Many of my readers know that I was the Director of the Denounce Torture Campaign with Amnesty International, USA this last year. One of my main focus was to educate America on the issues around human rights abuses when it comes to the War on Terror. Specifically, Torture. One of my last successes was to secure the arrival of a replica of a Gitmo Cell to tour the states during the Presidential election.
The UK section of Amnesty International has had some major success with their Unsubscribe campaign that utilizes Web 2.0, social networks, and viral marketing. This latest, powerful video was on the issue of water-boarding. It has received some major press and has become successfully viral.
It is wonderful to see such an organization really use these strategies in an effective way.
As many of you know… I worked for Amnesty International this last year. My last big victory before I left to start our firm, was convincing the organization to bring out the GITMO cell from Australia during the campaign season here in the states. It was NOT an easy task… but I had the support from a great boss, Larry Cox (seen in the video.)
Last night they did a snippet of this cell on the ground in PA. Awesome to see ideas manifest into reality.
When I was at Amnesty we had an idea for a Gitmo cell tour. It was an concept from our team at Denounce Torture team, which I directed. It is awesome to see it move forward from an idea… to action. Proud to have a small part of this great idea.
See the cell near you. Here are the details:
National Tour Launch Event:11:30am - 1pm on May 8 in Bayfront Park, Tina Hills Pavilion, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL
Miami: May 8 - May 11 in Bayfront Park, Tina Hills Pavilion, 301 N. Biscayne Blvd, Miami, FL WITH SPECIAL GUEST MARY ROBINSON ON MAY 10 at 2PM.
Philadelphia: May 30 -June 1 in Dilworth Plaza, 1400 JFK Blvd, Philadelphia, PA
Portland, Maine: June 5 -June 7 in Monument Square, Congress Street, Portland, ME
New York, Clearwater Festival: June 21 & 22, Croton Point Park, Village of Croton-on-Hudson, Westchester County, NY
Washington DC: June 25 -June 30
June 26 Special Event in Washington DC to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture
Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine announced Tuesday that he is halting all executions until the Supreme Court decides whether lethal injection violates the constitutional ban on cruel and unusual punishment. Kaine’s announcement came as he stayed the April 8 execution of Edward N. Bell, who killed a police officer in Winchester in 1999.
Amnesty’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) is coming up!
Register for the 2008 AGM today!
he 2008 AGM is fast approaching so register now to attend! This year’s AGM will feature a national Lobby Day on Monday, April 28th to lobby Congress on issues around our Stop Violence against Women campaign. The AGM will also feature speakers on the Denounce Torture campaign, including Emi MacLean from the Center for Constitutional Rights. Our keynote speaker this year is AI Secretary General Irene Khan and other featured speakers include 2008 Ginetta Sagan award winner Betty Makoni.
For a limited time, the AGM is offering $25 off registration for groups of 3 or more! That means anyone attending the AGM can receive $25 off each person’s registration if they register with three or more people. A group of three people would save $75 on registration. Read more at www.amnestyusa.org/agm
The AGM hotel block closes this Friday, April 4. After this Friday, there will only be a limited number of hotel rooms available and they will not be guaranteed at the AGM rate of $135/night. Please make sure to register for the AGM today at www.amnestyusa.org/agm and book your hotel room!
GA Supreme Court Decision is ‘Simply Stunning;’ U.S. ‘Has Shrugged
Off the Very Notion of Justice at Every Level’ in Davis Case
Amnesty International USA decried today’s Georgia Supreme Court decision to deny a new trial for Troy Anthony Davis, who has been on death row for more than 16 years despite significant concerns regarding his innocence. The human rights organization, which has collected more than 60,000 petition signatures while campaigning for Davis, said the ruling demonstrates a blatant disregard for justice, and asserted that the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles must grant clemency in his case.
As an expert witness in the defense of an Abu Ghraib guard who was court-martialed, psychologist Philip Zimbardo had access to many of the images of abuse that were taken by the guards themselves. For a presentation at the TED conference in Monterey, California, Zimbardo assembled some of these pictures into a short video. Wired.com obtained the video from Zimbardo’s talk, and is publishing some of the stills from that video here. Many of the images are explicit and gruesome, depicting nudity, degradation, simulated sex acts and guards posing with decaying corpses. Viewer discretion is advised.
Images are the only evidence for an American conscience that the unimaginable horrors of Abu Ghraib were real. Host a “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib” house party as November’s “86 days” campaign action and help educate your community about this tragic truth.
Through extensive interviews and documentation, “Ghosts of Abu Graib” demonstrates that the President and his senior advisors are responsible for the abuses at the prison.
When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act one year ago, the U.S. abandoned its core founding principles. The Administration continues to give a green light to policies that place guilt before innocence, imprisonment without charge, and fear above all else. When a government sanctions the use of torture tactics, it disposes of justice and the rule of law, and thereby, discards our freedom.
Join with Amnesty advocates in new ways each month to call attention to these violations as a part of our “86 days” campaign. Invite your neighbors and help educate your community by hosting a special screening of the documentary “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”. Witness how poor policies against the “war on terror” breed tragedies like the human rights abuses at Abu Ghraib.
Images shouldn’t be the only proof of Abu Ghraib’s existence…our conscience reminds us that Abu Graib exists when the principals of decency and democracy do not.
In solidarity,
Kevin Spidel
Campaign Manager, Denounce Torture
Amnesty International, USA
“If there were no photographs, there would be no Abu Ghraib,” a guard stationed at the infamous detention facility commented.
