INTERNATIONAL LAW IS CLEAR: torture is prohibited everywhere, at all times and for any purpose. But torture and ill-treatment are nonetheless practiced systematically in at least one hundred countries around the world.

COMMON METHODS of physical torture are beatings, electric shocks, sleep deprivation, suffocation, burns and rape. Psychological torture includes methods such as isolation, death threats, humiliation and mock executions.

THE CONSEQUENCES reach far beyond immediate pain. Many survivors suffer from symptoms such as anxiety, insomnia, nightmares and depression. Moreover, family members are often deeply affected by the ordeal their loved one has experienced.

IN MANY COUNTRIES people accused of petty crimes are tortured in order to force a confession – sometimes with the purpose of filling a specified “confession quota”. Moreover, perpetrators often cite the pre-text of “protecting public security”. But in reality, torture is above all used to instill fear in society at large and suppress political opposition. Torture thus does not only destroy individuals and families but also works as a powerful obstacle to democratic development…