Tag: Torture
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Cruel Treatment
Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment in 2011 United States views on international law (based on the document "Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law"): On December 19, 2011, the General Assembly adopted a resolution on torture and other cruel, […]
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Torture Efficacy
Efficacy of TortureIntroduction to Torture EfficacyDespite CAT's categorical prohibition on the use of torture, some legal experts, such as Harvard University law professor Alan Dershowitz, have proposed a detailed interrogation code that could permit torture only in a situatio…
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Torture in Ancient Greece and Rome
Torture: Torture in Ancient Greece and RomeIntroduction to Torture in Ancient Greece and RomeIn ancient times, torture was used for affronts to the authority of slave-masters. In early Athens in ancient Greece, slaves were always examined by torture, and for this reason their evide…
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Torture in the 20th Century
Introduction to Torture in the 20th CenturyIn the 20th century, methods of torture became more sophisticated and often left no physical mark on the torture victim. During this period the motivation for using torture was not only to obtain information without regard for legal rights but also…
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Torture in the 21st Century
Introduction to Torture in the 21st CenturyAfter the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001, the administration of President George W. Bush declared a "war on terrorism." In October 2001 the United States invaded Afghanistan to topple the Taliban government th…
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Torture in the Middle Ages
Torture in the Middle Ages and AfterIntroduction to Torture in the Middle AgesIn the early Middle Ages, torture was used as a means of ordeal-usually as part of a religious initiation rite-and to punish captured enemies. Examination by torture, often called the "question,"…
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Anti-Torture Laws
Laws Against TortureIntroduction to Anti-Torture LawsThe war crimes tribunals convened immediately after World War II in Nürnberg, Germany, and Tokyo, Japan, treated torture as a crime against humanity (see War Crimes Trials). In 1948 the United Nations (UN) adopted the Univer…
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Convention Against Torture
Laws Against Torture: Convention Against TortureIntroduction to Convention Against TortureIn 1984 the UN adopted the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT). The convention went into effect in 1987. CAT defined torture as the i…