Tanzimat and penal modernity: The abolition of torture in the mid-nineteenth century

Abstract

This thesis studies the abolition of torture in the Ottoman Empire from 1840s up until the mid-1860s as a component of newly-raised Tanzimat legislation and, more generally, the Ottoman judicial transformation in the nineteenth century. It will be investigated the context in which the anti-torture law took place in this period and how this official policy came into practice after relevant laws and regulations were issued by the Sublime Porte. It will be argued that the anti-torture law was an outcome of global legislative wave against body-oriented punitive methods in penal proceedings, whose origins could be traced back to the mid-eighteenth century. Since this law was a part of penal modernity, which first occurred in Europe, this thesis tries to concentrate on its utilization in everyday court practices. It explores how ordinary Ottoman subjects made use of this Tanzimat novelty when they were encountering with legal discourse. Moreover, this thesis reevaluates foreign, mostly British, diplomatic pressure on the Tanzimat statesmen about ongoing practice of unlawful torture through the nineteenth century diplomatic environment. Intentionally, I establish a bond between a global legislative trend and simple judicial strategies of Ottomans. Broadly, the Ottoman judicial transformation in the first two decades of the Tanzimat era is examined by relying on archival documents, official correspondences, consular reports, and most importantly penal court records and interrogation procedures.