As the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, the renowned human rights expert Manfred Nowak investigated torture practices and detention conditions worldwide between 2004 and 2010. Under the protection of the UN, he and his team were able to inspect detention centres unannounced and unobserved, conduct confidential interviews with detainees and document the evidence of torture. Torture occurs in more than 90 per cent of all countries, and in the vast majority of cases it is routinely used by the police to extort confessions or information. In its “war on terror”, the Bush administration has even attempted to re-legitimise torture as a necessary instrument for establishing the truth.

In his book “Folter. Die Alltäglichkeit des Unfassbaren.”, Manfred Nowak reports

• how to recognise torture,
• about his work, the methods used to investigate torture and the difficulties involved,
• about torture and its causes,
• about concrete experiences in many countries,
• about the simple possibility of really abolishing torture if there is the political will to do so.