National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT)
<YOUR CONGREGATION’S LETTERHEAD>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
[DATE ]
Contact: [LOCAL NAME 1, Phone; Cell]
[LOCAL NAME 2 [if applicable], Phone; Cell]
XXXXXXX Joins Hundreds of Congregations Nationwide in Screening of
Controversial Abu Ghraib Documentary to Shine “Spotlight on Torture”
Local participation linked to national effort to mobilize American faith
community response to U.S.-sponsored torture
[CITY, STATE] –Today, members of [YOUR CONGREGATION/LOCAL
PARTICIPANTS] of [YOUR TOWN] gathered for a screening of “Ghosts of Abu Ghraib”
-- a powerful documentary on the mistreatment of U.S.-held detainees. The screening
included members of the [BRIEFLY DESCRIBE ATTENDEES].
“We are screening this movie to come together and say with one voice that torture is
always wrong,” said [LOCAL ORGANIZER] “The United States should stop the use of
torture; cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment; secret prisons; and rendition for
torture. The moral prohibition against torture in all of our religions is clear.”
“Ghosts of Abu Ghraib,” an 80-minute HBO film by acclaimed filmmaker Rory Kennedy,
digs beneath the headlines to investigate the psychological and political context behind
the familiar and disturbing photos of torture at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. It asks critical
questions about how it happened and how it affects America’s credibility as a defender
of freedom and human rights.
“Not only is torture wrong, but young men and women from our country who are in
places of conflict like Afghanistan or Iraq are profoundly affected by these abhorrent
policies that condone torture – it puts them at even greater risk,” noted [LOCAL
PARTICIPANT]. “That is why we are demanding that Congress, especially [LOCAL
CONGRESSMAN/SENATORS] take swift action to undo the harm that has already
been done and to repudiate torture in any and all forms.”
The screening was part of a nationwide effort to mobilize a faith-based response to
U.S.-sponsored torture, organized by the National Religious Campaign Against
Torture’s (NRCAT) as part of their "Spotlight on Torture" initiative. Over the next two
weeks there will be over 500 screenings of the film in all fifty states by Christian, Jewish
and Muslim congregations.
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership
organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and
degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, over 130 religious groups
have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Roman Catholic, evangelical
Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim,
and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups,
regional organizations and congregations. For more information about NRCAT go to
www.tortureisamoralissue.org.
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