Read this piece by Liz Derias of the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement: "It is simply inhumane-- the physical and psychological tactics used against prisoners, and in particular political prisoners: sensory deprivation, lack of social contact, and restricted access to all intellectual and emotional stimuli. Additionally, to understand political prisoners we must have an analysis of torture in prisons and detention facilities. Although the vast majority of the world does not know that the u.s. even has political prisoners, due to a deliberate tendency by the u.s. to tout itself as a leader of “human rights” and “democracy” in the international arena, these issues came to light in the world when the sadistic pictures of u.s. military persons degrading Iraqi prisoners in Abu Ghraib were released. These incidents have opened an opportunity for political prisoner organizers and advocates to expose the contradictions of torture as a violation of international treaties and domestic law. However, what has become a challenge for political prisoner advocates and organizers is that under the Patriot Act, evidence extracted under torture is now admissible, meaning it can be used in cases of [political] prisoners. This was not the case prior to the Patriot Act. This means that despite the international outcry, and as a result of 9/11, the u.s. has attempted to legitimize torture as a necessary and acceptable practice in a domestic case. We must pay attention to this as movement workers, and actively employ strategies that counter our current context, which makes torture not only permissible, but normal."
Posted on: Tue, 16 Jul 2013 15:12:15 +0000
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