Torture comeback? Not on our watch.

	Don’t stay silent, or they win.
	Torture proponents are gaining ground. Over the past month, we’ve watched overzealous torture advocates in the U.S. seize on the killing of Osama bin Laden to justify torture. Former Vice President Dick Cheney called waterboarders heroes. Former CIA director Michael Hayden wrote in The Wall Street Journal that to deny that waterboarding provided important intelligence information is the equivalent of denying that President Obama was born in the U.S. Become a member of Amnesty International and give the human rights movement the boost of energy it needs. Amnesty has exposed the case of Canadian citizen Maher Arar, who was beaten with a shredded electric cable by Syrian interrogators with the full blessing of the US government. He has yet to receive an apology for this outrageous violation of his human rights. In Europe, Amnesty members are speaking out against governments that turn a blind eye to the illegal sale of gruesome torture tools such as electric shock weapons, chemical sprays and spiked batons. Even though these sickening instruments were banned by the European Union in 2006, torture businesses have found shameful ways to exploit loopholes. Behind every torture device, there is a story of abuse. A woman in Zimbabwe – a human rights activist – with massive purple bruises on her back. Police beat her with a truncheon. A man in Nepal blinded when police hit his face with iron-spiked sticks. A woman in South Africa sjambokked (whipped) in the street for no reason. Recently on our blog, Adele Welty and Marianne Stone of September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows had this to say about torture: “We oppose torture because of its illegality, moral repugnance and ineffectiveness as a method of interrogation. In the post 9/11 world, the torture debate has shifted from whether torture is right to whether it is justifiable. Taking a firm stand against torture, even in the most difficult of circumstances, is the right side of the debate and the one that most accurately reflects the values on which this country stands.” If torture proponents win we ALL lose. We lose our rights, our dignity and our core values. They are counting on our silence and complacency to ensure that torture continues. I know you won’t let this happen. You’re a part of Amnesty International. For 50 years we have been the world’s human rights defender, speaking out against governments who commit, condone or ignore torture. Please become a member today to keep torture proponents from launching a comeback and to make sure we are ready for whatever threats to human rights may come. In Peace, Zeke Johnson Director, Security with Human Rights Campaign Amnesty International USA		Raise the volume against torture. Torture proponents feed on silence and inaction. When determined people like you speak up and fight back, we can take back the torture debate.