Voices of Torture: Perspectives From a Witness and a Survivor

FYI__


Published on St. Louis Indymedia (http://stlimc.org)
Voices of Torture: Perspectives From a Witness and a Survivor
By
Created 12/22/2008 - 12:08pm

On January 9, 2008 the Veterans For Peace Ban Torture Campaign is hosting an event entitled, “Voices of Torture: Perspectives From a Witness and a Survivor,” with the St. Louis Ethical Society (9001 Clayton Road). The event will begin at 7:00pm.

The first part of the program will highlight the personal experiences of torture survivor Demissie Abebe. Mr. Abebe currently serves as the executive director of the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International and is a survivor of torture in Ethiopia. He was severely tortured after he tried to expose corruption in an agency responsible development and assistance to the poor.

The program will feature former U.S. Army chaplain, Captain James “Yusuf” Yee. Captain Yee ministered to Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay and witnessed firsthand the cruel and abusive treatment of detainees. He was detained and charged by the US government for several serious crimes, including aiding the enemy, spying, and espionage. During this time he was subject to the same kind of interrogation techniques he witnessed at Guantanamo Bay. The case fell apart due to a lack of evidence, and all of these charges were eventually dropped. Yee wrote a book, “For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire,” in which he describes his experiences and is critical of the government’s abusive treatment of detainees.

The final part of the program will consist of an informal discussion format. We are inviting a legal expert on torture issues to provide an additional opinion to round out the discussion. After some brief introductory thoughts by the legal expert, we will move into a Q&A session that will be a mix of audience and moderator questions.

This event is also sponsored with Amnesty International USA, Amnesty International-St. Louis, the Center for Theology and Social Analysis, and the Ethical Action Committee of the Ethical Society.

For more information please visit: http://www.veteransforpeace.org/ban_torture.vp.html [1]
or contact Warren at (314)725-6005, wpopp.vfp@gmail.com [2]

Date:
01/09/2009 - 7:00pm - 01/09/2009 - 9:00pm

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Source URL: http://stlimc.org/event2009/voices-torture-perspectives-witness-and-survivor
Links:
[1] http://www.veteransforpeace.org/ban_torture.vp.html
[2] mailto:wpopp.vfp@gmail.com