NRCAT Press Releases

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Religious, Military, Government Leaders United in Calling for Release of the Report on Torture

Washington, D.C. – A newly released statement features prominent religious, national security, foreign policy and military leaders who support the public release of the Senate Intelligence Committee report on the CIA’s rendition, detention and interrogation program. The National Religious Campaign Against Torture joined the Center for Victims of Torture, Human Rights First, and The Constitution Project in collecting signatures for the statement. Signers of the statement, and other prominent leaders who support release of the report, can be found along with the text of the statement online.

Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, applauded the breadth of support for release of the Intelligence Committee’s report: “For faith leaders, this is a moral issue – the public must know the truth about the CIA’s treatment of prisoners. That faith leaders are joined by so many leaders from military, intelligence and foreign policy backgrounds in calling for the same thing – release of the Intelligence Committee report – suggests that not only should the report be released on moral grounds, but also on legal and pragmatic ones as well.”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 12, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or cell: (202) 215-9260 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

National, NY interfaith, anti-torture groups host events in NYC area marking International Human Rights Day
Interfaith groups call for end to solitary confinement in New York prisons, jails and detention centers

NEW YORK – As a part of a series of statewide events marking the 65th anniversary of International Human Rights Day, representatives of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, comprised of more than 325 diverse faith-based organizational members across the United States, are joining this weekend with New York religious and human rights organizations to host public events to expose the realities of solitary confinement in New York prisons, jails and detention centers. 

“People of faith have a moral obligation to speak out against the use of prolonged solitary confinement because it is torture,” said Claire Deroche, who helped organize a vigil this Saturday, described below. “We need sweeping changes in our prison system that will benefit those who are incarcerated, corrections officers, and the public. We must speak out and work with elected officials for change."

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES:
December 9, 2013

CONTACT: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

WEDNESDAY Panel: Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever

National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Yale team up to discuss solitary confinement, Senate torture report

NEW HAVEN, Conn. – The National Religious Campaign Against Torture and Yale Law School are teaming up to talk torture. A panel event, “Ending U.S.-Sponsored Torture Forever, will be held Wednesday, December 11, at 7 p.m. at the United Church on the Green, 270 Temple Street, in New Haven.

The panel will feature Hope Metcalf, director of the Arthur Liman Public Interest Program at Yale University Law School, who will talk about the national movement to reduce reliance on solitary confinement and to find alternatives to isolation, including in Connecticut, as well as Matt Hawthorne, policy director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, who will provide an update about the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture. The report was adopted a year ago, on December 13, 2012, and has been classified for the past year. The Intelligence Committee will likely vote next week on whether to release the report publicly.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 22, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team, (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

National advocate for closing Guantanamo available for interview
Policy Director of NRCAT can comment on Senate NDAA Guantanamo vote and growing faith leader opposition to Guantanamo

WASHINGTON, D.C. – After the recent Senate vote in support of provisions that further enable transfers out of Guantanamo, Policy Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, Matt Hawthorne, is available for interview on Guantanamo.

As a spokesman for a diverse national coalition of more than 325 U.S. religious organizations, Hawthorne can speak to the significance of the Senate vote and its implications for Guantanamo Bay. Additionally, Hawthorne can speak to the growing opposition to Guantanamo among people of faith, as represented in a recent letter from forty three prominent faith leaders to Senators about the importance of supporting provisions that will move our country toward closing Guantanamo.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 18, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Religious Leaders Issue Renewed Call on Senate to Close Guantanamo

Washington, D.C. – Forty-three prominent faith leaders wrote to senators today to ask them to support provisions that would allow the U.S. government to take practical steps toward drawing down the prisoner population at the detention center at Guantanamo Bay and eventually closing the detention center for good. The key provisions are contained in the current Senate version of the FY 2014 National Defense Authorization Act and are likely to be voted on before the end of this year. The text of the letter and the names of the signers are below.

In the letter, the religious leaders tell senators that “these are practical, common sense provisions which place our great nation on the path toward solving the seemingly intractable problems posed by Guantanamo. In an era of austerity, they also provide good stewardship of taxpayer dollars by helping to eliminate wasteful spending. More importantly, they begin to address a serious moral dilemma – our nation cannot be a beacon of liberty and justice while continuing to operate an offshore prison which disregards the rule of law. It is time for us to end this moral crisis.” 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2013

Contact: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team, (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Faith Group Responds to Report Showing that Medical Professionals Participated in Torture and Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment

Washington, D.C. – A recently released report, “Ethics Abandoned Medical Professionalism and Detainee Abuse in the War on Terror,” details evidence showing that medical professionals violated ethical principles in their treatment of post-9-11 detainees. The report shows that medical professionals reviewed interrogation methods and approved forms of torture, including waterboarding. They also advised interrogators on whether to increase the harshness of interrogations.

Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, responded to the report by saying, “Medical professionals, like people of faith, have an obligation to care for others. This troubling report shows that contrary to that obligation, medical professionals violated their ethical standards and basic morality by participating in interrogations that included forms of torture. This is a tragedy that must not happen again.”

PRESS RELEASE:
October 31, 2013

CONTACT: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or cell: (202) 215-9260 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

New toolkit for commemorating Human Rights Day
National interfaith coalition produced toolkit to address solitary confinement

WASHINGTON –The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has released a toolkit to support congregations and religious organizations in commemorating the 65th anniversary of the adoption and proclamation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The theme of the toolkit for Human Rights Day, December 10, 2013, is “Confronting Solitary Confinement in an Age of Mass Incarceration.”

Seeking to help the United States more fully live out the standards of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture mobilizes people of faith to educate themselves and engage in public policy advocacy to address the problem of solitary confinement. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”

FOR PLANNING PURPOSES:
October 28, 2013

CONTACT: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or cell: (202) 215-9260 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

WEDNESDAY: Head of interfaith anti-torture organization to speak at Wilson College
National Religious Campaign Against Torture Executive Direct to Lead Sermon, Lecture

CHAMBERSBURG, Penn. – Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director, of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, will speak at Wilson College on Wednesday, October 30. He will preach at the chapel service at 12 p.m. and give a lecture at 4 p.m.

Giving the sermon, “Created in the Image of God,” Killmer will describe the steps that led to the use of torture by the U.S. government and why torture is contrary to Biblical teachings including the principal that human beings are created in the image of God and therefore should be treated by everyone with dignity and worth.

PRESS RELEASE:
October 22, 2013

CONTACT: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Six new films highlight U.S. government’s torture legacy
National interfaith coalition produced films to build support for call on Senate to release torture report

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture released six films to highlight key findings of a blue ribbon panel’s review of the interrogation and treatment of detainees, particularly those taken into U.S. custody in the aftermath of 9/11. On April 16, 2013, the bipartisan Task Force on Detainee Treatment, sponsored by The Constitution Project, issued a 600-page report that concluded that the United States, without a doubt, engaged in torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of detainees. The religious community also has been urging the Senate Intelligence Committee to release its report on torture, a document of more than 6,000 pages that was adopted in December of last year, but as yet has not been made public.

In addition to one longer, 11-minute film, the titles of each of five short films follow the following formula: “There’s Nothing _____ About Torture;” the blank is filled with the following adjectives, depending on the content of each particular film: glamorous, healthy, honorable, legal, faithful. Among the films’ highlights, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Juan Mendez discusses the torture he endured in Argentina and how torture is absolutely illegal under U.S. and international law. U.S. Army Major Jason Wright speaks to the tradition of honor in the U.S. Armed Forces, arguing there is nothing honorable about torture. Members of multiple faith groups speak to core faith values that underlie their anti-torture work.

The films were released publicly today and are available on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLG9VjjIeEzY28fDcWysPCdgpaa1-zGnHq

PRESS ADVISORY
October 21, 2013

CONTACT: Samantha Friedman, West End Strategy Team
Office: (202) 776-7700 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

TODAY: National interfaith coalition joins human rights activists in petition delivery calling for release of Albert Woodfox
Woodfox of the “Angola Three” has been in solitary confinement in Louisiana for 41 years

BATON ROUGE – Today, Monday, October 21, representatives from the National Religious Campaign Against Torture will join Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) activists on the steps of the Louisiana State Capitol to deliver a petition signed by more than 20,000 people. The petition calls for the immediate release of Albert Woodfox, the last member of the “Angola 3” still in prison. Despite his conviction having been overturned three times, Woodfox has remained in solitary confinement for over 41 years in Louisiana. 

Speaking on behalf of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture will be Rev. Dr. Patricia T. Bates, an ordained Deacon in The United Methodist Church, who serves as Peace with Justice Coordinator for The United Methodist Church of Louisiana Annual Conference. Bates is also Professor Emeritus of English at Louisiana State University in Shreveport. Other speakers include Robert King, the first member of the Angola 3, who was freed after 29 years in solitary confinement; Michael Mable, Woodfox’s brother; and Jasmine Heiss, Campaigner for Amnesty International USA.