Demonstration of Torture before Mukasey Vote Tuesday

On the eve of the Senate Judiciary Committee vote on the nomination of Judge Michael B. Mukasey, anti-torture activists will demonstrate waterboarding at the Dirksen Senate Building early morning Tuesday before the final nomination vote.

In his confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Michael Mukasey was simply asked if waterboarding is illegal. Waterboarding is when the torturer forces water into the victim's lungs, making breathing in a controlled manner impossible. The fact that Mr. Mukasey could not provide a simple "Yes" to this question raises serious doubts about his ability to protect our basic rights.

What: Live demonstration of waterboarding torture technique
Where: Dirksen Senate Building, 1st and Constitution NE
When: 8:30am, Tuesday November 6, 2007
Visuals: Great photo opps, waterboarding demo + banners and messaging with "SENATORS SAY IT LOUDLY, WATERBOARDING IS TORTURE!" and "DON'T CONFIRM MICHAEL MUKASEY!"

"Waterboarding is illegal under U.S. and international law, for our leaders to pretend otherwise is shameful," says Gael Murphy, cofounder of CODEPINK. "Our country was founded on democratic principles that reject torture, and we have seen the Bush Administration repeatedly undermine our democratic values by dodging accountability, hiding its practices from congressional oversight, and prioritizing unilateral presidential power- we will not stand for it any longer."