Author Archives: Naureen Shah

About Naureen Shah

Nauren Shah is Amnesty International USA's Director of Security and Human Rights. She is an expert on U.S. national security and human rights issues including: domestic counterterrorism investigations and surveillance; religious profiling and discrimination; impacts on free expression; U.S. "global war" paradigm and drone strikes; torture and rendition; and unlawful detention at Guantanamo. She is the co-author of major reports on national security and human rights and her commentary has recently appeared in the New York Times, Slate and Reuters. Her analysis has been cited by the New York Times, LA Times and NBC News among other outlets. She has on international and US broadcast outlets including the BBC, PRI's The World and Al Jazeera America. Naureen holds a B.S. from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, cum laude. She holds a J.D. from Columbia Law School, where she was a James Kent Scholar and Harlan Fiske Stone scholar.
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6 Lies That Are Told on June 26

June 26, 2015 at 1:53 PM

ATS

Every year on June 26th, we stand with victims and survivors of torture for a day of action that is marked globally. Often, the U.S. president issues a statement or makes a speech, pledging support for the eradication of torture.

This year, as we witness evasion and inaction from the Justice Department about its failure to hold anyone accountable for CIA torture, we can’t let it pass: there are too many holes, too many hypocrisies, and too many lies in these U.S. government commitments. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

“Torture is Not Just Something that Happens to Mel Gibson”: 4 Things You Need to Know about John Oliver’s Takedown of CIA Torture

June 16, 2015 at 11:16 AM

JohnOliverCIATortureOn Sunday, John Oliver made me laugh about CIA torture—and want to do everything in my power to stop the U.S. from returning to it.

His show, Last Week Tonight, ran a pointed critique of the U.S. government’s torture program: not just that it happened and that it was horrific, but that too many people in the United States continue to believe that it was excusable or even justifiable.

As Oliver explains, six months ago the Senate released a summary of its report on the CIA torture program, know as the Senate Torture Report. It contains disturbing allegations of forced rectal feeding, sexual abuse and extensive use of waterboarding.

Here’s what you missed – and what more you need to know:

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URGENT: This is a Must-Win Vote Against Torture. Call Congress Now!

June 10, 2015 at 12:52 PM

The U.S. Senate is considering an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would take critical steps to prevent a return to U.S. torture. Amnesty International USA activists are calling on Senators to do the right thing to end this American Torture Story.

This is our first shot in years to codify protections against torture into law. We need to act fast to make sure Senators know how important their vote is on this landmark legislation.

Senators John McCain and Dianne Feinstein have just introduced legislation to help ensure the American Torture Story is never repeated. The legislation – introduced as an amendment to a defense authorization bill – would require interrogations of all U.S. detainees to adhere to a common rulebook, which bans “techniques” like waterboarding and forced nudity.

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The New US Attorney General Has a Torture Problem. Will She Act?

May 19, 2015 at 8:12 PM


The Obama administration is fond of saying that it wants to “look forward” on torture, not “backward;” that is, it does not want to investigate or prosecute anyone. But failure to act now could increase the risk of torture recurring under the next administration.

There are too many horrific acts – like forced rectal feeding and hydration – that we only learned of due to the report and that we must ensure will never happen again.

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Will the Garland Shooting Show Us An America We Can Believe In?

May 5, 2015 at 7:44 PM
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Scale model of the statue of Liberty, in Paris, on the 10th anniversary of the opening of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Photo Credit: JOEL SAGET/AFP/Getty Images

When I heard about the shooting in Garland, Texas, my first thought was: Is my family safe?

I grew up in a town near Garland, and much of my family still lives there. I didn’t know who had been shot at or why, but I wanted to know if my loved ones were okay. They were.

My second thought was less urgent: it was just a nostalgia for my hometown in Texas. Its treeless freeways and strip shopping malls were bland. But the people where I grew up were kind and inviting – even the teenagers, and even when it came to people like me.

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How to Get Away With Torture: 6 All Too Easy Steps

April 21, 2015 at 12:09 PM

AmericanTortureStory

More than 100 people were “disappeared” by the U.S. government and shuttled to secret detention sites between 2002 and 2008. Many were tortured.

Thanks to a new U.S. Senate report, we know more about how this happened than ever before. We’re calling it “The American Torture Story.” It’s a story that had to be written: and now it’s a story that must be read.

Shockingly, the US Justice Department, charged with investigating violations of the law, is apparently refusing to read to this Senate study—let alone act upon it. And as a new Amnesty International report shows: No one has been brought to justice. The United States is providing de facto amnesty to torturers.

Here’s 6 ways that those responsible have gotten away with torture – and 6 reasons we must act. SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

8 Facts You Need to Know: Why We’re Suing to Stop Surveillance – and Protect Human Rights

March 10, 2015 at 11:38 AM

NSA

The U.S. surveillance machine is thwarting Amnesty International USA’s ability to protect people from human rights violations: including governments that torture, kidnap and extrajudiciallly kill people for their non-violent protest, dissent and activism.

That’s why Amnesty International USA is in court today, represented by the ACLU–because in a world under threat of constant, all-encompassing surveillance, our work to protect human rights is made much harder.

Here are 8 facts you need to know about how Amnesty International works – and why mass surveillance harms our ability to protect human rights: SEE THE REST OF THIS POST

3 Must-Watch Videos, 13 Lost Years: Shaker’s Story

February 13, 2015 at 7:36 PM
Shaker Aamer

Shaker Aamer

There’s a superstitious part of me, and a worried part of me. And both parts of me fear this Saturday: it marks thirteen years since Shaker Aamer was airlifted to Guantanamo.

My fear is that in Congress, the fear-mongers who are seemingly relentless in their drive to keep Guantanamo open forever—and to keep Shaker Aamer in detention without charge until he dies. They are encouraging public panic and anxiety over the prospect that anyone at Guantanamo might either go free or face a fair trial.

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Guantanamo Forever: 28 Words of Hate

February 5, 2015 at 3:58 PM

Activists protest the 10th anniversary of the Guantanamo Bay detention, Washington DC, USA, 11 January 2012.

“As far as I’m concerned every last one of them can rot in Hell, but as long as they don’t do that they can rot in Guantanamo Bay.” – U.S. Senator Tom Cotton

I don’t know if it was just me, or if it was everyone, but the room seemed oddly quiet after Senator Cotton said these 28 words at today’s Senate hearing on Guantanamo. Behind me were dozens of high school students, there for some kind of civics lesson. In front of me were protestors in orange jumpsuits, seated and rapt. For the moment, we were all quiet.

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#DearObama: Use Your State of the Union to Reject Politics of Fear

January 16, 2015 at 5:02 PM

the america i believe in

This blog is part of a series on human rights in the State of the Union address. The United States has an obligation to pursue policies that ensure respect for human rights at home and around the world. Follow along and join the conversation using #SOTUrights.

Dear Mr. President,

Here comes the fear again.

In the aftermath of the Paris attacks, some in the broadcast news media are attempting to turn the public’s shock into full-fledged hysteria – the kind that fuels not only their ratings, but suspicion, hate and a bunker mentality.

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