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 TORTURE FOIA
Judge Orders DOJ To Turn Over Torture Memos Or Justify Withholding Them
Release of these memos to the public is essential so government officials can be held accountable for authorizing torture as policy.
DETENTION
ACLU At Guantánamo For First Military Commission Trial This Week
The Military Commissions Act eliminates protections against unlawful imprisonment - the right of habeas corpus - and violations of due process. Under this law, the president has absolute power to designate enemy combatants, and set his own definitions for torture.
RENDITION
ACLU Asks Federal Court To Reinstate Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary
The CIA's "extraordinary rendition" program -- abducting foreign nationals for detention and interrogation in secret overseas prisons -- must be stopped before more innocent victims are targeted. Americans cannot tolerate kidnappings and secret prisons.
Torture threatens our most treasured values and it is wrong:
- Torture is illegal, banned by both domestic and international law.
- Torture doesn't work. The information elicited is inaccurate; torture victims themselves tell us they have confessed to crimes they did not commit in order to end their suffering.
- Torture puts our troops at greater risk, increasing the chance that, should they fall into enemy hands, our servicemen and -women will be tortured in kind. Countries around the world have already begun citing the United States when justifying their use of cruel and unusual punishments - most recently the Junta in Myanmar.
- Torture tarnishes the image of the United States abroad. Torture degrades the rule of law and puts the core values of our democracy - the belief that all men are created equal and have the unalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness - at risk. It not only creates new enemies abroad, but is damaging our relationships with long-term allies.
The ACLU is working to restore the rule of law and end all U.S. torture - at home, at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and around the world. The United States must stop its abusive practices and once again become a leader in the global fight against injustice and inhumane treatment.
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