Monday, December 10 marked the 70th anniversary of the United Nation’s International Human Rights Day. As we wait for the incarnation of God during this Advent season, we must also acknowledge that human rights are still being violated at all levels of life and in all places. In particular, we lift up the violations that have occurred in our own state, exposed through the work of the NC Commission of Inquiry on Torture. We hope you will include this truth in your prayers for human rights and move from prayer to action.
Following the release of the Commission’s report, the Council launched NC No Torture to bring awareness to the report and to acknowledge North Carolina’s role in the CIA’s program of RDI – Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation. Our hope is that awareness of these events will ignite a faithful response to the trauma suffered by the 49 named people transported by Aero jets based in North Carolina.
We hope to unite people of faith in prayer for our state and for those who have suffered through the CIA program based in Johnston and Lenoir Counties in North Carolina. Some suggestions for your response:
- Pray for those who were transported and tortured in these planes. The list of those rendered and their date is included below.
- Pray for those responsible, that they would recognize the harm they have done.
The CIA program of Rendition, Detention, and Interrogation relied on North Carolina. Families of those transported by jets continue to be hurt by this program in addition to citizens of North Carolina who are forced to support it. The protests and the follow-up investigations also affect the relationships of neighbors and friends. Even though this ministry challenges us, people of faith have been at the forefront of shining the light of truth while seeking God’s justice for the harm suffered by those involved.
We recognize that God calls us to name the harm done to others through confession. In our repentance, we are often moved to restore what was lost or to repair the damage in so far as possible. The trauma suffered by the 49 identified people and the heartache of their families can never be completely repaired, but we can offer salves that might allow some healing to begin for them.
We also seek ways to restore the conflicted relationships within Johnston County. Some have benefitted from the program and some have protested it since it was revealed in 2005. We are called to facilitate reconciliation in relationships in economic, political, and faith communities alike.
We believe that praying for one another, the communities in Johnston County, those who were tortured through this program, their families, and our state and nation will turn us toward a more just and faithful path in these relationships.
Torture is illegal at every level of government, ineffective according to scientific evidence presented by military experts, and immoral by scriptural standards. God calls us to be peacemakers. Our prayer is that peace may come to those who have suffered unjustly.
We hope you will join with us in prayer, including the communities, employees of Aero Contractors, the CIA, the politicians responsible for these decisions, and our state and nation.
We hope that you will pray for one or more of those who are named, their families, and that God will deliver them from those experiences and memories.
Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.
God of all Creation, You have made us into your image, breathed into us the breath of life, and given us the power to turn to your will or to go our own way. You have desired that we live in peace and in love with you and each other.
You have sent your Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to enable us to be forgiven by you and each other for our sins. You have given us the Holy Spirit, the Advocate, to speak into our hearts and minds so that we can shamelessly come to your throne of grace.
We have turned away from your word and have, even if indirectly, participated in the torture of many people through our government’s programs. We confess that we have not looked for the harm done to those we do not know, as they were kidnapped, transported, and tortured.
Forgive us, we pray, that we would intentionally enter into a time of seeking your will for our response. Enable us to pray for those detained and tortured as well as the host communities. Grant us the courage to raise our voices with others who have signed the petitions and letters calling on Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein to open an investigation, that our state may be cleansed from this chapter of our history.
Gracious God, we ask for the strength and courage to listen to your voice in this and all things; we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
These Forty-Nine were transported and tortured. Many of their stories and photos can be found through an internet search.
1. Fatima Bouchar, the one woman, pregnant at the time of her kidnapping and torture; Thailand to Libya via Diego Garcia 2004
2. Samr al-Barq
Afghanistan to Poland 2003
Poland to Romania 2003
Romania to Jordan 2003
3. Sanad al-Kazimi
UAE to Afghanistan 2003
4. Saleh Qaru
Jordan to Afghanistan 2003
5. Abu Zubaydah
Poland to Guantanamo Bay 2003
6. Mohamed Bashmilah
Jordan to Afghanistan 2003
7. Aso Hawleri
Afghanistan to Iraq -2003
8. Mustafa al-Hawsawi
Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay via Morocco 2003
9. Ibn Sheikh al-Libi
Egypt to Afghanistan 2003
Afghanistan to Guantanamo Bay via Morocco 2003
10. Mohammed al-Asad
Djibouti to Afghanistan 2004
11. Saleh Di’iki
Morocco to Afghanistan 2004
12. Jamal Boudraa
Afghanistan to Algeria 2004
13. Khaled el-Masri
Macedonia to Afghanistan via Iraq 2004
14. Hassan Ghul
Iraq to Afghanistan
Afghanistan to Romania 2004
15. Mohamed Ibrahim
Afghanistan to Romania 2004
16. Khaled al-Maqtari and others
Iraq to Afghanistan 2004
17. Abdel Hakim Belhadj
Thailand to Libya
via Diego Garcia 2004
18. Yunus Rahmatullah
Iraq to Afghanistan 2004
19. Amanatullah Ali
Iraq to Afghanistan 2004
20. Abu Abdallah
Iraq to Afghanistan 2004
21. Gouled Dourad
Djibouti to Afghanistan or Morocco 2004
22. Mustafa Salim Ali el-Madaghi
Mauritania to Morocco 2004
23. Asadallah
Afghanistan to Egypt 2003
24. Jamil Qasim Saeed Mohammed
Pakistan to Jordan 2001
25. Mohamed el-Zery
Sweden to Egypt 2001
26. Ahmed Agiza
Sweden to Egypt 2001
27. Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni
Indonesia to Egypt via Diego Garcia 2002
Egypt to Afghanistan via Uzbekistan 2002
28. Ali al Hajj al-Sharqawi
Pakistan/Afghanistan to Jordan 2002
Jordan to Afghanistan – 2004
29. Mamdouh Habib
Egypt to Afghanistan via Uzbekistan 2002
30. Abdul Halim Dalak
Pakistan to Syria 2002
31. Omar Ghramesh
Pakistan to Syria 2002
32. Abou Elkassim Britel
Pakistan to Morocco 2002
33. Binyam Mohamed
Pakistan to Morocco – 2002
Morocco to Afghanistan – 2004
34. Umar Faruq
Indonesia to Egypt via Diego Garcia 2002
Egypt to Afghanistan – 2002
35. Hassan bin Attash
Afghanistan to Jordan – 2002
Jordan to Afghanistan – 2004
36. Ramzi bin al-Shibh
Afghanistan to Morocco – 2002
Morocco to Poland – 2003
Poland to Morocco – 2003
Morocco to Guantanamo Bay-2003
37. Abd al-Salam al-Hilah
Egypt to Afghanistan 2002
38. Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri
Afghanistan to Thailand – 2002
Poland to Morocco- 2003
Morocco to Guantanamo Bay-2003
39. Bisher al-Rawi
The Gambia To Afghanistan via Egypt 2002
40. Jamil el-Banna
The Gambia To Afghanistan v
41. Khaled Sheikh Mohammed
Afghanistan to Poland 2003
Poland to Romania 2003
42. Abu Yasir al-Jaza’iri
Afghanistan to Poland – 2003
Poland to Romania – 2003
Romania to Jordan/Afghanistan – 2003
43. Laid Saidi
Malawi to Afghanistan 2003
44. Walid bin Attash
Afghanistan to Poland 2003
Poland to Romania 2003
45. Ammar al-Baluchi
Afghanistan to Poland – 2003
Poland to Romania – 2003
46. Hiwa Rashul
Iraq to Afghanistan- 2003 Afghanistan to Iraq -2003
47. Mohamedou Ould Slahi
Jordan to Afghanistan 2002
48. Pacha Wazir
Morocco to Afghanistan 2002
49. Saifullah Paracha
Thailand to Afghanistan 2003
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