From the Archive

Come to DC for Torture Awareness Week

Join Witness Against Torture (WAT) in Washington DC during Torture Awareness Week (June 21 to 28, 2015) for the trials of WAT members who were arrested on January 12 for witnessing in Congress. Twenty-two people spoke out on behalf of those who have been detained, tortured and murdered by our government, in two different places in the Capitol.   Details of the trials are below.

The trials are timed to coincide with Torture Awareness Week, when WAT traditionally gathers in support of Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition, Inc (TASSC), whose members — torture survivors from all over the world — come together for solidarity and advocacy. The week culminates with the TASSC vigil on Saturday in Lafayette Square in front of the White House. Join us for all or part of the week! We’ll be at St Stephens Episcopal Church. Contact Helen Schietinger to sign up (h.schietinger@verizon.net).

Senate Gallery Trial, 9:30 a.m. Monday June 22:

Eleven WAT members were arrested after their witness in the Senate Gallery on January 12. They were responding to the Senate’s Torture Report and the continued suffering of our Muslim brothers at Guantanamo. Their message was US Torture: It’s Official. Prosecute Now!  Waterboarding: It’s Official. Prosecute Now!

Where: Courtroom 116
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
500 Indiana Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Visitors Center Trial, 2:00 p.m. Thursday June 25:

Nine people held a Teach-In in Emancipation Hall at the US Capitol Visitor Center on January 12.  Their banners read From Ferguson 2 Guantánamo: White Silence =  State Violence and We Demand Accountability for Torture & Police Murder.   Their goal was to link mass incarceration at home and indefinite detention overseas and impunity for police murder and for CIA torture as dual dimensions of a system of state violence rooted substantially in racism. They were arrested and charged with Incommoding and Unlawful Demonstration.

Where: Courtroom 120
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
500 Indiana Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20001

Full schedule of events: 

Monday June 22
9:30 a.m. WAT Senate Gallery Trial
Courtroom 116, Magistrate Judge Karen Howze
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
500 Indiana Ave, NW, WDC 20001
(trial likely to continue until Tuesday)

Tuesday June 23
6 to 8 p.m.: Panel: Legalized Torture: Gitmo to Rikers
Friends Meeting of Washington
2111 Florida Ave NW, DC 20008-1912

Wednesday June 24
9 to 5: TASSC Conference on Torture
9 a.m. to 2 p.m. speakers, 2 to 5 p.m. advocacy training (required for those doing advocacy Thursday)
Aquinas Hall, Catholic University (near Brookland Metro)
(entrance for cars at Michigan Ave NW and 4th St NE)

Thursday June 25
10:30 to 11:30 a.m.: Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission
Testimonies by TASSC Survivors at the Lantos Commission
United States House of Representatives

2 p.m.: WAT Visitors Center Trial
Courtroom 120, Magistrate Judge Rainey Brandt
Superior Court of the District of Columbia
500 Indiana Ave, NW WDC 20001
(trial likely to continue Friday morning)

Friday June 26 – All Day Fast for Justice
4:00 p.m.: Rally at the Department of Justice
Constitution Ave between 9th St & 10th St NW WDC
(Amnesty Int’l, WAT, CCR, NRCAT, NCPCF, and others)

7:30 p.m.: Iftar (breaking Ramadan fast)
White House on Pennsylvania Ave
(AI, NCPCF)

Saturday June 27
10 a.m. to 5 p.m.: Torture Abolition and Survivor Support Coalition Vigil
TASSC annual vigil in Lafayette Square

Sunday June 28
6:30 p.m.: Targeting Muslims: State Violence in the War on Terror
Ramadan Iftar fundraiser and documentary for National Coalition to Protect Civil Freedoms (CPCF): $20
Impact Hub DC, 419 7th St NW WDC 20004
(cosponsored by Impact Hub and Washington Peace Center)

Join us for all or part of the week! We’ll be at St Stephens Episcopal Church. Contact Helen Schietinger to sign up at h.schietinger(at)verizon(dot)net