What countries still use torture today?

Answer 1

The United States used some methods that have been called torture tactics at Guantanamo Bay to gain "vital info" from terrorists after the 9/11 attacks and continuing pursuit of other terrorists planning to harm the US or US assets and its citizens at home or abroad. However, none of the tactics resulted in death or significant physical harm. Most of the time, the tactics were psychological in nature, with the premise that the worst torture imaginable is simply the fear of dying or the fear of what might come next. So captors might use sleep deprivation, food deprivation, restricted mobility / movement, changed lighting (total darkness or total bright light for hours or days on end), and verbal threat or intimidation of what might happen if the prisoner does not give the desired information. The goal of "torture" at Guantanamo was not to kill the prisoner, but to solicit information by convincing the prisoner that they would do better for themselves to give up the information rather than to endure more unpleasant psychological torture.

But, the countries which have harbored terrorists, like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan, regularly use measures and tactics which can be called torture.

Many non-democratic governments run by sole leadership within a "family", corrupt governments, or by sects attempting to over throw a violent leadership also use torture. Often, torture does not end until the victim dies. In these countries, the leadership often controls citizens by exacting death as the "price" for committing any act deemed unlawful, even if the laws restrict or eliminate basic civil rights. For example, beheading in some countries IS the torture -- it is an ever-constant threat during daily life.

Vietnam used torture on US Servicemen captured and held as POWs. Some argue that many Asian countries with closed governments torture their citizens.