CAT: A Study on Bangladesh Compliance beating me […] I was stripped naked and taken into a small room, about three metres square; more than 30 people were crowded into the room. This was where I learned what human beings can do to one another […]”82 Similarly, in a letter smuggled out of a Syrian prison in January 2000, one of the inmates informs us about methods of torture: “Stretching the body on a ladder; suspension from the wrists; electric shocks; pulling out the finger nails; dripping acid on the feet; the insertion of a broken bottle into the anus; prolonged flogging […] We have, or have seen those who have, all experienced such blind methods of torture. Bodies of some of the victims took years to recover from the effects of torture, but the bodies of others have permanent disabilities.”83 These stories of torture sound familiar around the globe, in every continent, in one form or the other. Torture is a global phenomenon with variation in degrees; hence, measures to combat torture demand internationally and nationally concerted efforts. The purpose of this study was to demonstrate to what extent the national standard prohibiting torture in Bangladesh conforms to the international standard principally set by the CAT. The study also exposed state practice in deviation of both international and national standards, and recommended measures to be 82 Amnesty International, Take a Step to Stamp Out Torture (London: Amnesty International, 2000), 9. 83 Ibid, 4. 63