In her 2007 Report speech, Secretary General Irene Khan described how “powerful governments… deliberately fomented fear to erode human rights.”
In my job at Amnesty International I think a lot about torture. I think about how governments are able to make people think that torture is acceptable — at least in some circumstances. And I think about the people I have met who have been tortured - and the disconnection between their experiences and what government officials try to argue.
Continue reading ‘Politicians use fear to attempt to justify torture’
It was a bright, cold December morning and I was cycling through the streets of London in an orange jumpsuit. Not something I’d normally do, but I had a good reason. I was on my way to an AI demonstration at Downing Street - organised to mark the beginning of a month of activism calling for the closure of Guantánamo and the return of UK residents. My role was back-up protestor - called into action if any of the eight others didn’t make it.