COPENHAGEN, Sept 27 (AFP) - Torture is even worse than terrorism "because torture is carried out by the state", a Danish torture expert will state before the Congressional Human Rights Caucus in Washington this week, according to a copy of her presentation obtained by AFP on Monday.
"Terrorists and tortures may very often use the same methods. But while the state will protect its citizens against terrorism, there is no one to protect the victims of torture," Inge Genefke, a Danish neurologist and the founder of The International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), states in the document.
While Genefke defines terrorism as "evil acts against humanity, sometimes targeting states but always hurting innocent people and damaging their lives forever", she insists that "torture is even worse, because torture is carried out by the state or by representatives of the state".
The torturers themselves need to be punished, but most importantly according to Genefke, the responsible decision-makers need to be held accountable.
"The worst criminals are those who give the orders ... These people are the outlaws of modern civilization," she states.
In June Genefke accused US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld of being responsible for the widespread torture discovered at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, claiming that it was "unacceptable and indecent for such a high-level representative to push responsibility for physical and psychological torture onto his subordinates".