Media Advisory: June 26, 2012
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Coalition of religious/human rights groups demonstrate against torture in Washington and nationwide as part of Torture Awareness Month
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) joined a national coalition of more than two dozen religious and human rights groups for a demonstration in front of the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool, followed by a march to the White House, on Sunday, June 24, as part of a national week of action against torture, the continued operation of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and indefinite detention. The events of the week were planned in conjunction with Torture Awareness Month, commemorated throughout June.
In addition, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture has two events planned for TODAY, Tuesday, June 26, to mark the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture: A screening of a new documentary, “Doctors of the Dark Side,” at the E Street Cinema (555 11th Street, NW, Washington, D.C.) at 6 p.m. and a vigil at the U.S. Navy Memorial (Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW), from 4:30-5:30 p.m.
NRCAT is co-sponsoring 15 vigils and additional events across the country. These local events acknowledge Torture Awareness Month and June 26, the anniversary of the date, in 1987, when the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment came into effect.
A full schedule of these vigils opposing torture can be found at http://tinyurl.com/7bky8b4.
Additional information on all events and Torture Awareness Month in general is available at www.nrcat.org/tam2012.
Photos, video clips and additional information on Sunday’s Washington gathering are available at www.nrcat.org/june24. The photo below is available for your use.
“Detainees” demonstrate against torture in front of the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool on Sunday, June 24, 2012, in honor of Torture Awareness Month. As part of a coalition organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, anti-torture demonstrators then engaged in a march to the White House.
PHOTO COURTESY OF: The National Religious Campaign Against Torture
“I was proud to come together with people of all faiths Sunday to bring attention to the need for making sure that U.S.-sponsored torture never happens again,” said Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture. The reality is that the U.S. engaged in torture at the prison at Guantanamo Bay, secret sites through third-party countries and at other places around the world, and still today, through the use of solitary confinement in prisons across the United States. We ask the Obama administration to create a formal commission of inquiry to investigate the use of torture from 9/11 to the time that President Obama halted torture on January 22. We cannot move forward as a country until we have looked within ourselves, fully investigated the harsh realities and come to terms with what we’ve done wrong to other human beings.”
Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, was the keynote speaker in Washington on Sunday. A video of his speech is available for viewing online. He has spoken out publicly against interrogation tactics used by the military at Guantanamo Bay and writes on medical ethics, military medicine and detainee treatment. He is a 28-year veteran of the U.S. Army Medical Corps, holding roles including clinical psychiatrist, staff officer and senior commander. Today, he is a psychiatrist with a clinical and consulting practice and founder of the Center for Translational Medicine, which researches neuropsychiatric conditions that affect soldiers and veterans. He is also a former NRCAT board member.
NRCAT, a membership organization of 315 religious organizations across the United States, focuses its work on four areas: torture of post-9/11 detainees, torture in U.S. prisons (particularly in the form of prolonged solitary confinement), advocacy for U.S. policies to help end torture abroad, and working to end anti-Muslim bigotry.
Most recently, NRCAT organized a 23-hour nationwide fast, interceding on behalf of the tens of thousands of American prisoners currently housed in solitary confinement across the country. The fast was held in conjunction with the first ever Congressional hearing on the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons, convened by the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Human Rights. Video of the breaking of the fast is online. In recent months, NRCAT also has called for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay because it is a symbol of U.S.-authorized torture; a formal apology from the U.S. government to Mahar Arar, a Canadian citizen unlawfully detained, imprisoned and tortured in Syria, under the authority of the U.S. government, freed without ever being charged with a crime; and reform of the National Defense Authorization Act, which allows for indefinite military detention without trial of people arrested in the United States.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, 315 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations. More information is available at www.nrcat.org.
