U.S. Code » Title 18 » Part PART I— CRIMES › Chapter CHAPTER 113C— TORTURE

18 U.S.C. § 2340A

Torture

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(a)Offense.—Whoever outside the United States commits or attempts to commit torture shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both, and if death results to any person from conduct prohibited by this subsection, shall be punished by death or imprisoned for any term of years or for life.(b)Jurisdiction.—There is jurisdiction over the activity prohibited in subsection (a) if—(1) the alleged offender is a national of the United States; or(2) the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender.(c)Conspiracy.—A person who conspires to commit an offense under this section shall be subject to the same penalties (other than the penalty of death) as the penalties prescribed for the offense, the commission of which was the object of the conspiracy.(Added Pub. L. 103–236, title V, § 506(a), Apr. 30, 1994, 108 Stat. 463; amended Pub. L. 103–322, title VI, § 60020, Sept. 13, 1994, 108 Stat. 1979; Pub. L. 107–56, title VIII, § 811(g), Oct. 26, 2001, 115 Stat. 381.)Editorial NotesAmendments

2001—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 107–56 added subsec. (c).

1994—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 103–322 inserted “punished by death or” before “imprisoned for any term of years or for life”.

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date

Section effective on the later of Apr. 30, 1994, or the date on which the United States has become a party to the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Nov. 20, 1994), see section 506(c) of Pub. L. 103–236, set out as a note under section 2340 of this title.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 64 cases (14 in the last 5 years), 1995–2025 · leading case: United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010).
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United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010). · cites it 11× “Emmanuel was convicted of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Sentencing Guidelines Appendix A states that the following guidelines may be applied to violations of § 2340A: § 2A1.”
Saleh v. Titan Corp., 580 F.3d 1 (D.C. Cir. 2009). · cites it 5× “While the federal government has jurisdiction to pursue criminal charges against the contractors should it deem such action appropriate, see 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340A, 2441, 3261, and although extensive investigations were pursued by the Department of Justice upon referral from the…”
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 133 S. Ct. 1659 (2013). · cites it 2× “, 18 U. S. C. §2340A(b)(2) (authorizing prosecution of tor- turers if “the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender”); §1091(e)(2)(D) (2006 ed.”
Arkan Ali v. Donald Rumsfeld, 649 F.3d 762 (D.C. Cir. 2011). · cites it 2× “18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Congress further created a cause of action against any individual who commits torture “under actual or apparent authority, or color of law, of any foreign nation,” regardless of the victim’s nationality or the geographic location of the alleged acts.”
Vance v. Rumsfeld, 653 F.3d 591 (7th Cir. 2011). · cites it 4× “, 18 U.S.C. § 2340A (statute criminalizing overseas torture); Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, S.”
Suhail Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Tech., Inc., 840 F.3d 147 (4th Cir. 2016). · cites it 2× “See 18 U.S.C. §§ 2340A, 2441. Therefore, to the extent that the plaintiffs’ claims rest 22 on allegations of unlawful conduct in violation of settled international law or criminal law then applicable to the CACI employees, those claims fall outside the protection of the…”
Suhail Al Shimari v. CACI Premier Tech., Inc., 758 F.3d 516 (4th Cir. 2014). · cites it 2× “See 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. The Supreme Court certainly was aware of these civil and criminal statutes when it articulated its “touch and concern” language in Kiobel .”
United States v. Thomas Cameron Kincade, 379 F.3d 813 (9th Cir. 2004). “§ 1091 , torture, 18 U.S.C. § 2340A, or other war crimes, 18 U.”
Agency for Int'l Dev. v. All. for Open Soc'y Int'l, Inc., 140 S. Ct. 2082 (2020). “§§ 2734 (a), 2734a(a) ; 18 U.S.C. § 2340A ; 21 U.S.C. § 904 ; 22 U.”
Niles v. Wilshire Inv. Grp., LLC, 859 F. Supp. 2d 308 (E.D.N.Y 2012). · cites it 2× “) Torture 18 U.S.C. § 2340A; (XVIII.) Retaliating against a witness, victim, or an informant — Title 18 U.”
United States v. Servando Alvarado-Casas, 715 F.3d 945 (5th Cir. 2013). “§ 2332b(c)(1)(a); 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(a); 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (a); 21 U.”
Jane Doe v. Drummond Co., Inc., 782 F.3d 576 (11th Cir. 2015). “Finally, the court considered “the expressed intent of Congress, through enactment of the TVPA and 18 U.S.C. § 2340A, to provide aliens access to United States courts and to hold citizens of the United States accountable for acts of torture committed abroad.”
Show all 64 citing cases →
— 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(a) — 13 cases
United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010). “Emmanuel was convicted of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Sentencing Guidelines Appendix A states that the following guidelines may be applied to violations of § 2340A: § 2A1.”
United States v. Servando Alvarado-Casas, 715 F.3d 945 (5th Cir. 2013). “§ 2332b(c)(1)(a); 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(a); 18 U.S.C. § 2441 (a); 21 U.”
Davis v. Folsom Cordova Unified Sch. Dist., 674 F. App'x 715 (9th Cir. 2017).
In re the Extradition of Mujagic, 990 F. Supp. 2d 207 (N.D.N.Y. 2013).
Nickolas Felder v. Tony Howerton, 240 F. App'x 404 (11th Cir. 2007).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(b) — 2 cases
United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010). “Emmanuel was convicted of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Sentencing Guidelines Appendix A states that the following guidelines may be applied to violations of § 2340A: § 2A1.”
United States v. Roy M. Belfast, Jr. (11th Cir. 2010).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(b)(1) — 2 cases
United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010). “Emmanuel was convicted of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Sentencing Guidelines Appendix A states that the following guidelines may be applied to violations of § 2340A: § 2A1.”
United States v. Roy M. Belfast, Jr. (11th Cir. 2010).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(b)(2) — 2 cases
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 133 S. Ct. 1659 (2013). “, 18 U. S. C. §2340A(b)(2) (authorizing prosecution of tor- turers if “the alleged offender is present in the United States, irrespective of the nationality of the victim or alleged offender”); §1091(e)(2)(D) (2006 ed.”
Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. (2013).
— 18 U.S.C. § 2340A(c) — 3 cases
United States v. Belfast, 611 F.3d 783 (11th Cir. 2010). “Emmanuel was convicted of torture and conspiracy to commit torture, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2340A. Sentencing Guidelines Appendix A states that the following guidelines may be applied to violations of § 2340A: § 2A1.”
United States v. Roy M. Belfast, Jr. (11th Cir. 2010).
Belfast v. Breckon (W.D. Va. 2019).
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