keynote address at GHRC's 1992 International Conference on Torture in Guatemala. Dianna's work at GHRC involved advocacy work, public speaking, and help with all aspects of the small organization. While at GHRC, Dianna conducted her hunger strike and vigil in front of the White House. In 1998, while working at the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/USA, Ortiz founded the Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International (TASSC) as a project of GHRC/USA. TASSC received its 501(c)3 status in 2002, becoming the only organization in the U.S. founded by and for survivors of torture. It provides support particularly to survivors living in the U.S., as many refugees had come from nations in Central and South America where states had sponsored terrorism against citizens. During the 2000s, TASSC became involved in issues related to treatment of detainees at the U.S. base of Guantanamo, where reports of torture had been made. In addition, TASSC tried to gain repeal of the Military Commissions Act of 2006, by which Congress authorized a system outside the U.S.'s existing civilian and military justice systems to prosecute detainees being held at Guantanamo. Congress approved this legislation after the U.S. Supreme Court held that the George W. Bush administration's military commissions, set up only under executive branch authority, were unconstitutional. Death Dianna Ortiz died of cancer on February 19, 2021, while under hospice care in Washington, D.C. References Further reading Pamela Brogan, The Torturers' Lobby: How Human Rights Abusing Nations Are Represented in Washington, Washington, D.C.: Center for Public Integrity (CPI), 1992, 79 pages 'The Blindfold's Eyes: My Journey from Torture to Truth (Dianna Ortiz, with Patricia Davis, Orbis, 2002), 484 pages External links Torture Abolition and Survivors Support Coalition International Campaign to Repeal the Military Commissions Act of 2006 Roger S. Gottlieb, Review: The Blindfold's Eyes, Tikkun, March 1, 2003 Interview with Dianna Ortiz, Democracy Now'', May 10, 2012 (Available in transcript, audio, and video) 1958 births 2021 deaths Anti-torture activists American torture victims American human rights activists Women human rights activists Ursulines American Roman Catholic missionaries Roman Catholic missionaries in Guatemala Female Roman Catholic missionaries Kidnapped American people People from Colorado Springs, Colorado People from Grants, New Mexico 20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns Catholics from Colorado Catholics from New Mexico 21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns Activists from New Mexico Deaths from cancer in Washington, D.C.