Towards a Worldwide Index of Human Freedom

An Index of Freedom in the World • 73
coders of this index also use a second source, Amnesty International’s
Annual Report. If there are discrepancies between the two sources,
coders are instructed to treat the Amnesty International evaluation as
authoritative.
Score 0 indicates that torture was practiced frequently in a given year;
1 indicates that torture was practiced occasionally; and
2 indicates that such torture did not occur in a given year.
Pro’s 195 countries; annually since 1981. For 33 of these countries, added in
December 2004, data only exist for 2001 and 2003 and beyond.
Con’s —
Political imprisonment
by CIRI Human Rights Data Project
Description The incarceration of people by government officials because of: their
speech; their non-violent opposition to government policies or leaders;
their religious beliefs; their non-violent religious practices including
proselytizing; or their membership in a group, including an ethnic or
racial group.
Source The primary source of information about human rights practices is
obtained from a careful reading of the annual United States Department
of State’s Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. In addition,
coders of this index also use a second source, Amnesty International’s
Annual Report. If there are discrepancies between the two sources,
coders are instructed to treat the Amnesty International evaluation as
authoritative.
Score 0 indicates that political imprisonment was practiced frequently in a given
year;
1 indicates that political imprisonment was practiced occasionally; and
2 indicates that such imprisonment did not occur in a given year.
Pro’s 195 countries; annually since 1981
Con’s —
Disappearance
by CIRI Human Rights Data Project
Description Cases in which people have disappeared, political motivation appears
likely, and the victims have not been found. Knowledge of the whereabouts
of the disappeared is, by definition, not public knowledge. However,
while there is typically no way of knowing where victims are, it is typically
known by whom they were taken and under what circumstances.
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