NRCAT Press Releases

PRESS ADVISORY:
October 1, 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

 THURSDAY: Town Hall on Solitary Confinement in New York

NEW YORK -- Each year, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS) sentences thousands upon thousands of prisoners to spend months, and even years, in Special Housing Units (SHU), where they are subject to extreme forms of isolation and deprivation. Each year, 25,000 people, many of whom will have spent significant amounts of time in a SHU cell, are released from New York prisons to return home. In New York City, the Department of Correction is expanding solitary confinement capacity in the jails – once completed, solitary cells will number 1,215, or approximately one for every 10 incarcerated individuals.   

This Thursday, October 4, state and local legislators, advocates, the formerly incarcerated and their families will come together in New York for a town hall discussion about the use of solitary confinement in New York State prisons and New York City jails and avenues for change.  The conversation follows the New York Civil Liberties Union’s release tomorrow, Tuesday, October 2, of its report, “Boxed In: The True Cost of Extreme Isolation in New York’s Prisons.” You may visit http://www.nyclu.org/BoxedIn on Tuesday to see the report and to access exclusive multimedia content and an expansive library of New York SHU data and other documents obtained through open records laws.

Thursday’s event is open to the public, and press is encouraged to attend.

For Immediate Release: September 27, 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

National religious coalition reiterates opposition to torture
National Religious Campaign Against Torture says candidates, elected officials must uphold American values in national security efforts

Washington, D.C. – The New York Times reports that Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney’s advisers have suggested he revoke President Obama’s executive order banning torture and permit the secret use of torture in intelligence gathering, often referred to as “enhanced interrogation techniques.” The National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s executive director, Rev. Richard Killmer, responded to the report with the following statement:

"In 2008, both Senator John McCain and then-Senator Barack Obama publicly declared their opposition to torture and their desire to see America adhere to the best of its values. While differing on many issues, both candidates agreed that our country should be above reproach with respect to the treatment of prisoners.

Media Advisory: June 26, 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

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. 

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.

For Immediate Release: June 19, 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

Religious coalition responds to first-ever Congressional hearing on prolonged solitary confinement
Hundreds of religious leaders and people of faith nationwide conclude 23-hour fast drawing attention to the harm caused by prolonged solitary confinement

Washington, D.C. – A group of religious leaders today ended a 23-hour nationwide fast at 12 p.m. at the United Methodist Building on Capitol Hill, 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 a Senate hearing on the use of solitary confinement in U.S. prisons.  Today’s hearing was the first time Congress has explored this issue.

The religious leaders who were gathered in Washington represented hundreds of people of faith across the country who took part in the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s “23-Hour Fast to End 23-Hour Solitary.”  The length of the fast symbolized the 23 hours per day inmates are typically required to spend in solitary confinement cells.  As evidenced by recent prisoner hunger strikes in Virginia and California, refusing food is one of the few means prisoners across the country have to protest their conditions in solitary confinement.  The fast was intended to draw attention to the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by prolonged solitary confinement.

(Updated) Media Advisory: June 18, 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

TUESDAY: Faith Leaders to Discuss Opposition to Prolonged Solitary Confinement
Capitol Hill press conference to conclude 23-hour nationwide fast following first-ever Congressional hearing on solitary confinement

Washington, D.C. – A group of religious leaders will end a 23-hour nationwide fast on Tuesday at 12 p.m. in the Hart Senate Office Building, interceding on behalf of the tens of thousands of American prisoners currently housed in solitary confinement across the country.  The fast will be held in conjunction with a Senate hearing on the use of solitary confinement in the U.S. federal penitentiary system.  This is the first time Congress has explored this issue.

Hundreds of people of faith across the country have agreed to take part in the National Religious Campaign Against Torture’s “23-Hour Fast to End 23-Hour Solitary” in anticipation of Tuesday’s Senate hearing.  The length of the fast symbolizes the 23 hours per day inmates are typically required to spend in solitary confinement cells.  As evidenced by recent prisoner hunger strikes in Virginia and California, refusing food is one of the few means prisoners across the country have to protest their conditions in solitary confinement.  The fast is intended to draw attention to the physical, emotional and psychological harm caused by prolonged solitary confinement.

For Immediate Release: May 23, 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

Inmate hunger strike in Virginia leads religious coalition to again call for end to prolonged solitary confinement

Washington, D.C. – Dozens of state prison inmates at Virginia’s only super-maximum prison, Red Onion State Prison, have undertaken a hunger strike to bring attention to inhumane confinement conditions.  The National Religious Campaign Against Torture has been vocal in its opposition to the controversial and frequent use of prolonged solitary confinement in prisons across the United States, including by sending a letter in March to Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, urging him to provide for independent experts to assist in the Virginia Department of Corrections’ review into long-term solitary confinement in Virginia prisons. 

Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released the following statement today, calling for renewed attention to the use of prolonged solitary confinement at both the state and federal level:

“The hunger strike to protest conditions at Red Onion State Prison, including prolonged solitary confinement, indicates a need for increased transparency of the Virginia Department of Correction’s recently proposed changes to solitary confinement policies.

60,000 People Ask President Obama for Apology to Torture Victim Maher Arar
Human Rights, Religious Groups Deliver Petition Today

May 21, 2012, Washington, D.C. – Today, Amnesty International USA, the Center for Constitutional Rights, and the National Religious Campaign Against Torture delivered to the White House a petition of more than 60,000 signatures asking President Obama to extend a formal apology to Maher Arar.  Arar is a Canadian citizen who was detained in 2002 by the United States and sent to Syria where he was tortured and imprisoned without charge for a year.  Arar was ultimately released and allowed to return to Canada.  He was never charged with a crime.

Maher Arar, who lives in Canada with his family, expressed appreciation for Americans working on his behalf.  “I am very grateful to all those Americans who have worked hard on this first-of-its-kind campaign seeking an apology from an administration that chose to turn a blind eye on holding torturers to account,” Arar said.  “The efforts of those who worked on this campaign will never go in vain as future generations will look back in history and remember them as the true American patriots.”

For Immediate Release: May 17, 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

People of faith say no to indefinite detention and ask Congress to do the same

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Representatives Adam Smith and Justin Amash have offered an amendment to the FY 2013 National Defense Authorization Act that would explicitly ban the indefinite military detention without trial of people captured in the United States.  Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement supporting the amendment and expressing dismay that such an amendment is necessary and hope that the amendment will be adopted by a broad bipartisan coalition of Representatives:

“The right to a trial is a basic American value, one that is held by Americans of all political and religious persuasions.  Unfortunately, the FY 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (passed last year) contains language that some people have interpreted as allowing for indefinite detention without trial of people captured in the United States.  The law includes this dangerous ambiguity, and Congress should act to clear it up by making it clear that everyone in the U.S. is guaranteed the right to a trial.  The bipartisan Smith-Amash amendment does just that.

For Immediate Release: April 25, 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

Washington, D.C. – Today, the first reports came out on a forthcoming book by Jose Rodriguez, former chief of the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Center, in which he claims that torture led to last year’s capture of Osama bin Laden.  The book, Hard Measures: How Aggressive CIA Actions After 9/11 Saved American Lives, will be released to the public on April 30.  Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement today in response to reports on the book’s content:

“Jose Rodriguez shames himself in trying to publicly justify the use of torture during interrogations of 9-11 detainees.  He is wrong to have engaged in torture then and continues to be wrong in defending it.  The central argument he makes is that torture is justifiable because it worked.  He tries to make us believe that interrogation ‘techniques’ that were originally developed in North Korea to make U.S. prisoners sign false confessions is an efficient means to acquire reliable information.  He is wrong, and the results of a four-year Senate Intelligence Committee investigation into past CIA interrogations are likely to prove him wrong by showing that torture produced unreliable information and helped turn people against us.  If, though, he continues to claim that he is correct, I hope that he will join me in calling for the results of that investigation to be made public.