Self-isolation as torture: Autonomy,legal imagination and suffering in prison

Abstract

This article explores how self-isolation in Danish prisons engages the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment. Despite international criticism and established harms associated with solitary confinement more broadly, under Danish law, self-isolation is considered a prisoner’s right and is understood to reflect the state’s respect for prisoners’ autonomy. By combining qualitative interviews with self-isolated prisoners and an extensive legal analysis, we question this assumed autonomy – the core principle underpinning the practice – and how it is used to shield its harms from the scrutiny of torture’s prohibition. Our findings suggest that not only does self-isolation implicate the state in protecting its prisoners, the full recognition of its inflicted suffering presents distinct challenges for prevailing interpretations of the prohibition. We conclude that the current practice of rights-based isolation is not a prisoner’s right to escape violence but effectively a right to choose between sources of violence.