Christine Gervais

Journal of Prisoners on Prisons V19 #2 Christine Gervais

Marc Notes: Includes bibliographical references.; Pub. in assn with Journal of Prisoners on prisons. Publisher Marketing: As we near the end to the first decade of the 21st century, unfortunately the shadows of state repression still haunt much of the world. Edited by Christine Gervais and Maritza Felices-Luna, this issue of the JPP documents the extreme violence deployed on the body, mind and soul of prisoners aimed at dehumanizing them, which is constructed by government representatives as legitimate practices of justice in detention centres across the globe. Despite their release, detainees never actually fully obtain freedom nor does state violence really end. Adrian, Saeideh, Osiris, Ezat, Minoo, Anahita, Kirshnabahawan and Daniel have written poignant and engaging articles candidly sharing their experiences of torture, detention, release and immigration as means to start a discussion on state violence, imprisonment, justice as well as resistance. In his Response, Alex Neve reflects on the universal and enduring effects of torture within the context of contemporary political challenges in the fight against torture. The Prisoners' Struggles section presents some of the resources available to torture survivors and their families in North America and Europe: Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition (TASSC International), the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture (CCVT), the Canadian Centre for International Justice (CCIJ) and Le Centre Exil. The issue closes with books reviews of William Sampson's Confessions of an Innocent Man: Torture and Survival in a Saudi Prison, Kerry Pither's Dark Days: The Story of Four Canadians Tortured in the Name of Fighting Terror, and Richard Matthews' The Absolute Violation: Why Torture Must Be Prohibited.