Podcasts about degrading treatment

Send us a textFor 40 years, there has been an absolute ban on torture. But it still happens…“Horrific things can happen to you. Nobody is there to help you. Nobody is there to document it, etc. And I think sometimes we speak about torture without putting ourselves in the shoes of what this is,” says Gerald Staberock from the World Organisation Against Torture.On our Inside Geneva podcast this week, host Imogen Foulkes finds out how the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment came about.“The convention came in the 1980s, arising out of terrible situations in Latin America, the dictatorships in Chile and Argentina in particular. And of course, torture, enforced disappearances, and killings were used as a matter of course to suppress their populations and to suppress opposition,” explains Alice Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.Today, some say torture might be justified in certain circumstances.“We didn't outlaw torture because it works or not. We didn't outlaw slavery because it doesn't work. We didn't outlaw robbery because it doesn't work, but because it is wrong,” says Staberock.As of today, 174 states have ratified the convention…but are they honouring it?“There is pushback, it's definitely on the rise I would say because torture is also on the rise. Torture is universally condemned but widely practised,” continues Edwards.How should we mark the 40th anniversary?“So much more has to be done to really eradicate torture. We have to recognise that it is still a problem, and we have to recognise it as a problem. For a torturer, for individuals, for society. A society that tortures is a sick society,” says Staberock.Join host Imogen Foulkes on Inside Geneva.Get in touch! Email us at insidegeneva@swissinfo.ch Twitter: @ImogenFoulkes and @swissinfo_en Thank you for listening! If you like what we do, please leave a review or subscribe to our newsletter. For more stories on the international Geneva please visit www.swissinfo.ch/Host: Imogen FoulkesProduction assitant: Claire-Marie GermainDistribution: Sara PasinoMarketing: Xin Zhang

Following the 7 October terror attacks led by Hamas, thousands of Palestinians have been detained in what the Israeli Government has dubbed an “incarceration emergency” allowing them to fill prisons beyond official capacity. The overcrowded detention facilities and reports of alleged degrading treatment and even torture, prompted Alice Jill Edwards, the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment, to call for a full investigation into the overcrowding and reports of alleged abuses.In an interview with UN News's Anton Uspensky, she gave more details on what she's learned.

An execution warrant (also called death warrant or black warrant) is a writ that authorizes the execution of a condemned person. An execution warrant is not to be confused with a "license to kill", which operates like an arrest warrant but with deadly force instead of arrest as the end goal. United States. In the United States either a judicial or executive official designated by law issues an execution warrant. This is done when a person, in trial court proceedings, has been sentenced to death, after trial and conviction, and usually after appeals are exhausted. Normally when a death warrant is signed and an execution date is set, the condemned person is moved from his or her death row cell to a death watch cell, which is typically located adjacent to the execution chamber. Usually, the government agency charged with carrying out an execution, normally the state's Department of Corrections or the Federal Bureau of Prisons in federal cases, has a limited time frame, normally about 60 days, from the date the warrant is signed, to complete the execution process, or the warrant expires and the condemned person is returned to the death row cell, awaiting another execution date. Stays of execution can be ordered in state cases by the Governor of the State, a trial court, a state appeals court or state Supreme Court or a court in the federal judiciary (including the United States Supreme Court). In federal death penalty cases the trial court, appeals courts, the United States Supreme Court and President may grant a stay of execution. In all cases, the stay may be issued at any time, even when the condemned is being prepared for execution. … Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase in common law describing punishment that is considered unacceptable due to the suffering, pain, or humiliation it inflicts on the person subjected to the sanction. The precise definition varies by jurisdiction, but typically includes punishments that are arbitrary, unnecessary, overly severe compared to the crime, or not generally accepted in society. History. The words cruel and unusual punishment were first used in the English Bill of Rights 1689. They were later also adopted in the United States by the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution (ratified 1791) and in the British Leeward Islands (1798). Very similar words, "No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", appear in Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on December 10, 1948. The right under a different formulation is also found in Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (1950) and in Article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (1966). The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms (1982) also contains this fundamental right in section 12 and it is to be found in Article 4 (quoting the European Convention verbatim) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (2000). It is also found in Article 16 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), and in Article 40 of the Constitution of Poland (1997). The Constitution of the Marshall Islands, in the sixth section of its Bill of Rights (Article 2), prohibits "cruel and unusual punishment", which it defines as: the death penalty; torture; "inhuman and degrading treatment"; and "excessive fines or deprivations". --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/law-school/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/law-school/support

Australia has come under heavy criticism for obstructing United Nations delegates, there to visit prisons and detention centres. Under the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, to which Australia is a party, the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture is supposed to have unfettered access to prisons. But they came up against opposition in Queensland and NSW - where migrants including New Zealanders can be held in detention centres indefinitely. Amnesty International Australia's impact director Tim O'Connor has called the debacle an "international embarassment". He spoke to Corin Dann.

Despite the global prohibition against torture, it still “permeates many aspects of our lives”, impacting police conduct, conflict and even climate response, the newly appointed UN expert monitoring violations worldwide has said.  Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, has presented her first interim report to the General Assembly in New York.  She is the seventh person to hold the mandate, and the first woman in nearly four decades.   UN News's Heyi Zou spoke to Ms. Edwards, who began by explaining her “breakthrough” appointment.  

Despite the global prohibition against torture, it still “permeates many aspects of our lives”, impacting police conduct, conflict and even climate response, the newly appointed UN expert monitoring violations worldwide has said. Dr. Alice Jill Edwards, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, has presented her first interim report to the General Assembly in New York. She is the seventh person to hold the mandate, and the first woman in nearly four decades.  UN News's Heyi Zou spoke to Ms. Edwards, who began by explaining her “breakthrough” appointment.  

Guests featured in this episode: Mykola Gnatovskyy, a renowned Ukrainian legal scholar who was recently elected to serve as judge at the European Court of Human Rights. Before taking up this very prestigious nine-year appointment at the ECHR, Mykola was a professor at the Institute of International Relations, Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv. He also advised the Ukrainian Minister for Foreign Affairs on international criminal justice, and was a member of the International Expert Board on Crimes Committed during Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine.From 2015 until 2021, Mykola served three consecutive terms as President of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.In March of this 2022, he was one of the original signatories, together with Ukraine's Minister of Foreign Affairs and the former British Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, calling for the establishment of a special tribunal to investigate Russia for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. GLOSSARY:What is the International Criminal Court?(01:58 or p.1 in the transcript)International Criminal Court (ICC): permanent judicial body established by the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (1998) to investigate, prosecute, and try individuals accused of genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity and to impose prison sentences upon individuals who are found guilty of such crimes. On July 1, 2002, after the requisite number of countries (60) ratified the agreement, the court began sittings. It is headquartered in the Netherlands at The Hague: source What is the War in Ukraine?(04:32 or p.2 in the transcript)In early November 2021 Russia began building up military forces along the borders of Ukraine, for the second time in a year. Over 100,000 Russian military personnel and assets were deployed in Crimea and in the Voronezh, Kursk and Bryansk regions of western Russia. Further Russian forces were deployed to Belarus for a series of exercises close to the Ukrainian border and Russian naval assets from the Baltic and Northern fleets deployed for exercises in the Black Sea. Tensions escalated following a US intelligence assessment in December 2021, which suggested that Russia could be planning an invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. On 24 February 2022 Russia launched military action in Ukraine, with forces crossing into the country from Belarus in the north, Russia in the east and Crimea in the south. Russia's actions came just days after President Putin officially recognized the self-declared independence of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and Luhansk People's Republic (LPR), the regions of eastern Ukraine that are under the control of Russian-backed separatist forces, and deployed “peacekeeping” forces to the region: source What is the massacre in Eastern Anatolia?(07:18 or p.2 in the transcript)Massacre in Eastern Anatolia, also known as Armenian Genocide: campaign of deportation and mass killing conducted against the Armenian subjects of the Ottoman Empire by the Young Turk government during World War I (1914–18). Armenians charge that the campaign was a deliberate attempt to destroy the Armenian people and, thus, an act of genocide. The Turkish government has resisted calls to recognize it as such, contending that, although atrocities took place, there was no official policy of extermination implemented against the Armenian people as a group: source What is the Wagner Group?(17:02 or p.5 in the transcript)Wagner Group: a network of businesses and groups of mercenaries that have been linked by overlaps in ownership and logistics networks. Entities making up the network have been described in sanctions designations by the U.S. Treasury as being involved in a wide range of activities, including working to suppress pro-democracy protests, spreading disinformation, mining for gold and diamonds, and engaging in paramilitary activity. The group, such as it is, first appeared in Ukraine in 2014, where it assisted the Russian military in the annexation of Crimea. Since then, paramilitaries and businesses have branched out to Syria—where they have fought in support of embattled President Bashar al-Assad while securing a foothold in the country's energy sector—as well as to Libya, Sudan, Madagascar, Mozambique, and the Central African Republic: source What is the occupation of Crimea and Eastern Ukraine?(31:38 or p. 8 in the transcript)The Crisis in Crimea and Eastern Ukraine: on 22 February 2014, President Yanukovych disappeared from Ukraine and a new government was installed by the Ukrainian parliament. Later that month unidentified military figures, widely thought in the West to be Russian personnel (this was later confirmed), surrounded the airports in Crimea, a majority-Russian peninsula in Ukraine and the Crimean autonomous assembly was taken over by pro-Russian forces. In March 2014 a declaration of independence was issued by the assembly and a subsequent referendum on union with Russia was held. Since then, Russia has maintained its control over Crimea and supported pro-Russian separatist forces who also took control of parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine (the Donbas) in 2014. Fighting between Russian-supported separatists and Ukrainian government forces has continued in the Donbas for the last eight years despite the negotiation of the Minsk Agreements in 2014/2015 which called for a ceasefire, the withdrawal of all foreign armed groups and constitutional reform recognizing the special status of Donetsk and Luhansk: source  Democracy in Question? is brought to you by:• Central European University: CEU• The Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: AHCD• The Podcast Company: Novel Follow us on social media!• Central European University: @CEU• Albert Hirschman Centre on Democracy in Geneva: @AHDCentreSubscribe to the show. If you enjoyed what you listened to, you can support us by leaving a review and sharing our podcast in your networks! 

Welcome to Gorilla Radio, recorded June 16th, 2022 Last week, CONAIE, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador began a popular protest over rising food and fuel prices and the neoliberal policies of Guillermo Lasso's government. Across the country Monday transportation hubs, government offices, and oil productions facilities were blockaded. The actions prompted a quick response from Lasso, whose military and police launched an operation to snatch CONAIE president, Leonidas Iza; a move the confederation denounced as "arbitrary and illegal". Joe Emersberger is a Canada-based engineer of Ecuadorian descent. He's a writer and activist, and co-author with Justin Podur of the book, ‘Extraordinary Threat: The US Empire, the Media and 20 Years of Coup Attempts in Venezuela‘. Emersberger's many articles focusing on Western media coverage of the Americas can be found at FAIR.org, CounterPunch.org, TheCanary.co, Telesur English, and ZComm.org, among other places. Joe Emersberger in the first half. And; Britain's Home Secretary, Priti Patel is charged with making the final decision on the extradition of Julian Assange to America from his current incarceration in London's Belmarsh Prison, and she's expected to make that decision imminently. The publisher, journalist, and founder of WikiLeaks has been held in isolation within the maximum security facility since being dragged from asylum in Ecuador's London embassy three years, two months and five days ago. Hundreds of doctors have petitioned Patel to deny extradition based on Assange's frail mental and physical health. A similar argument was made by United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Nils Melzer after visiting Assange with two medical experts "specialised in examining potential victims of torture and other ill-treatment" shortly after his arrest in 2019. Melzer's demand for Assange's release was ignored then, as have been myriad subsequent appeals to the UK government from all quarters. Nils Melzer and the torturous destruction of Julian Assange, from an interview we recorded in June of 2019, in the second half. But first, Joe Emersberger and Guillermo Lasso's presidency one year on: The perfect Sturm und Drang. Chris Cook hosts Gorilla Radio, airing since 1998. In Victoria at 101.9FM, and on the internet at: cfuv.ca.  Check out the GR blog at: http://gorillaradioblog.blogspot.com/

The Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe, or CPT, is the supervisory body established by the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Its most distinctive feature is that it can inspect places of detention in member states with the aim to strengthen the protection of persons who were deprived of their liberty. As its first President, Nino was a driving force behind the Committee's institutionalisation, and played a major role in prompting States to publish the Committee's (otherwise confidential) reports. We get a glimpse of what inspections were like through Nino's voice, as he was dictating the report of an inspection to his secretary. Then we hear how Nino continued to be attentive to conditions of detention as he was President of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, this time through the voice of his legal officer at the time, the late John Jones. The co-hosts discuss the Committee's powers and its role in inducing states to comply with their international obligations with Antonio Marchesi, who at the time of Nino's election as CPT President was writing his PhD on torture under Nino's supervision and then became President of Amnesty International Italy. Andrew Clapham reads an excerpt explaining why Nino chose to take part in the Committee's work, and more generally to take an active role in the protection of human rights.LinksEuropean Committee for the Prevention of Torture and Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or PunishmentJohn Jones tells the story of Nino inspecting the cells at the UN Detention Unit in The Hague (video from the tribute to Nino organised by the Special Tribunal for Lebanon in 2011, “Walking the Road he Paved”, Antonio Cassese 1937-2011) Antonio Cassese, Human Rights in a Changing WorldFollow and contact us at:https://cassese-initiative.org/https://twitter.com/cassese_initiathttps://www.facebook.com/casseseinitiative/http://info@cassese-initiative.org/Credits for the production go to Janet Anderson, Stephanie van den Berg and Ilaria Molinari. The logo for this podcast has been designed by https://delrossostudio.com/

On the eve of the preliminary hearing of the US' appeal in a UK High re Assange, Professor Nils Melzer, the esteemed UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, returns to Countdown for an informative and lively discussion revolving around the upcoming English version of his critically acclaimed blockbuster bestseller The Trial of Julian Assange. Prof. Melzer spends the last portion of the interview analyzing, dissecting and speculating on the lower court's narrow decision not to extradite Assange and what it may auger during the appeals process.Prof. Nils Melzer is the Human Rights Chair of the Geneva Academy of International Humanitarian Law and Human Rights. He is also Professor of International Law at the University of Glasgow. On 1 November 2016, he took up the function of UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.Prof. Melzer has served for 12 years with the International Committee of the Red Cross as a Legal Adviser, Delegate and Deputy Head of Delegation in various zones of conflict and violence. After leaving the ICRC in 2011, he held academic positions as Research Director of the Swiss Competence Centre on Human Rights (University of Zürich), as Swiss Chair for International Humanitarian Law (Geneva Academy) and as Senior Fellow for Emerging Security Challenges (Geneva Centre for Security Policy), and has represented civil society in the Steering Committee of the International Code of Conduct for Private Security Service Providers.In the course of his career, Prof. Melzer has also served as Senior Security Policy Adviser to the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, has carried out advisory mandates for influential institutions such as the United Nations, the European Union, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Swiss Federal Department of Defense, and has regularly been invited to provide expert testimonies, including to the UN First Committee, the UN CCW, the UNSG Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and various Parliamentary Commissions of the European Union, Germany and Switzerland.Prof. Melzer has authored award-winning and widely translated books, including: "Targeted Killing in International Law" (Oxford, 2008, Guggenheim Prize 2009), the ICRC's "Interpretive Guidance on the Notion of Direct Participation in Hostilities" (2009) and the ICRC's official handbook "International Humanitarian Law - a Comprehensive Introduction" (2016), as well as numerous other publications in the field of international law. In view of his expertise in new technologies, Prof. Melzer has been mandated by the EU Parliament to author a legal and policy study on "Human Rights Implications of the Usage of Drones and Robots in Warfare" (2013) and has also co-authored the NATO CCDCOE "Tallinn Manual on the International Law applicable to Cyber Warfare" (Cambridge, 2013), and the NATO MCDC "Policy Guidance Autonomy in Defence Systems", (NATO ACT, 2014).Throughout his career, Prof. Melzer has fought to preserve human dignity and the rule of law through the relentless promotion, reaffirmation and clarification of international legal standards offering protection to those exposed to armed conflicts and other situations of violence.

Lawyers Daniel Berke and Aaron Rathmell discuss Y v Bulgaria where the European Court of Human Rights set out the minimum requirements for criminal investigations where a person has been subjected to ill-treatment contrary to Article 3.

This week our guest on the podcast is Olga Sadovskaya from the Nizhny Novgorod-based human rights organisation Committee against Torture. Olga Sadovskaya is the head of the organisation's international protection department. Established in 2000, the Committee against Torture has undergone many changes but continues to be one of the leading human rights organisations in Russia working to prevent torture in police custody.The questions discussed in the podcast include: latest developments at the Committee against Torture; court cases before the Russian courts and the ECtHR; legislative changes affecting its work; cities where the Committee against Torture operates; Chechnya; risks doing human rights work in Russia; public support; ombudsmen and public oversight commissions; the future of human rights.The podcast is in Russian. You can also listen to the podcast on Rights in Russia [https://rightsinrussia.org/podcasts/], SoundCloud, Spotify and iTunes. The music, from Stravinsky's Elegy for Solo Viola, is performed for us by Karolina Herrera.Sergei Nikitin writes on Facebook: 'Inquisitor 286 is a new computer game from the Committee against Torture, and the number 286 is clearly not random. Everyone knows Article 286 of the Russian Criminal Code does not contain the word torture, and Russia does not adhere to the definition set forth in the UN Convention. It should.The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment defines torture as any act by which severe pain or suffering is intentionally inflicted on a person when such pain or suffering is inflicted by a public official. We are well aware how the authorities twist and turn and - as a rule - cover up for these very officials. Olga Sadovskaya in our recent conversation reminded Simon Cosgrove and me of the many tragic stories in which the "heroes" - the so-called siloviki - have gone into hiding or disappeared. But it is encouraging to know that organisations like the Committee against Torture and many other Russian human rights defenders are tirelessly fighting torture and ensuring that the villains are brought to justice. And that this is not a game at all.'Simon Cosgrove adds: If you want to listen to this podcast on the podcasts.com website and it doesn't seem to play, please download by clicking on the three dots to the right. A summary of some of the week's events in Russia relevant to human rights can be found on our website here: https//:rightsinrussia.org/week-ending-23-april-2021.

In 2012, the Institute held a day long symposium, “Should you ever happen to find yourself in solitary: Wry Fancies and Stark Realities.” This episode features Juan Mendez, the UN's Special Rapporteur on Torture and other Cruel and Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

A report into Auckland Prison, the country's maximum security prison, has revealed a myriad of problems, despite the introduction of a new strategy Hōkai Rangi. The strategy was meant to deliver better outcomes for Māori and their whānau because of their significant overrepresentation in the Corrections system. Chief Ombudsman Peter Boshier inspected Paremoremo prison in Auckland unannounced and found prisoners were being locked in cells for 22 to 23 hours a day, despite new units opening to aid rehabilitation. He also found two breaches of the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.  Topia Rameka is a Corrections deputy chief executive and responsible for implementing Hōkai Rangi. He speaks to Susie Ferguson.

Staff at Wellington Hospital's mental health ward say the unit is at crisis point and they are scared, distressed and unsafe at work.  The letter from PSA union members to senior managers was written in February this year but the workers say little has changed since.  The Chief Ombudsman inspected the unit in March and found it breached the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel or Degrading Treatment. Charlotte Cook reports. 

ABOUT THE EPISODE Senator John McCain suffered much of what the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and Other Cruel or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – adopted June 26, 1987 – bans as a prisoner of war and victim of torture. Ten years later, this date was established as the annual International Day in Support of Victims […] The post Is Torture Ever Justified? appeared first on McCain Institute.

ABOUT THE EPISODE Senator John McCain suffered much of what the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and Other Cruel or Degrading Treatment or Punishment – adopted June 26, 1987 – bans as a prisoner of war and victim of torture. Ten years later, this date was established as the annual International Day in Support of Victims […] The post Is Torture Ever Justified? appeared first on McCain Institute.

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It has been more than a year since the Pakatan Harapan government came into power. As it currently stands, Malaysia is still one of the few nations that have yet to ratify the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). We revisit Pakatan’s promise to ratify this convention and what are some of the recent developments that have taken place since.

It has been more than a year since the Pakatan Harapan government came into power. As it currently stands, Malaysia is still one of the few nations that have yet to ratify the United Nations Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT). We revisit Pakatan’s promise to ratify this convention and what are some of the recent developments that have taken place since.

The absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment is under considerable pressure. This talk will explore how the prohibition is understood, questioned, and flouted, and trace continuities between torture and other dimensions of our securitised and unequal societies. Distilling key challenges for the prohibition, including those often overshadowed by the ubiquitous ‘ticking bomb’ scenario and ther prominent areas of concern, it will consider how those committed to the prohibition can meaningfully respond to them. About the Speaker Dr Natasa Mavronicola is Senior Lecturer in Law at Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham. Prior to joining Birmingham Law School, she was a Lecturer in Law at Queen’s University Belfast (2013-16). Since 2017, she serves as Advisor to the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, Professor Nils Melzer. She has conducted research for the Council of Europe and the Irish legislature and has published work in journals such as the Human Rights Law Review and the Modern Law Review. Her work on the prohibition of torture includes the recent article ‘Is the Prohibition Against Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment Absolute in International Human Rights Law? A Reply to Steven Greer’ (2017) 17 Human Rights Law Review 479. She completed her PhD in Law at the University of Cambridge, the BCL at the University of Oxford, and the LLB (Hons) at University College London. Her main research focus is human rights law.

The black letter law and articles in this episode are: United nations General Assembly, Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment of Punishment, G.A. Res. 39/46, December 10, 1984, https://www.ohchr.org/en/professionalinterest/pages/cat.aspx Torture Victim Protection Act 0f 1991, Pub. L. no. 102-256, 106 Stat. 73, (codified as amended in 28 U.S.C. § 1350, https://www.congress.gov/bill/102nd-congress/house-bill/2092/text George Tenant, At the Center of the Storm; The CIA During America’s Time of Crisis, Harper Collins Publishers (2009), https://www.harpercollins.com/9780061738197/at-the-center-of-the-storm/ Charles C. Krulak and Joseph P. Hoar, It’s Our Cage, Too, Washington Post, May 17, 2007, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/16/AR2007051602395.html?noredirect=on John Bellinger, Richard Fontaine, To Strengthen Trump’s National Security Approach, Promote Human Rights, LawfareBlog, January 10, 2018, https://www.lawfareblog.com/strengthen-trumps-national-security-approach-promote-human-rights Carne y Arena Exhibit https://carneyarenadc.com/ Elisa Massimino is a Senior Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights at the Harvard Kennedy School https://carrcenter.hks.harvard.edu/people/elisa-massimino

The black letter law discussed in this episode is: Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act, Pub. L. 104-132, §221 (1996) https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/PLAW-104publ132/html/PLAW-104publ132.htm Addition of Terrorism Exception to FSIA, 28 USC §1605(a)(7) https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1605A Justice for US victims of State Sponsored Terrorism Act, 34 U.S.C.§ 20144 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/34/20144 Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 28 U.S.C. §1602-11 https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title28/html/USCODE-2011-title28-partIV-chap97.htm Actions Against Foreign States, 28 U.S.C. §1330 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1330 Provision of Material Support or Resources, 18 U.S.C. §2339(A). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2339A International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, 9 June 1983, No. 21931, (Jan. 1985 - U.S. effective). https://treaties.un.org/doc/db/terrorism/english-18-5.pdf Hostage Taking, 18 U.S.C. §1203 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1203 Torture Victim Protection Act 1992 Pub. L. 102-256 https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/STATUTE-106/pdf/STATUTE-106-Pg73.pdf Alien Tort Statute 28 USC §1350 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/28/1350 U.N. Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or punishment, 10 December 1984. http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CAT.aspx Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Civil Aviation, No. 12325 (197). http://www.un.org/en/sc/ctc/docs/conventions/Conv2.pdf Mandatory Victims Restitution Act, 18 U.S.C. §3663(a). https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/3663A The Schooner Exchange v. Mcfaddon, 11 U.S. 116 (1812). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/11/116/case.html US v. Klein, 80 U.S. 128 (1871). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/80/128/case.html Letelier v. Republic of Chile, 488 F.Supp. 665. (D.D.C. 1980). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/488/665/1400196/ First National City bank v. Banco Para El Comercio Exterior de Cuba, 462 U.S. 611 (1983). https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/462/611/case.html Smith v. Libya, 101 F.3d 239 (2d Cir. 1996). https://www.leagle.com/decision/1996340101f3d2391294 Princz v. Germany, 813 F.Supp. 22 (D.D.C. 1992). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/813/22/1807808/ Alejandre v. Cuba, 42 F. Supp. 2d 1317 (S.D. Fla. 1999). https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp2/42/1317/2501671/ WAMAI et al v. REPUBLIC OF SUDAN et al, No. 1:2008cv01349 - Document 55 (D.D.C. 2011) https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/district-of-columbia/dcdce/1:2008cv01349/132534/55/ 1952 Jake Tate Letter, State Department Office of Legal Counsel reprinted in 26 DEP'T ST. BULL. (1952) Pages 984-985 https://hdl.handle.net/2027/uiuo.ark:/13960/t3515kb1d?urlappend=%3Bseq=470 Steve Pelak is a partner at Holland & Hart https://www.hollandhart.com/

Listen NowOn any given day US prisons and jails hold between 80,000 and 120,000 men, women and children in solitary confinement.   A significant percent of these individuals enter solitary with a mental disease and a similar percent of those held in isolation for extended periods of time develop severe psychiatric illnesses that include self amputation and suicidality.  (US prisons and jails constitute the largest psychiatric hospitals in the country.)  The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Juan E. Mendez, has concluded solitary confinement for more than 15 days constitutes torture.  In Hell is a Very Small Place, Voices from Solitary Confinement," edited by Jean Casella, James Ridgeway and Sarah Shourd, 16 former and current solitary confinement inmates discuss their experience in solitary and  two physicians and three professors (in law, political science and philosophy) discuss its physical and psychological effects and legal justification. During this 32 minute conversation, Ms Casella provides an overview of Hell Is a Very Small Place.  She explains why inmates are placed in solitary confinement, for how long and describes conditions under confinement.  She provides an overview of the psychological effects of solitary noted by contributing authors Dr. Stuart Grassian and Dr. Terry Kupers.  She addresses whether solitary confinement constitutes torture, explains how inmates attempt to keep their sanity, explains to what extent private sector profit making contributes to the practice and discusses what continued progress, if any, may be made under a new, incoming administration. Ms. Jean Casella is co-director of Solitary Watch, a web-based watchdog project that investigates, documents, and disseminated information about solitary confinement in US prisons and jails.  Prior to co-founding Solitary Watch in 2009, Ms. Casella managed several mission-driven book and magazine publishers including Thunder's Mouth Press and the Feminist Press.  Jean's writing has appeared in The Nation, Mother Jones, The Guardian, Al Jazerra, and other publications and media outlets.  The Hell is a Very Small Place anthology edited was published by The New Press in February.  For her work on solitary confinement, Jean was awarded a Soros Media Fellowship in 2012. For more information concerning Hell Is a Very Small Place go to: http://thenewpress.com/books/hell-very-small-place.The UN Special Rapporteur's report is at: http://solitaryconfinement.org/uploads/SpecRapTortureAug2011.pdf. For another physician's review of solitary confinement, see, for example, Dr. Atul Gawande's essay titled,"Hellhole," in the March 30, 2009 issue of The New Yorker.  At: http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2009/03/30/hellhole.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thehealthcarepolicypodcast.com

Human rights lawyer, activist, and scholar Juan E. Méndez reflects on the 30th anniversary of Argentina’s Nunca Más report and its impact on the origins and development of transitional justice. Submitted to the Argentine people on September 20th, 1984 , Nunca Más was the first time a government authorized an independent entity to investigate those formerly – and often currently – responsible for its decisions and actions. Juan E. Méndez is a Visiting Professor of Law at the American University – Washington College of Law. Mendez has also served as the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Special Advisor on Prevention to the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, and as UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide. He worked with Human Rights Watch for 15 years, and he has served as the President of the International Center for Transnational Justice (ICTJ). Juan Mendez will be placing his historical papers in The Human Rights Archive at Duke’s Rubenstein Library.