thank you for the reminder Laura.

p.s. I was completely unaware of Fernando Botero’s contribution to Human Rights efforts. I can see how his images would have the desired effect for the Campaign. anger and shame were the last emotions I would ever have expected in looking upon his work.

Thanks Laura!

Obama has said that hearsay evidence will be limited. What about the evidence that the mentally ill Dr. Batarfi gave during seven years of incarceration?
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” The Justice Department improperly withheld important psychiatric records of a government witness who was used in a “significant” number of Guantanamo cases, a federal judge has concluded.

The government censored parts of the records, but enough has been made public that it’s clear that the witness, a fellow detainee, was being treated weekly for a serious psychological problem and was questioned about whether he had any suicidal thoughts. The witness provided information in the government’s case for detaining Aymen Saeed Batarfi, a Yemeni doctor who the government announced last week it would no longer seek to detain.

In a little-noticed ruling last week, Judge Emmet Sullivan found that the witness’s testimony in other cases could be challenged as unreliable. “

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/251/story/65608.html

” Monday’s announcement by Holder’s spokesman, along with a filing in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., signaled that the administration was no longer willing to defend the Pentagon’s seven-year incarceration of Batarfi. A volunteer Baltimore-based legal team had filed an unlawful detention suit known as a habeas corpus petition.

U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan had scheduled a hearing for next week in the Batarfi case.

The government said in a filing Monday that Batarfi, who had petitioned for his freedom, and agents for Defense Secretary Robert Gates had mutually agreed he should no longer be held at Guantanamo. “

http://www.mcclatchydc.com/hom…..65097.html

Thanks Laura.

i followed your link above to see where there were going to be actions, but rummaged around that website and couldn’t find where there was mention of may 28 actions. do you have a more specific link or another website?

I’m sorry, I don’t. It looks as though they are not as together as they wish to be. I will try to track something down though…..

The National Religious Coalition Against Torture will also be in Washington for an event at the White House to kick off their Torture Awareness Month. The event is scheduled for June 11. The details can be viewed here where you can click on various links to different info.

I wish I could attend the May 28 event but I just can’t afford to travel to D.C. Is anyone going?

AND
“I’m sure you’ve seen the issue of torture once again in the news, and like me, been disappointed that President Obama has refused to allow public scrutiny of the photographs of prisoner abuse. The culture of impunity for human rights abusers is one that you and I have been fighting against for a long time now, and we’re not about to give up the fight.

I ask you today to make a contribution of $20 or more to SOA Watch now so that we can continue our important work.

This Friday, Representative Jim McGovern will introduce the Latin America Military Training Review Act. This bill would suspend operations at the School of the Americas and set up a commission to investigate the abuses tied to it.

This is your chance to join us in fighting for the passage of this act. Your donation will help hold perpetrators accountable. Together, we will not let justice be drowned out by those who speak out in favor of abuse and torture.

In the coming months Congress will also vote on whether or not to overrule Pentagon secrecy and release the names of all SOA/WHINSEC graduates and instructors. Naming the names of those who attended this school of shame is vital to our struggle for truth and justice.”

AHA! Planned events are HERE.

Have been wearing a black armband to mourn the loss of America’s soul re torture and civilian casualties in Afghanistan as well as our immoral denial of Gaza and throw in financial corruption, too, onto the pile. This country has a lot to mourn and to acknowledge before healing. thanks.