6. Torture
Audio
Listen to the session (to download it as an MP3 file, right click on this link and choose to save or download it)
Video
Talks
Q&A
Transcript
Read a transcript of the session.
Session info
14.00 – 15.15
Supported by:
Prior to 9/11 the idea that the UK and its closest allies would be complicit in the rendition and torturing of detainees would have been unthinkable. But seven years on from the launch of the so-called “war on terror” that is where we find ourselves. The advent of the Obama administration has brought an end to the worst excesses of the Bush-era, with the promised closure of Guantanamo Bay, the suspension of its military commissions and the re-affirmation of America’s commitment to the absolute prohibition on torture. But the recent case of Binyam Mohamed has exposed a continued reluctance on the part of the US and the UK to face up to their professed commitments, with both states collaborating to suppress politically embarrassing information on the treatment of detainees, interrogation techniques and rendition.
How did we find ourselves in such murky territory? Is the wider decline in our human rights standards a result of crossing that boundary that was once thought absolute? How do we ensure we stay true to our ideals whilst defending ourselves against the threats we face?
Already confirmed:
| Chair: | Saghir Hussain |
| Speakers: | Moazzam Begg (former Guantanamo detainee; spokesman, Cage Prisoners) |
| Victoria Brittain (author and journalist) | |
| Edward Fitzgerald QC (Doughty Street Chambers) | |
| David Rose (Vanity Fair) |
