Solitary confinement is not inhumane.

That’s the position held by the European Court of Human Rights as of this week.

When I first heard that the court had cleared the way for Hamza’s extradition to the US, I presumed he would face the death penalty and thus wondered how this was consistent with the European Bill of Human Rights’ complete condemnation of this form of punishment. But whilst that is deemed to be too ‘inhumane’ and ‘degrading’ to be an excusable punishment for any human in any circumstance, they deny the same applies to the prospect of life imprisonment alone in a windowless room for 23 hours a day with no opportunities for any form of expression or real human contact. Or, in other words, rendering your existence entirely meaningless and forcing it to extend well into the future is fine, and definitely not torture. But executing such people? That would be vile.

Say they deserve such treatment. Say it is justified with reference to the common good. I will most likely wish to fight you on either of those grounds. But to say you are with me in standing against inhumane treatment, before proceeding to endorse a prison facility like this, is so sickening as to barely require refutation.