Amnesty International: As House and Justice Department Have Showdown Over Interrogation Techniques, Human Rights Activists Mobilize Against Torture
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 6, 2008
9:41 AM
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CONTACT: Amnesty International
AIUSA media office
202-544-0200 x302
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As House and Justice Department Have Showdown Over Interrogation Techniques, Human Rights Activists Mobilize Against Torture
Amnesty International's Waterboarding Video Generates Nearly 500,000 Hits Online;
Guantanamo Cell Replica Begins Nationwide Tour
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WASHINGTON, DC - May 6 - Amnesty International's hard-hitting new video depicting waterboarding is sweeping the Internet just as a House Judiciary Subcommittee holds today's hearing on the Justice Department's role in sanctioning harsh interrogation topics.
Amnesty International's Waterboarding Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZ7lSPA9g8s
Amnesty International's film, Stuff of Life, has proliferated online news, blogs and video Webpages, with nearly half a million views on youtube.com last week. A similarly powerful film, Waiting for the Guards, depicts "stress and duress" torture (also available at www.unsubscribe-me.org).
Recent admissions by U.S. officials that the CIA used waterboarding on three detainees, alongside revelations that the CIA destroyed videotapes of its interrogations, heighten concerns about the treatment of detainees. Yet President Bush recently vetoed a bill that would have limited the CIA's interrogation techniques. These issues will be explored at today's hearing before the Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties of the House Judiciary Committee.
Amnesty International also launches its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica with events in Miami this week. The cell replica—which includes a steel toilet, florescent lights, frosted windows and a sliding metal door—is designed to provide all visitors with a shocking glimpse into the life of a Guantanamo detainee.
The organization is creating a video blog of reactions to the cell replica. Visitors will be encouraged to record a 30-second video that will be posted on youtube.com and tearitdown.org this weekend.
For more information, please contact the AIUSA media office at 202-544-0200 x302.
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