James J. Yee, Army captain and former chaplain at the United States military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who was falsely accused of espionage and arrested and imprisoned for nearly three months before charges were dropped, will bring his story to Vanderbilt Monday, Sept. 22.
Yee’s talk begins at 7 p.m. in the ballroom of the Student Life Center located at 310 25th Ave. S. on Vanderbilt’s campus. Video of his lecture will be posted online at www.vanderbilt.edu/news following the event.
The university’s Speakers Committee, a student-run organization, is sponsoring Yee’s talk.
Tickets for the lecture will be available beginning Friday, Sept. 12. General public tickets are available through Ticketmaster at 615-255-9600 or www.ticketmaster.com.General admission tickets are $10. Tickets are free to Vanderbilt students, faculty and staff and must be picked up in advance at the Sarratt Student Center box office. Only one free ticket may be picked up per person with Vanderbilt identification card. Tickets are $5 for non-Vanderbilt students with valid school or university identification – these tickets are available at the Sarratt Student Center box office and Ticketmaster outlets. For more information, call 615-322-2471 or visit www.vanderbilt.edu/vpb.
Yee served as the Muslim chaplain at the Guantanamo Bay prison, where he advised commanders of the camp on detainee religious practices and objected to prisoner abuse. He was arrested and imprisoned in a Navy brig for 76 days in September 2003 after being accused of spying, espionage and aiding alleged Taliban and Al Qaeda prisoners. He was held in solitary confinement and subjected to the same sensory deprivation techniques used on detainees in Cuba.
The criminal charges were later dropped and Yee was reinstated to full duty. He tendered his resignation from the Army and received an honorable discharge in 2005 as well as a second Army Commendation medal for "exceptionally meritorious service."
Yee, a third-generation Chinese American who converted to Islam in 1991, chronicles his story in the book For God and Country: Faith and Patriotism Under Fire.
Media Contact: Princine Lewis, (615) 322-NEWS
princine.lewis@vanderbilt.edu