Former hostage attacks growing prevalence of torture as entertainment

MF patron John McCarthy, the writer and broadcaster who was held hostage for more than five years in Lebanon, has criticised the growing prevalence of torture as screen entertainment.

Writing in the MF's latest annual review, John says programmes such as "24" which present torture as acceptable if the stakes are high enough, are known to have influenced the behaviour of US troops in Iraq.

He adds that the entertainment industry is also guilty of suggesting that torture works, despite the long held recognition - dating back to at least the time of Aristotle - that a victim will often say anything to stop the pain.

John goes on to say that it is becoming increasingly clear that what we enjoy as entertainment shapes the world in which we live.

"As the American Psychiatric Association said recently, in calling for a reduction in television violence: "The debate is over. Over the last three decades, the one overriding finding in research on the mass media is that exposure to media portrayals of violence increases aggressive behaviour in children"," he writes.

"There is research too showing that the lessons learned are copied over into adulthood, while adults exposed to violent entertainment can become desensitised and begin to identify with the aggressors, and the aggressors' solutions to problems."

In his article John emphasises that as a human rights organisation, the MF defers to no one in its support for freedom of expression, saying: "The numerous writers, journalists and other public figures among our clients who have fallen foul of repressive governments would demand nothing less.

"But when freedom of expression leads, either directly or indirectly, to an incitement to violence, a responsible society has the right to say that there are other principles too that it is equally important to maintain. One cannot be at the expense of another."

A shortened version of John's article appeared in The Independent newspaper on Thursday May 24, together with a news story about his comments.