Zero tolerance for torture
I don't much care if British officials are prosecuted for torture, I
just want politicians to do all they can to stop it happening again
8 July, 2009 | Clive Stafford Smith
Over the past two days, Ian Cobain has continued his excellent expose
of British complicity in torture in the Guardian. By now, few can doubt
that in the eight years since 9/11 the British government has taken some
steps that were illegal, others that were indubitably immoral and many
more that were unwise.
with the dark assurances of Dick Cheney. (My own experience with
classified evidence convinces me that Cheney is straying some distance
from the truth.)
Even if there were proof that torture sometimes saved lives, that would
hardly win the debate, on either a moral or a utilitarian analysis. Overall,
can anyone doubt that the west has been made less safe by our leaders'
dabbling in torture and abuse? For example, can anyone honestly
gainsay the opinion of an anonymous CIA agent – that for each prisoner
mistreated in Guantánamo Bay, we have provoked 10 angry men who
wish us harm?
And the ripples of torture taint all those who come in contact with it. As
our own investigation continues at Reprieve into the torture of Binyam
Mohamed, it becomes clear that the British intelligence services have
used many unwitting agents in their own felonies. For example, the
Metropolitan police were asked to dig out the information that was fed
to Mohamed's Moroccan torturers.
I wonder, though, whether it is not time we began to consider a
different question: what positive steps will our government take to
renounce the terror of torture? I, for one, don't much care if British
officials are ever prosecuted for torture; but I do very much want to
contribute to a world where nobody suffers in the torture chamber
again.
Pious government assurances that British agents never torture are not
enough – for Marwan, the leader of Mohamed's Moroccan abusers, did
not handle the razor blade; he stood back and observed.
An official promise that British agents will report back to their superiors
when they witness torture is insufficient: the British government knew
about Mohamed's torture, did nothing to stop it and continues to
suppress the evidence.
There is only one solution: if our politicians promise zero tolerance for
drugs or for racism on the football terrace, surely they can accept zero
tolerance for torture? Where we see it, we must stop it; where we
suspect it, we must investigate it; and where we believe it has happened,
we must ensure that the abusers are exposed. If we are to avoid its
deadly fruit, the poisoned tree must be torn out by its roots.
Courtesy
I don't much care if British officials are prosecuted for torture, I
just want politicians to do all they can to stop it happening again
8 July, 2009 | Clive Stafford Smith
Over the past two days, Ian Cobain has continued his excellent expose
of British complicity in torture in the Guardian. By now, few can doubt
that in the eight years since 9/11 the British government has taken some
steps that were illegal, others that were indubitably immoral and many
more that were unwise.
- The apologists for torture
constantly propagate their
myths to justify their
nightmare. If it is not a
ticking timebomb in Trafalgar
Square, then it is the notion
that torture-induced
intelligence might thwart
another 7/7. No official ever
produces evidence that might
with the dark assurances of Dick Cheney. (My own experience with
classified evidence convinces me that Cheney is straying some distance
from the truth.)
Even if there were proof that torture sometimes saved lives, that would
hardly win the debate, on either a moral or a utilitarian analysis. Overall,
can anyone doubt that the west has been made less safe by our leaders'
dabbling in torture and abuse? For example, can anyone honestly
gainsay the opinion of an anonymous CIA agent – that for each prisoner
mistreated in Guantánamo Bay, we have provoked 10 angry men who
wish us harm?
And the ripples of torture taint all those who come in contact with it. As
our own investigation continues at Reprieve into the torture of Binyam
Mohamed, it becomes clear that the British intelligence services have
used many unwitting agents in their own felonies. For example, the
Metropolitan police were asked to dig out the information that was fed
to Mohamed's Moroccan torturers.
I wonder, though, whether it is not time we began to consider a
different question: what positive steps will our government take to
renounce the terror of torture? I, for one, don't much care if British
officials are ever prosecuted for torture; but I do very much want to
contribute to a world where nobody suffers in the torture chamber
again.
Pious government assurances that British agents never torture are not
enough – for Marwan, the leader of Mohamed's Moroccan abusers, did
not handle the razor blade; he stood back and observed.
An official promise that British agents will report back to their superiors
when they witness torture is insufficient: the British government knew
about Mohamed's torture, did nothing to stop it and continues to
suppress the evidence.
There is only one solution: if our politicians promise zero tolerance for
drugs or for racism on the football terrace, surely they can accept zero
tolerance for torture? Where we see it, we must stop it; where we
suspect it, we must investigate it; and where we believe it has happened,
we must ensure that the abusers are exposed. If we are to avoid its
deadly fruit, the poisoned tree must be torn out by its roots.
Courtesy
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