CVT In the News
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UN Rights Expert to Visit Guantanamo Detention Facility for First Time
Scott Roehm, Washington director, is quoted regarding the upcoming visit to Guantánamo detention facility by Fionnuala Ni Aolain, the UN special rapporteur on protecting human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism. Scott notes, "It will be important for the Special Rapporteur to assess, in particular, detainees’ conditions of confinement and access to appropriate medical care—including how those issues intersect with the military commission system—given the widespread prevalence of torture and trauma among the men who remain captive at Guantanamo."
Source: Middle East Eye
Date: 02/01/2023 -
Trauma Support in High Demand from Companies Amid Relentless Wave of Tragedies
Ruth Yeo-Peterman, resilience programming trainer, is quoted by Hope King, Axios business reporter, on the importance of recognizing vicarious trauma and impacts, and steps to take for employees and self-care in the workplace after traumatic events.
Source: Axios
Date: 01/30/2023 -
Biden's border hypocrisy
Simply put, though seeking asylum is a right protected by law, the U.S. has closed Ports of Entry and made it impossible to comply with the rules. The current administration’s new border policy does nothing to return the U.S. to comply with international humanitarian law. “These policies violate domestic and international law and actively put asylum seekers in harm’s way,” said the Center for Victims of Torture in a statement.
Source: The Reformer
Date: 01/19/2023 -
MYANMAR IN TURMOIL: Myanmar Junta building up its air power with Russian help
Dr. Simon Adams, an expert on human rights and civil conflicts warns of potential dangers if the international community continues to ignore the crisis in Myanmar. He likens the situation to past failures to intervene in Rwanda and Yugoslavia. "I think it's a deep shame to the international community now that Myanmar joins that list of countries," he says. "Some sections have done things, but there needs to be more done across the entire international community to hold this criminal regime accountable for the atrocities that they are committing."
Source: NHK World Japan
Date: 01/17/2023 -
In Guantanamo Cases, is the Government Trying to Profit from Torture?
Torture is illegal, always, but “So, too, is the use of evidence tainted by torture, in any forum and for any purpose other than against the individual who committed the torture,” write Scott Roehm, CVT Washington director, and Jonathan Hafetz with Seton Hall University Law School.
Source: The Hill
Date: 01/11/2023 -
More Than 150 International Organizations Call on Biden to Close Guantánamo on 21st Anniversary
"The world know detainees were tortured, [as well as] the heinous methods, names of those who approved and participated, and that videotapes of torture were deliberately destroyed; yet not a single person has been held accountable,” said Yumna Rizvi, policy analyst for CVT.
Source: The Intercept
Date: 01/11/2023 -
Migrant Shelters Try to Help Traumatized Assault Survivors
Zuryanette Reyes Borrero, CVT bilingual case manager, and Léonce Byimana, director of U.S. clinical services, are quoted in this article about the ongoing mental health crisis at the U.S. Southern border and the ever-growing need for care. Zury says, “We get people at their most vulnerable. Some don’t even realize they’re in the U.S.” And Léonce speaks about how people experienced trauma not only in their past but also during their journey to the border. He says, “The estimated level of need is at least five times higher than we support.”
Source: Associated Press
Date: 12/31/2022 -
Group ask Georgians to Vote for Mental Health
Darlene Lynch was interviewed by Rebecca Grapevine for the Capitol Beat News Service about the need for mental health services for all Georgians. Grapevine wrote in the Georgia Sun: “Darlene Lynch, head of external relations for the Center for Victims of Torture in Atlanta, said that more culturally and linguistically accessible care is needed to meet the needs of the one-in-10 foreign-born Georgians. ‘Because of the cultural and linguistic barriers, the lack of access in our state … compared to the other top 10 most diverse states in the nation, we lag behind” in providing care to such immigrants, Lynch said. She suggested creating a special division in the state government to focus on providing linguistically and culturally sensitive care.”
Source: The Georgia Sun
Date: 10/25/2022 -
Sept. 11 Case Awaits Biden Administration’s Reply on Plea Deal
Sept. 11 Case Awaits Biden Administration’s Reply on Plea Deal. The judge has postponed hearings in the case. A proposed agreement would avert a death-penalty trial for the five defendants. A military judge has canceled pretrial hearings in the Sept. 11 case at Guantánamo Bay.
Source: The New York Times
Date: 10/23/2022 -
Guantanamo detainee used as 'prop' for torture training losing battle for medical care
A 2019 report by The Center for Victims of Torture and Physicians for Human Rights found that medical equipment and expertise available on-site were "increasingly insufficient to address detainees' health needs".
Source: Middle East Eye
Date: 10/07/2022
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Media Relations Strategist
pmccurdy [at] cvt.org