59 pc Indians back torture of terrorists to save life: Poll

Sridhar Krishnaswami

Washington, Jun 25 (PTI) Bucking the global trend, 59
percent of Indians support the use of torture and other
third-degree means on terrorists if it could help save
innocent lives, a new survey of 19 nations shows.

India, the survey shows, has the largest number saying
that torture should be allowed on terrorists, as well as the
lowest support for unequivocal rules against torture.

The poll which saw most people in 14 countries favouring
an unequivocal rule against torture, even in the case of
terrorists who have information that could save lives of
innocent people.

But four nations, including India, lean toward favouring
an exception in the case of terrorists, according to the
WorldPublicOpinion.org poll of 19,063 respondents, released
ahead of 'International Victims of Torture Day' Thursday.

Majorities in India (59 percent), Nigeria (54 percent),
and Turkey (51 percent), and a plurality in Thailand (44
percent) want an exception for terrorists.

Among all nations polled in both 2006 and 2008, India
also has the largest increase in support of making exceptions
for torture in the case of terrorism -- from 32 percent two
years ago to 59 percent now.

The country has 12 percent that believe torture should
generally be allowed, while 28 percent overall say that all
torture should be prohibited.

The number of those that reject torture totally has also
risen from 23 percent in 2006 to 28 percent. In 2006, 28
percent of Indians gave an answer of "neither" or "depends" on
this question.

Large majorities in all 19 nations favour a general
prohibition against torture. In all nations polled, the number
saying that the government should generally be able to use
torture is less than one in five.

On average across all nations polled, 57 percent opt
for unequivocal rules against torture. Thirty-five percent
favour an exception when innocent lives are at risk. Just nine
percent favour the government being able to use torture in
general.

Support for the unequivocal position was highest in Spain
(82 percent), Great Britain (82 percent) and France (82
percent), followed by Mexico (73 percent), China (66 percent),
the Palestinian territories (66 percent), Poland (62 percent),
Indonesia (61 percent) and the Ukraine (59 percent).

In five countries either modest majorities or pluralities
support a ban on all torture: Azerbaijan (54 percent), Egypt
(54 percent), the United States (53 percent), Russia (49
percent), and Iran (43 percent). South Koreans are divided.

"The idea that torture by governments is basically wrong
is widely shared in all corners of the world. Even the
scenario one hears of terrorists holding information that
could save innocent lives is rejected as a justification for
torture in most countries," Steven Kull, director of
WorldPublicOpinion.org, says.

"Further since such a scenario is exceedingly rare, this
poll suggests that virtually all torture used by governments
is at odds with the will of the people," he added.

WorldPublicOpinion.org is a collaborative project
involving a worldwide network of research centres under the
management of the Programme on International Policy Attitudes
(PIPA) at the University of Maryland, US.