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AMMAN (JT) — Torture is increasingly being viewed as a legitimate method of extracting information in the post- Sept. 11 world. This is the theme of a lecture to be given tonight at 6.00pm at the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy.
The lecture, entitled `Trophy Shots or Torture on the Road to Freedom,' will be given by Michael Humphrey, associate professor of sociology at the University of New South Wales, Australia.
As his starting point, Humphrey takes the publication of “trophy shots” taken by US soldiers at the Abu Ghraib jail and proceeds to argue that human rights standards are being systematically eroded around the world as a result of the war on terror.
Humphrey draws a direct link between the torture of prisoners in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay and contends that what this amounts to is not isolated incidents of torture, but rather an administrative technique employed by the US to further political goals.
In order to back up this claim, Humphrey points to the fact that the torture techniques used at the above jails, such as photographing nude prisoners, sexual abuse and placing prisoners on dog leashes are specifically designed to fit the cultural context, and therefore cause maximum humiliation to Muslim prisoners.
The reaction of the US government to the Abu Ghraib photographs, according to Humphrey, has been to justify the harsh interrogation of detainees and to deny that the techniques used to interrogate prisoners amount to torture given that their goal is to save innocent American lives. Humphrey argues that this reaction has sent the message to governments around the world that human rights standards may be ignored in times of emergency.
The timing of the lecture is particularly appropriate, given that last week appeal court judges in the UK ruled in the face of opposition from human rights campaigners that British courts could use evidence extracted under torture as long as British agents were not involved in the abuse. The decision was harshly criticised by the human rights organisation Amnesty International, who described it as “giving the green light to torture,” adding that, “the rule of law and human rights have become casualties in the measures taken in the aftermath of Sept. 11.”
Michael Humphrey has published widely on the themes of ethnic identity, Islam, human rights and reconciliation. His current research projects are concerned with atrocity, healing, national reconstruction and reconciliation. The lecture is organised by the Royal Institute for Interfaith Studies in cooperation with the Jordan Institute of Diplomacy.
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