Putting torture behind us

In a volatile world, it is easy to see why some people think torture is a legitimate practice against terrorists As the world observes 26 June as the international day in support of victims of torture, there appears to be strong support against the inhuman practice. It’s a wonder that a medieval idea continues to find life in the age of Internet, human rights and police sensitization. It’s another matter that a very large part of humanity abhors the practice. In a survey carried out by Worldpublicopinion.org, a collaborative project on public opinion issues, it was found that publics in 14 of the 19 countries surveyed rejected the use of torture and wanted a ban on the practice. Citizens in the other five countries, India being one of them, wanted an exception: In their view, its use against terrorists to elicit information... [read full story]