Torture by proxy is collusion by one government in the abuse of prisoners by another. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

has rendered prisoners to nations known to practice

torture Torture is the deliberate infliction of severe pain or suffering on a person for reasons such as punishment, extracting a confession, interrogation for information, or intimidating third parties. Some definitions are restricted to acts ...

.U.S. Torture-by-proxy * * In the case of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

, the government of Prime Minister

Tony Blair Sir Anthony Charles Lynton Blair (born 6 May 1953) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007. He previously served as Leader of t ...

is alleged to have colluded in the torture of prisoners by

Libya Libya (; ar, ليبيا, Lībiyā), officially the State of Libya ( ar, دولة ليبيا, Dawlat Lībiyā), is a country in the Maghreb region in North Africa. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Suda ...

. The frequency with which the US government has chosen to employ the practice of transferring prisoners to countries that practice torture has fluctuated from one administration to the next. Before the

September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...

, renditions to countries that practice torture were sporadic and ad hoc. Afterwards, the Bush administration created a dedicated rendition bureaucracy and streamlined procedures which radically expanded abductions for torture by proxy, most commonly sending victims to be abused in Egypt, sometimes to Syria and Morocco. Despite protestations that it does not condone torture, recently the

Obama administration Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...

has been accused of transferring prisoners to face brutal treatment in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Somalia. Colluding governments use proxy torturers in order to support the deception that they have no knowledge of, or participation in, torture.

References

{{torture Torture