Torture and ill-treatment are endemic to almost all Asian countries. Based on the structural reasons for torture, one may state that torture and illtreatment are common features of less developed countries. However, these very structural aspects of torture are missing from the discourse on torture prevention within the human rights community. Very often, the differences in the factors that cause torture in developed countries and less developed countries are glossed over in the discourse on human rights. This publication addresses the practice of torture in Bangladesh, Burma, Indonesia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. In all of these countries, the criminal justice system remains at a nascent, underdeveloped […]
