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Implications of world-wide use of torture to be explored during UO lecture
Darius Rejali, an expert on the modern use of torture by government interrogators, will offer insights into the history and practice of 'waterboarding' and other tortures that leave no marks.
EUGENE, Ore. -- (May 29, 2008) -- Darius Rejali, a leading expert on torture and other related forms of government violence, will speak at the University of Oregon on Wednesday, June 4. The free public talk will begin at 7 p.m. in Room 110, William W. Knight Law Center, 1515 Agate St.
Rejali, who teaches political science at Reed College, will talk about the growing world-wide use of torture that leaves no marks and why the practice poses as great a danger at home as it does abroad.
"Soldiers who torture get jobs as police when they come home, and the techniques you read about today will yet happen in a neighborhood near you," Rejali predicted in his book, "Torture and Democracy." Worse, torture destroys the ability to gather intelligence on counterterrorism, undermining the very well known techniques that work even when time is short. In the real world, Rejali contends, Jack Bauer of Fox's "24" TV Series would be a lousy policeman.
Ironically, it isn't that difficult to stop the wide-spread use of torture in questioning military and civilian suspects, according to Rejali. The methods for effective intelligence gathering are well known, he said. What is required to halt the wide-spread use of torture is government leadership, he says.
Rejali praised the work by groups such as Amnesty International in documenting torture, saying documentation plays an important role in decreasing the practice. "Torture flourishes more when it is hidden than when it is exposed to public view," he said. "But the efforts to focus public attention on torture also have had perverse effects, leading torturers to use other techniques that can't be as easily documented."
The UO departments of sociology, political science and history are sponsors of the talk.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is a world-class teaching and research institution and Oregon's flagship public university. The UO is a member of the Association of American Universities (AAU), an organization made up of 62 of the leading public and private research institutions in the United States and Canada. Membership in the AAU is by invitation only. The University of Oregon is one of only two AAU members in the Pacific Northwest.
Contact: Pauline Austin, public and media relations, 541-346-3129, paustin@uoregon.edu
Source: Charles Hunt, adjunct professor of sociology, 541-346-5779, cwhunt@uoregon.edu
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