investigation by his employer, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, and he resigned after disciplinary action was taken against him in 2004. No misconduct by him was proven. The National Audit Office is investigating the Foreign and Commonwealth Office because of accusations of victimisation, bullying, and intimidating its own staff.[34] The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, seen from St. ...
The National Audit Office (NAO) is an independent Parliamentary body in the United Kingdom which is responsible for auditing central government departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies. ...
Murray later stated that he felt that he had unwittingly stumbled upon what others called "torture by proxy"[35] and with the euphemism of "extraordinary rendition". 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. Extraordinary rendition or torture by proxy is a procedure used by the government of the United States and other Western countries whereby foreign suspects are sent to another country for interrogation under less humane conditions. ...
Extraordinary rendition and irregular rendition are terms used to describe the extrajudicial transfer of a person from one state to another with the intent of legally torturing them outside of the jurisdiction of a state which prohibits it. ...
Aspects of torture
Ethical arguments regarding torture -
Torture has been criticized not only on humanitarian and moral grounds, but on the grounds that evidence extracted by torture can be unreliable and that the use of torture corrupts institutions which tolerate it.[36] Ethical arguments have arisen regarding torture, and its debated value to society. ...
Organizations like Amnesty International argue that the universal legal prohibition is based on a universal philosophical consensus that torture and ill-treatment are repugnant, abhorrent, and immoral.[37] But since shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks there has been a debate in the United States on whether torture is justified in some circumstances. Some people, such as Alan M. Dershowitz and Mirko Bagaric, have argued that the need for information outweighs the moral and ethical arguments against torture.[38][39] However, this argument is refuted by experience in Iraq where interrogators saw an increase of 50 percent more high-value intelligence after coercive practices were banned. 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."[40] Others point out that despite administration claims that water boarding has "disrupted a number of attacks, maybe dozens of attacks", no one has come up with a single documented example of lives saved thanks to torture.[41] Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Amnesty international Amnesty Intern
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