In his first one-on-one television interview since becoming president, Donald Trump said he believes torture works, stating "we have to fight fire with fire". At public level, 45 percent of people in the U.S. agree that torture is justified in some cases to protect Americans while 53 percent disagree. Global opinion on the use of torture to protect the public is similarly divided, according to data from Amnesty International. In the United Kingdom, 7 out of 10 respondents disagree that the practice is an effective strategy to protect the public. There is similar opposition to torture in Russia with only a quarter of people feeling it can be justified.

Source: Forbes January 26, 2017 13:36 UTC