Register today to host a "Torture on Trial" house party this June for Torture Awareness Month.
From Amnesty International
Dear Friends
Two days ago, we got word that a detainee at Guantanamo Bay committed suicide. Mohammad Ahmad Abdallah Salih, also known as Al Hanashi, had been held there for over seven years, without any formal charges brought against him.
No formal charges. No legal process to determine whether or not he was a threat. A seemingly endless future in limbo. So he takes his life.
We will never know whether the allegations made against Mohammad were well-founded or not. That's what happens when you resort to torture and illegal detention. What we do know however is the massive damage this one detention center and the policies behind it has had on our values, our reputation, and ultimately our ability to effectively counter terrorism.
Mohammad is the fifth inmate of the Guantanamo prison facility to take his own life.
And yet despite all this, the latest poll in USA Today shows that a majority of Americans oppose closing Guantanamo, by an almost 2-to-1 margin.1
And so the debate about what to do with Guantanamo and how to close it and whether or not to conduct an independent investigation into how we became a nation that tortures has now become the subject of petty partisan politics.
Even President Obama, who said we do not have to make a false choice between national security and our values, has chosen to defend illegal detention and counter-terrorism policies, and to cover up the abuse of detainees.
This is about much more than today's politicians and their next elections. It's about justice, the rule of law, and our very founding freedoms. It's about ensuring that regardless of who is our next president, we never use torture again.
That's why this June, for Torture Awareness Month, it's time to go back to our roots, and do what the first Amnesty International groups did almost 50 years ago today–bring people together to write letters, demanding those in power respect human rights and the rule of law.
Will you agree to host a house party, and show the compelling 30-minute documentary "Torture on Trial"? Show the film from your computer or email us at ctwj@aiusa.org to borrow a DVD.
Your "Torture on Trial" house party will inspire guests to write a letter to President Obama, join a national call-in week to the White House and share these actions with 10 other people.
This month, many of our coalition partners will be promoting complimentary events. Your house party will be one part of a larger coordinated national mobilization to change the direction of this debate.
We know it's not easy to stand up for what is right. We know that it can be difficult to be out of step with the popular mood. But aren't there some things, like justice, freedom, and the rule of law, that shouldn't be subject to political bargaining?
Help us change the debate, reject the politics of fear and fight for the values we hold dear. There can be no compromise when it comes to justice and the rule of law.
Thanks for standing with us, Njambi Good Campaign Director Counter Terror with Justice Amnesty International USA
P.S. Later this month, from June 22 - 26, to commemorate International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on the the 26th, we'll be organizing a national call-in week to the White House. These calls will happen just as we have 10 prominent letters sent to President Obama. You may already know, President Obama reads 10 letters every day, to stay in touch with the American people. Keep an eye out for our end of month activities that will leverage these powerful "10 letters against torture."
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