I've noticed that all the news articles which describe what happened at Abu Ghraib stop short of calling it torture. They all call it 'abuse'. Boing Boing points out, with this highly relevant link to a UN document ratified by the US and 70 other countries.

1. For the purposes of this Convention, the term "torture" means any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession, punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind, when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.

Posted by Barry at May 05, 2004 05:49 PM | Trackback