NORTH CAROLINA
STOP TORTURE NOW

PO Box 50345
Raleigh, NC 27650
e-mail via:
contact AT ncstoptorturenow.org

(919) 834-4478
(evenings, or messages during business hours)

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

NORTH CAROLINA STOP TORTURE NOW (NCSTN) is a grassroots coalition of individuals committed to ending torture by first working against U.S. sponsorship and perpetration, and most specifically, investigating and ending the practice of extraordinary rendition.

Extraordinary rendition is a sanitized phrase that disguises the kidnap, detention and torture of individuals alleged to be enemies of the United States, including those guilty of nothing other than being misidentified.

Some of these captives were or are being transferred to the custody of third nations, such as Libya, Morocco, Syria and Egypt -- based on empty promises they would not be tortured.

Others were or are being interrogated directly by the CIA, using cruel, inhumane, torturous and countre-productive techniques at black site prisons in Eastern Europe, or in U.S.-run detention centers in Afghanistan and Iraq, shielded from monitoring by human rights organizations such as the International Red Cross.

Captives have included British, Canadian and German citizens, as well as refugees and asylum seekers.

One of the private companies linked to the extraordinary rendition program is Aero Contractors, Ltd., which is headquartered at a large hangar the Johnston County Airport near Smithfield, NC.

This page continues to be under development, but we will aim to post items that deserve public attention here, and we always welcome calls and questions.

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Report: "Waterboarding, Ghost Planes, and Guantánamo:
Inside America's Secret War,"
A Conference and Strategy Session

May 3 - More than 50 people gathered to listen to Moazzam Begg, former Bagram and Guantánamo detainee and co-author of Enemy Combatant; Tina Monshipour Foster, human rights attorney, executive director of International Justice Network; and Brad Garrett, consultant ABC News, private investigator, and retired officer with the Federal Bureau of Investigation offer advice on working to end U.S. sponsorship of torture.

The event was featured in a news item in Sunday's edition of the Raleigh News & Observer.

Video of the event is being posted as it is edited into manageable components at: www.ncstn.spaces.live.com And, the first installment is viewable on the NCSTN home page.

Near the end of his talk, Begg replied to a question about his plans moving forward. He plainly explained his commitment to continue reaching out to British and U.S. and global citizens to end torture, and noted that he draws considerable energy and hope from spreading his message via video or in personal presentations.

Begg, Garrett and Foster each emphasized the importance of reframing the struggle against torture in terms that fearful people can understand and support.

Begg noted that when the U.S. releases a journalist from Guantánamo, as it did just days earlier, the news saturates media outlets throughout the Islamic world and inspires outrage and militancy.

Likewise, Foster noted that the lawyers for detainees have only been successful when they appeal to the court of public opinion. The practice of swooping in and capturing non-combatants from their homes based on the say-so of bounty hunters only serves to create more enemies and makes us less safe.

"The military and intelligence community have a daunting job," Garrett said. "You can't make it worse by making people hate us."

During a post-lunch strategy session, another invited speaker, state Senator Ellie Kinnaird, suggested and NC Council of Churches staff member, Rev. Spencer Bradford, echoed the need to do significant outreach to faith-based communities.

During afternoon workshops participants explored:

How to make torture an election issue, featuring a discussion led by state Representative Paul Luebke and state Senator Ellie Kinnaird and Sarah Preston, Legislative Coordinator for the ACLU-NC.

Considered how Americans can best meet our responsibility to expose our program of disappearance and torture, during a session facilitated by Steven Edelstein, Esq.

Created components of a traveling, educational art installation exploring our nation's use of torture and how citizens must respond, facilitated by Roger Ehrlich, Joe McTaggart, and a corps of volunteers from the group: Public Assembly.

Co-sponsored by North Carolina Stop Torture Now, the Duke Center for Human Rights, the Center for International Studies, Human Rights Working Group, Department of Cultural Anthropology, and Public Law Program of the Duke Law School.

For more information, contact Orin Starn (ostarn@duke.edu), or NC Stop Torture Now (contact@ncstoptorturenow.net) or telephone 919-834-4478.

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updated 10 May 2008, JMcI