Throughout South Asia, people live in fear of death squads, from the Rapid Action Battalion of Bangladesh to the "encounter specialists" of India, army units in Nepal, the Frontier Corps of Pakistan, and the "men in white vans" of Sri Lanka. Their tools are disappearance, torture, and summary execution, and their supporters, Tasneem Khalil shows in Jallad, are the governments of these nations--and their patrons, like the United States, the United Kingdom, China, and Israel. An unsparing indictment of an international system of terror that is fully countenanced by the West, Jallad presents close-up, detailed accounts of incidents of state terror and targeted violence throughout South Asia. Khalil, a reporter who himself endured torture at the hands of agents in Bangladesh, and whose remarkable story was featured in the New York Times, draws on countless hours of on-the-ground reporting and a broad network of activists and human rights advocates to build an undeniable portrait of the domination and repression that lies at the very core of statecraft in South Asia. Shielded by their protectors in the developed world, the perpetrators of these abuses deploy them strategically to silence dissent and crush opposition. A brave, essential work of reporting and investigation, Jallad brings these horrific acts to prominence in order to make it impossible for Western governments to continue turning a blind eye to the human rights violations of their erstwhile allies.

Torture doctors invent and oversee techniques to inflict pain and suffering without leaving scars. Their knowledge of the body and its breaking points and their credible authority over death certificates and medical records make them powerful and elusive perpetrators of the crime of torture. In The Torture Doctors, Steven H. Miles fearlessly explores who these physicians are, what they do, how they escape justice, and what can be done to hold them accountable. At least one hundred countries employ torture doctors, including both dictatorships and democracies. While torture doctors mostly act with impunity—protected by governments, medical associations, and licensing boards—Miles shows that a movement has begun to hold these doctors accountable and to return them to their proper role as promoters of health and human rights. Miles’s groundbreaking portrayal exposes the thinking and psychology of these doctors, and his investigation points to how the international human rights community and the medical community can come together to end these atrocities.

A short history of impunity -- Key cases of impunity the new government should address -- Causes and solutions for impunity in Bangladesh -- Recommendations.

From a historical and cross-cultural perspective it cannot be denied that most democracies failed. Only western democracies for a short while -- from the fall of Soviet communism to the rise of radical Islam -- believed themselves to be invincible. It has therefore become necessary to think about political alternatives once more and to study threats to democracy from within and without as well as common modes of failure of democracy across times and cultures. This book marks the start of a daring new debate and re-introduces anti-democratic thought and practice to the academic discourse and into the syllabus. It wishes to offer a serious discussion of anti-democratic thought, rather than an apology of democracy. 'I am the proponent of a new engagement with anti-democratic thought. This book outlines a positive agenda for the future.' -- Erich Kofmel (Editor). In a comprehensive overview, contributors to this volume discuss theoretical perspectives as well as examples of anti-democratic thought from ancient Greece to modern-day Israel and Bangladesh. A book that grew out of an international workshop on Anti-Democratic Thought organized by the Sussex Centre for the Individual and Society (SCIS) and held at the 2007 annual conference "Workshops in Political Theory" in Manchester, England. 250 pages. PUBLISHER'S ANNOUNCEMENT Imprint Academic and Erich Kofmel I have been coming under pressure for several months on the matter of Imprint Academic's publication of this book edited by Erich Kofmel. Initially this was from an anonymous group calling themselves “For and On Behalf of the Victims of Erich Kofmel”. They wished me to cancel publication of both Imprint Academic's Kofmel volumes, on the grounds that money obtained by [alleged] fraud has been used in their development. My response was (a) I do not deal with anonymous bodies; (b) Erich Kofmel has not yet been found guilty of fraud; (c) I have a contractual obligation not just to the editor of these volumes but to his contributors. That remains essentially my position, although the problem of anonymity seems now to have gone. I have no wish for the reputation of Imprint Academic to be damaged by its association with Erich Kofmel, but neither do I intend to put myself in the wrong by breaking a legal publishing agreement on the basis of unproved allegations. I should perhaps add that Imprint Academic’s contract with Erich Kofmel has not to date involved any money changing hands in either direction. Anthony Freeman Managing Editor, Imprint Academic 17th April 2009

Torture doctors invent and oversee techniques to inflict pain and suffering without leaving scars. Their knowledge of the body and its breaking points and their credible authority over death certificates and medical records make them powerful and elusive perpetrators of the crime of torture. In The Torture Doctors, Steven H. Miles fearlessly explores who these physicians are, what they do, how they escape justice, and what can be done to hold them accountable. At least one hundred countries employ torture doctors, including both dictatorships and democracies. While torture doctors mostly act with impunity—protected by governments, medical associations, and licensing boards—Miles shows that a movement has begun to hold these doctors accountable and to return them to their proper role as promoters of health and human rights. Miles’s groundbreaking portrayal exposes the thinking and psychology of these doctors, and his investigation points to how the international human rights community and the medical community can come together to end these atrocities.

The Asian Yearbook of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law aims to publish peer-reviewed scholarly articles and reviews as well as significant developments in human rights and humanitarian law. It examines international human rights and humanitarian law with a global reach, though its particular focus is on the Asian region. The focused theme of Volume 2 is Islamic Law and its Implementation in Asia and the Middle East.