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Torture News and Events
Combating Prisoner Abuse
Published: December 20, 2009
When Mississippi inmates sued their prison, charging that they had been sodomized by a staff member, the claim was thrown out. Under a harsh federal law, inmates must show that they suffered a “physical injury” to prevail in a suit challenging cruel prison conditions. A federal district court ruled in 2006 that the alleged sexual assault did not constitute physical injury.
Give a Gift of Hope this Holiday Season
As a meaningful way to celebrate special life occasions or memorialize friends or family members who have been important to you, consider giving a Gift of Hope in honor of someone special.
When you make a $25 donation you'll receive five cards to tell your friends and family that you've honored them with a Gift of Hope. If you need more cards, make a note in the "Special Instructions" section or e-mail us at cvt@cvt.org.
Burge Torture Victim Gets New Trial as Judge Voids Murder Conviction
Judge Calls Evidence Against Burge and Underlings "Staggering" and "Damning"
CHICAGO, May 22 – Nineteen years after he was viciously beaten by subordinates of indicted former Chicago Police Commander Jon Burge, Victor Safforld – formerly known as Cortez Brown – was awarded a new trial today when a Cook County Circuit Judge overturned his wrongful murder conviction, and calls the evidence against the cops “staggering” and “damning.”
UN Special Rapporteur on Racism Releases Report on Mission to U.S.
Calls for Law Against Racial Profiling and an End to Juvenile Life Without Parole
MCHR Co-Sponsors the Chicago Conference on Human Rights
Representative Jan Schakowsky encourages the advancement and protection of human rights at home
CHICAGO, Apr. 14 - On Saturday April 11th, the Midwest Coalition for Human Rights, along with a number of its member organizations, participated in the 2nd Annual Chicago Conference on Human Rights. This one-day convening brought together over 100 human rights advocates, students, academia, and members of the community to discuss timely local and international human rights issues.
C.I.A. Closing Secret Overseas Sites for Terror Detainees
Agency also abandons use of contractors to interrogate prisoners
WASHINGTON, Apr. 9 - The Central Intelligence Agency announced on Thursday that it will no longer use contractors to conduct interrogations, and that it is decommissioning the secret overseas sites where for years it held high-level Al Qaeda prisoners.
In a statement to the agency's work force, the director, Leon E. Panetta, said that the secret detention facilities were no longer in operation, but he suggested that security and maintenance have been continued at the sites at taxpayers' expense.
U.S. Seeks Election to U.N. Human Rights Council
UNITED NATIONS, Mar. 31 - The Obama administration will seek a seat on the United Nations’ Human Rights Council, announcing Tuesday that it believed working from within was the most effective means of altering the council’s habit of ignoring poor human rights records of member states.
The policy reverses the stance of the Bush administration, which viewed the Geneva-based council as irredeemable for its almost exclusive focus on human rights violations by Israel.
Susan E. Rice, the American ambassador to the United Nations, said the Obama administration believed that by working within the council, the United States could influence members of regional groups.
Chicago Police Using Military Style Rifles
The Chicago Police Department continues to move forward with a plan to equip rank-and-file officers with rifles that were originally designed for military use. Chicago, like other big cities and some smaller towns, has made such weapons available to tactical officers. Now they'd go to cops on the beat.
Superintendent Jody Weis says around 500 officers have gone through the training that allows them to use the semi-automatic gun on duty. One group of young people has continually opposed giving Chicago cops the increased firepower, but they've not had much luck changing Weis' mind. WBEZ's Robert Wildeboer reports on the stalemate and the powerful weapon that's behind it.
Red Cross Described 'Torture' at CIA Jails
Secret Report Implies That U.S. Violated International Law
MARCH 16 - The International Committee of the Red Cross concluded in a secret report that the Bush administration's treatment of al-Qaeda captives "constituted torture," a finding that strongly implied that CIA interrogation methods violated international law, according to newly published excerpts from the long-concealed 2007 document.
The report, an account alleging physical and psychological brutality inside CIA "black site" prisons, also states that some U.S. practices amounted to "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment." Such maltreatment of detainees is expressly prohibited by the Geneva Conventions.