While a group among them are victims of oppression and breach of man-made law...

While a group among them are victims of oppression and breach of man-made law, there is a class whose very innocence has brought them behind bars. Being behind bars is only one part of the story. The oppression and torture that these innocent captives have to bear is terrible and inexpressible.

Such kind of treatment stems from the kind of cruelty possessed by the wardens of the different prisons, who receive the power of discretion from their masters, who in turn possess authority through their respective governments. The following statement from Amnesty International[^7] speaks of this reality: Torture does not happen in a vacuum. The social and political context, and the supply of tools and techniques for inflicting pain rely on a failure of political will.

If the governments of the world had the political will to stop torture they could do so. In order to appreciate the gravity of the matter, one can refer to the relevant texts available on prison torture in the Internet from human rights organizations such as Human Rights Watch [hrw.org] and the like.

Due to the brevity of this commentary, however, we would only mention a few examples of the situation prevailing on the prisons of the world: Prisoners Suffering Torture MEN, WOMEN & CHILDREN: “… but torture continues and is not confined to military dictatorships or authoritarian regimes; torture is inflicted in democratic states too.

It is also clear that victims of torture are criminal suspects as well as political prisoners, the disadvantaged as well as the dissident, people targeted because of their identity as well as their beliefs. They are women as well as men, children as well as adults.” ^8 WOMEN: “Amnesty International (AI) has documented countless cases of women being tortured in custody.

In its coverage of armed conflicts, it has reported the systematic use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.”[^9] CHILDREN: “The fact that children could suffer torture at all should come as a terrible shock. Their dependency and vulnerability should render them immune from the atrocities adults inflict on one another. Their very innocence should put them beyond reach.

Yet violence against children is endemic: children are tortured by the police or security forces… ^10 Methods of Torture The survey showed that beating is by far the most common method of torture and ill-treatment by state agents today, reported in over 150 countries.