National Veterans For Peace, located in Saint Louis Missouri, held a forum on torture as part of our ban torture campaign. I had the privilege of working with Warren Pop as the campaign coordinator. My good friend Denise Lieberman moderated the event. The night featured firsthand experiences of torture survivors: Mr. Demissie Abebe, Executive Director of Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International and U.S. Army chaplain, Captain James “Yusuf” Yee.
2 Survivors with 3 Admirers
Mr. Abebe is a survivor of torture in Ethiopia. He was severely tortured after he tried to expose corruption in an agency responsible for development and assistance to the poor. Captain Yee ministered to Muslim detainees at Guantanamo Bay and witnessed firsthand the cruel and abusive treatment of detainees. He was detained and charged by the U.S. government for several serious crimes, including aiding the enemy, spying, and espionage. During this time he was subject to the same kind of interrogation techniques he witnessed at Guantanamo Bay. He was eventually acquitted of all charges.
