PRINCETON, NJ Restaurant Dining Guide Announcement

National Religious Campaign Against Torture Wine & Cheese Reception January 8, 2012

SUNDAY IN PRINCETON:
HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY SCOTT HORTON TO SPEAK AT 
NATIONAL RELIGIOUS CAMPAIGN AGAINST TORTURE EVENT

Washington, D.C. – The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), a non-sectarian organization of people of faith, will launch an educational campaign about the use of solitary confinement in New Jersey at a reception in Princeton on Sunday, January 8. NRCAT plans to work collaboratively with other prison reform organizations to advocate for legislation that would limit the use of solitary confinement.    

The educational campaign will include the use of a short film produced by NRCAT, Solitary Confinement: Torture in Your Backyard, which describes why prolonged solitary confinement is harmful and tells the story of NRCAT’s success in Maine, leading to a 70 percent reduction in the number of prisoners held in solitary confinement.  The film will be shown at the reception. 

In addition, international human rights attorney Scott Horton will give a talk on “Popular Support for U.S. Torture:  Why it is rising in the most recent polls and what can be done about it.”  U.S. Rep. Rush Holt will bring greetings to the event via a recorded message.  

The event will be 4:30 to 6:30 p.m., Sunday, January 8, at 187 Library Place in Princeton.  Members of the public are invited and can RSVP at www.nrcat.org/princetonevent.  A donation of $50 is suggested. 

NRCAT’s founder, Dr. George Hunsinger, professor at Princeton Theological Seminary, will be in attendance at the event.  NRCAT was created as means to address U.S.-sponsored torture abroad in the wake of the Abu Ghraib scandal.  Since its founding in 2006, NRCAT’s membership has grown to 312 religious organizations, including representatives from: the Baha’i, Buddhist, Catholic, evangelical Christian, Hindu, Jewish, Muslim, Orthodox Christian, mainline Protestant, Quaker, Sikh and Unitarian Universalist communities.  NRCAT has lobbied successfully for an executive order halting the use of torture of post-9/11 detainees, has helped provide leadership to a national campaign against anti-Muslim bigotry, and continues to work for policies to encourage other countries to take concrete steps to end torture.  Additionally, NRCAT is now one of the leading groups dedicated to ending human rights abuses in U.S. prisons, with specific focus on the widespread use and abuse of solitary confinement. 

NRCAT is focusing on U.S. prison practices because, Hunsinger says, “Abuses are widespread, and out of sight, out of mind is not an acceptable moral stance. 

“Since Dickens’ time,” he says, “it has been known that extended solitary confinement causes severe harm but, despite this, the practice has become increasingly common in U.S. prisons.  It is time for religious communities to speak to this issue and to challenge the unthinking vengeance that dominates cultural attitudes towards prisoners.” 

Attorney Scott Horton is known for his work in emerging markets, human rights law, and the law of armed conflict.  He writes for Harper’s Magazine, lectures at Columbia Law School, and is a co-founder of the American University in Central Asia.  Horton recently led a number of studies of abuse issues associated with the conduct of the war on terror for the New York City Bar Association, where he now chairs the Committee on International Law.   

The event is open to the media, and coverage is welcome. 

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, 312 religious organizations have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations.