Media Advisory: June 22, 2012
Contact: Samantha Friedman, office: (202) 265-3000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

SUNDAY: Coalition of religious/human rights groups to demonstrate against torture in Washington, as part of Torture Awareness Month

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) will join a national coalition of more than two dozen religious and human rights groups for a demonstration and march at 1 p.m. 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.  Sunday’s events will begin at the reflecting pool in front of the U.S. Capitol, followed by a march to the White House.

Dr. Stephen Xenakis, a retired U.S. Army brigadier general, will be the keynote speaker.  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.

Sunday’s march and demonstration are open to the media, and coverage is welcome.  Photo and video opportunities will be available, and NRCAT will collect photos and video to distribute afterward.  More information is available at www.nrcat.org/june24. 

What: March Against Torture, Guantanamo and the NDAA

When: Sunday, June 24, 1-2:30 p.m.

Where: Gathering at the U.S. Capitol Reflecting Pool, Washington, D.C., followed by a march to the White House

Who: The National Religious Campaign Against Torture and the Washington Region Religious Campaign Against Torture, as part of a national coalition of groups

KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Retired Brig. Gen. Stephen Xenakis will speak in front of the White House, starting at 2 p.m.

He will be introduced by Linda Gustitus, President of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture.

Why: To unite against torture, particularly torture at the hands of the U.S. government

Additional Torture Awareness Month activities organized by the National Religious Campaign Against Torture include 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. on Tuesday, June 26, to mark the United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture; and a vigil at the U.S. Navy Memorial (Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Ave., NW), from 4:30-5:30 p.m. Tuesday, June 26.  Local events to 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, are being organized across the country.  Additional information on all events and Torture Awareness Month in general is available at www.nrcat.org/tam2012. 

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.  In recent months, NRCAT also has called for the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay based on its legacy as 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.

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