ABSTRACT
Torture seems to be an elusive subject of knowledge: its nature seems to be multifaceted, its aims manifold, and the contexts and forms of its practice diverse in space and time (Innes, 1998). Legal, philosophical and historical languages may all attribute different meanings to the same word, addressing a range of different related issues. However, the persistence of torture in the world and the impossibility so far of eradicating it make it important to recognize the necessity of narrowing a definition in order to gain a deep insight into the phenomenon (Matthews, 2008: 31).
