“Ghosts of Johnston County” — Screening and Discussion

This 35-minute documentary film tells the story of the ongoing efforts by a group of North Carolinians who, for nearly ten years, have been fighting to achieve accountability for the victims of U.S. sponsored torture during the “war on terror.” In 2005, a number of investigative reports linked Aero Contractors Limited, a private charter company based at the Johnston County Airport in Smithfield, NC, to the CIA’s controversial rendition, detention and interrogation program. This airport played a key role in transporting dozens of men, many of whom were innocent, to third countries were they faced indefinite, secret detention and torture.

“Ghosts of Johnston County” offers a local perspective on this complex international issue. It is told through a combination of on-the-ground observational footage, home video footage filmed by local activists, archival materials, and interviews that have been conducted with both activists and supporters of Aero Contractors alike. The film also features excerpts from a dialogue with a European survivor of the U.S. sponsored torture as well as commentary from the former lead prosecutor of the Guantanamo Bay Detention Center, Col. Morris Davis.

The film screening will be followed by a discussion with the film’s co-director Eric Juth. Christina Cowger and Jessica Porta of the North Carolina Commission of Inquiry on Torture will also be present to discuss the effort currently underway to establish a truth commission to investigate North Carolina’s role in torture.

The Council is a co-sponsor.