Dispatches from the Dark Side

On Torture and the Death of Justice

In this set of devastating essays, Gareth Peirce analyzes the corruption of legalprinciples and practices in both the US and the UK that has accompanied the‘War on Terror’. Exploring the few cases of torture that have come to light, such asthose of Guantánamo detainees Shafiq Rasul and Binyam Mohamed, Peirce arguesthat they are evidence of a deeply entrenched culture of impunity among thoseinvestigating presumed radicals among British Muslim nationals and residents,who constitute the new suspect community in the UK. Peirce shows that theBritish government has colluded in a whole range of extrajudicialactivities—rendition, internment without trial, torture—and has gone toextraordinary lengths to conceal its actions. Its devices for maintainingsecrecy are probably more deep-rooted than those of any other comparabledemocracy. If the government continues along this path, Peirce argues, it willdestroy the moral and legal fabric it claims to be protecting.