Joe Pitts: “I rise to urge Members to join the Religious Prisoners Congressional Task Force. The task force will advocate on behalf…”

“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.”