Tuesday 8 November 2011

Egypt & Torture: Still Many Just Don't Get It


The (slowly, but surely, dying) epidemic of torture in Egypt has been on my mind a lot recently. One issue in particular: how Egyptians perceive torture. While for the clear and undoubted majority it remains anathema, an act of monstrosity, and a violation of all law & human progress, some haven't quite caught that train.

I am reminded of this today after a discussion I had over the matter of Essam Atta, a man who recently died in prison amidst allegations of torture currently under investigation. What troubled me was that I remember telling people about it when the news first broke out, and the first non-emotional reaction of a "significant percentage" of them to the information in many cases was:

- "...why did they torture him? What did he do?"

Either you get what is abominably wrong with that initial first response & question above, or you don't. I'm not even going to clarify...



Essam Atta & Child

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