February, 10 2010, 03:12pm EDT
ACLU and PEN American Center Present Reckoning With Torture: Memos and Testimonies From the "War on Terror" March 3 at Georgetown University Law Center Hart Auditorium
Featuring Readings By The Daily Show's Aasif Mandvi, Members Of Congress, Writers And Former Government And Military Officials And An Artistic Presentation By Artist Jenny Holzer
NEW YORK
The American Civil Liberties Union, PEN American Center and Georgetown University will present Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the "War on Terror,"
an evening of readings calling attention to acts of torture and abuse
carried out by the United States under the Bush administration. The
event, featuring members of Congress, a former CIA officer, a former
senior military interrogator, writers and artists will take place on
Wednesday, March 3 at 7:00 p.m. EDT at Georgetown University Law
Center's Hart Auditorium in Washington, DC.
Among the documents to be read are
autopsy reports concluding that numerous prisoners in U.S. custody died
as a result of harsh interrogations; memos authorizing waterboarding,
sleep deprivation, stress positions and other torture techniques;
detainee Abu Zubaydah's first-hand description of these practices; and
a minute-by-minute account of the 2002 torture of Mohammed al-Qahtani,
which took place over six weeks in 2002. Video excerpts of former
Guantanamo detainees talking about their captivity will be screened
between readings. Artwork by Jenny Holzer based on declassified
government documents will serve as a backdrop to the readings.
WHAT:
Reckoning with Torture: Memos and Testimonies from the "War on Terror,"
an evening of readings from documents that have brought these abuses to
light - memos, declassified communications and testimonies by detainees.
WHO:
- Readings by: Aasif Mandvi, contributing correspondent on The Daily Show; Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary; Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN); Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA); Jack Rice, former CIA officer; Matthew Alexander, former U.S. interrogator and author of How to Break a Terrorist; David Cole, constitutional law professor; authors Alice McDermott, AM Homes, Susan Shreve and others.
- Visual presentation by artist Jenny Holzer
of artwork based on declassified government documents. Images will
include redacted hand prints of U.S. soldiers accused of crimes in Iraq
and postmortem identifications of prisoners who died while in custody
WHEN:
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
7:00 p.m. EST
WHERE:
Georgetown University Law Center's Hart Auditorium
600 New Jersey Avenue N.W.
Washington, DC 20208
ADMISSION:
Admission is free. Seating is by
general admission, on a first-come, first-served basis. For press
inquiries, please contact the ACLU.
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
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