Torture is a precess consisting in making somebody suffer physically (by harming him) or mentally (such as trauma, or any kind of harassment). Torture is always performed to achieve a certain target, whether it is to obtain informations, or simply to punish someone after a foul. Torture may also be performed as sadistic pleasure.

Torture is an activity that the Mafia, and most of the criminal organisations may perform. Blackmail, illegal detention, hard interrogation are some of the torture ways performed in these environments.

Torture were very common during the Middle Age, and was considered as legitimate. The Inquisition ( a law court specialized in torture created by the Catholics Church ) widely used the torture as a punishment for various reasons. The torturers had different sorts of punishments, such as the rack, the breaking wheel, or the iron maiden for instance.

Nowadays, torture is forbidden by the 'Convention against torture and other sentences or cruel treatments, inhuman or derogatory' and by the third Geneva convention. Despite this, it is an activity still widely performed in some areas of the world