[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 31 (Thursday, March 19, 1998)]
[House]
[Page H1302]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RELIGIOUS PRISONERS CONGRESSIONAL TASK FORCE

  (Mr. PITTS asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PITTS. Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge Members to join the Religious 
Prisoners Congressional Task Force. The task force will advocate on 
behalf of persecuted religious prisoners around the world by appealing 
directly to independent national leaders. Minority religious believers 
often suffer beatings, torture, extended incarceration, even death at 
the hands of their governments unless intervention is made.
  Reputable human rights organizations report that advocacy with key 
government officials changes prisoners' life for the better; it alters 
prison conditions, stops torture, and secures release.
  Amnesty International documents one prisoner's statement. ``When the 
first 200 letters came, the guards gave me back my clothes. Then the 
next 200 letters came, and the prison director came to see me. When the 
next pile of letters arrived, the director got in touch with his 
superior. The letters kept coming and coming, 3,000 of them. The 
President was informed. The letters still kept arriving, and the 
President called the prison and told them to let me go.''
  Mr. Speaker, as citizens of a country founded on the principle of 
freedom of religion, we must work to ensure that international human 
rights standards are upheld by all countries of the world and that 
religious liberty is a fundamental human right. We can only intervene 
on behalf of religious liberty if Members act.

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