"I needed the toilet and
I asked the interrogator to let me go. But he said 'You'll go when
I say so'. Finally I squirmed across the floor and did it in the corner.
He comes back with a mop and dips it in the pool of urine. Then he
starts covering me with my own waste like he's using a big paint brush.
All the while he's racially abusing me, cussing me"
Martin Mubanga, a UK national held in Guantánamo Bay from May
2002 to October 2004
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| Torture Key Facts
In 2006, we reported cases of torture and ill-treatment by
security forces, police and state authorities in 102
countries.
In 1984, our lobbying helped to establish the UN Convention
against Torture. 144 states
have now ratified this convention. This convention
defines torture as both a human rights violation and a crime.
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Torture is not just about thumbscrews, scalpels and whips. Even
everyday items like a mop, a stereo and a sack have all been used
to inflict pain and create fear.
The right to be free from the threat or fear of torture is one
of our most basic human rights. There are no exceptions, not in
war or during any other crisis. Fundamental to the very idea of
human rights is that they are universal and should not to be abridged
or waived.
For over 45 years, Amnesty International has consistently campaigned
against torture and for individuals at risk of torture - thousands
of whom have subsequently been released.
"...if there's lots of pressure – like from Amnesty
International or some foreign countries – we might pass them
on to a judge. But if there's
no pressure, then they're dead."
Former torturer, El Salvador
We believe torture is never justified – who ever carries
it out. We are concerned that governments, once vocally opposed
to its use, are now debating whether it can be legitimised in the
‘war on terror’.
We believe that terror can never be fought with torture. Quite
simply, you cannot extinguish a fire with petrol.
If you believe that torture can
never be justified and would like to know more about how you can
help. Please register your
support today.
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