Interrogation in Depth (1971) in Retrospect

Dr Aoife Duffy will present a politico-legal history of a particular security operation that resulted in one of the most high-profile torture cases in the world.

Dr Duffy’s research reveals the extent to which the Ireland v. United Kingdom judgement misrepresented the interrogation system that was developed and utilised in Northern Ireland (in 1971).

The theoretical reference paradigm of state denial is often associated with torture, and the author uses this model to excavate buried aspects of this most famous of torture cases. Through the lens of a single operation (conducted twice), the research exposes the complicated structures of state-sponsored denial designed to hide the truth about the long-term effects of these techniques and the way in which they were authorised. Contemporary litigation efforts are also explored.

Dr Duffy is a lecturer in human rights law at University of Essex’s School of Law/Human Rights Centre. Before this posting, Dr Duffy was a lecturer at the Irish Centre for Human Rights, National University of Ireland, Galway and an adjunct lecturer at Dublin City University. Here is a link to a list of Dr Duffy’s academic publications, you can follow Dr Duffy on Twitter.