The Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee, Baltimore Quaker Peace and Justice Committee of Homewood and Stony Run Meetings and Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility are continuing the FILM & SOCIAL CONSCIOUSNESS DVD SERIES. The DVDs will be shown at Homewood Friends Meetinghouse, 3107 N. Charles St., Baltimore 21218, on the First Friday. After the peace vigil, there will be a potluck dinner. At 7 PM, from January through June, a DVD will be shown with a discussion to follow. There is no charge, and refreshments will be available.
FRIDAY, JANUARY 6, 2012
USA, 2010] is a documentary by Edward Salem, filmed shortly after the end of the destructive Operation Cast Lead in December 2008 - January 2009. It can be best appreciated as a profound ethnography on the coping mechanisms of a people under siege and in the aftermath of the massive destruction.
Salem shows the mechanisms of coping, and not coping. The recovery process is long, and he captures much of the struggle and confusion, represented by the warped geography of the destroyed physical infrastructure. In the constant shift from the tragic to the comedic to the stoic, IMPUNITY showcases truth. This film is sponsored by Baltimore Jewish Voice for Peace, and Laila El-Haddad, living in Columbia, MD, will lead the discussion afterwards. Go to her blog www.gazamom.com.
WITNESS AGAINST TORTURE
Press Advisory, For Immediate Release
January 5, 2012
Press Contacts:
Matthew Daloisio, daloisio@earthlink.net, 201-264-4424
Beth Brockman, brockman.beth@gmail.com, 919-824-9283
Jeremy Varon, Jvaron@aol.com, 732-979-3119
TRIAL ENDS FOR 14 ANTI-TORTURE ACTIVISTS
1 ACQUITTED, 3 FOUND GUILTY BY A JURY, CHARGES DROPPED AGAINST 9
JURY CONTINUES TO DELIBERATE ON ONE CASE
SENTENCING STATEMENTS TOMORROW
Three members of Witness Against Torture were found guilty in a jury trial at D.C. Superior Court on January 5, 2012. The jury brought back guilty verdicts in the cases of defendants Brian Hynes of the Bronx, NY, Mike Levinson of New Rochelle, NY, and Carmen Trotta of New York City, NY. By the end of the day on Thursday, the jury remained “truly deadlocked” on the case of defendant Judith Kelly of Arlington, Virginia.
The judge asked the jury to continue their deliberations tomorrow. The judge is likely to sentence the three defendants found guilty on Friday, January 6, and the jury is likely to return a verdict in the case of Judith Kelly.
The charges of unlawful conduct stemmed from protests against a Defense Appropriations Bill—a precursor to the recently passed National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 (NDAA)—that took place in the citizens gallery at the House of Representatives on June 23, 2011. The protests were in response to provisions in the bill that make it essentially impossible to close the prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and that legalize indefinite detention.
The four defendants were among fourteen originally arrested and charged. Josie Setzler of Fremont, Ohio was acquitted mid-trial. Judge Gerald Fisher and government counsel limited the speech of defendants in front of the jury, effectively barring defendants—who represented themselves—from referring to the crimes of torture at Guantanamo, or to indefinite detention. Defendants were also unable to appeal to international law as justification for their actions.
Still, the defense argued their case as a matter of protected free speech and that their actions were consistent with the First Amendment right to petition their government for redress of what Carmen Trotta told the jury were “numerous and grave” grievances that persist to this day.
The case hinged on the government proving that the defendants caused a disturbance to the House of Representatives as they conducted a floor vote.
Brian Hynes was the only defendant to take the stand. “You had the intent to be heard” said the prosecutor repeatedly and heatedly before Hynes responded calmly, “We had the intent to deliver a dignified, audible message as earnest, concerned citizens trying to show the wrongfulness of our government”
The trial is part of Witness Against Torture’s ten-day “Hungering for Justice” campaign that began January 3. The fast involves more than fifty people in DC and another 50 or so throughout the United States, and includes daily vigils throughout the city to call attention to the terrible injustice that is Guantanamo, Bagram, and secret prisons. The campaign will culminate in a “Ten Years Too Many” mass mobilization at noon on Wednesday, January 11 at Lafayette Park, across from the White House. The protest is organized by a coalition of groups that includes Amnesty International and National Religious Campaign Against Torture.
www.2012.witnesstorture.org
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