I was reading an article about torture and how necessity was used to justify its use. I came across this reference to certain ‘General Paul Aussaresses’ who wrote in 2001 a memoir (Services spéciaux: Algérie 1955-1957), narrating France’s use of torture in Algeria. I then searched about him and saw he was a controversial figure in France and that he was tried – based on his confessions in the book. The ‘funny’ thing is that he was tried, not for committing torture but based on a law that makes it a crime to justify war. He was fined $6,500.164! Apparently France never apologized for its cruel past in Algeria – including the use of torture. In 2000, Lionel Jospin – the then French Prime Minister, ruled out a parliamentary inquiry into the torture committed by the French army during the Algerian war. Continue reading France and Torture in Algeria