Home : Safe and Free : Torture

ACLU Fights Government Legal Maneuvers to Delay Challenges to Datamining (01/25/2007)
MIAMI - The American Civil Liberties Union today argued before a federal panel that lawsuits against telecommunications companies over unlawful wiretapping by the National Security Agency should remain in the five states where the challenges were filed. ACLU affiliates in those states brought actions before local Public Utility Commissions that resulted in lawsuits that were heard today by the Multidistrict Litigation Panel as the government sought to get the cases consolidated and transferred to California.

ACLU of New Mexico Joins Legislative Opposition To Real ID Act (01/23/2007)
ALBUQUERQUE - The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico and organizations from both sides of the political spectrum today joined state legislators in opposition to the creation of a national identification card and the implementation of the federal Real ID Act of 2005 in New Mexico.

ACLU: The State of Civil Liberties in America is Precarious (01/23/2007)
WASHINGTON - "As President Bush delivers his State of the Union address, it is essential that we bear in mind that for six years the policies of the Bush administration have threatened and undermined the very essence of a free and democratic America. The state of our civil liberties is precarious.

ACLU and CNSS Seek Records on Warrantless Mail Surveillance (01/22/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for National Security Studies today filed three Freedom of Information Act requests seeking the immediate release of records related to President Bush’s asserted authority to search Americans’ mail without a warrant. The president claimed this unprecedented authority in a "signing statement" attached to a statute that expressly prohibits opening First Class mail without a warrant.

ACLU Calls on Lawmakers to Demand Accountability from Gonzales, Seeks Torture Memos and Answers on Increased Surveillance (01/18/2007)
WASHINGTON - As Attorney General Alberto Gonzales appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee today, the American Civil Liberties Union called on panel members to hold the administration's feet to the fire for its approval of torture policies and warrantless surveillance. This will be Gonzales' first appearance before the committee under the new leadership of Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT).

ACLU Report Shows Widespread Pentagon Surveillance of Peace Activists (01/17/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today released a new report revealing that the Pentagon monitored at least 186 anti-military protests in the United States and collected more than 2,800 reports involving Americans in an anti-terrorist threat database.

Folding Under Pressure, Bush Administration Concedes Judicial Role Over NSA Spying Program (01/17/2007)
WASHINGTON - Just two weeks before the Justice Department was set to defend the program before the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals, and one day before the Attorney General is to testify before Congress, the Bush administration conceded that the judicial branch has a role in overseeing surveillance by the NSA. However, the American Civil Liberties Union expressed skepticism that the changes announced by the administration comply with the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and the Constitution.

ACLU Throws Support Behind Shareholder Challenge to AT&T on Illegal NSA Spying (01/17/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today announced its support for an effort by AT&T shareholders to force the company to disclose more about its role in the recent National Security Agency (NSA) illegal spying scandal and to tighten its policies to better protect customer privacy.

ACLU Raises Objections Over Expanded Military and CIA Domestic Spying (01/14/2007)
WASHINGTON - The American Civil Liberties Union today expressed serious concerns about the use of "National Security Letters" by the Department of Defense and the CIA to collect the financial records of American citizens and called on Congress to launch an immediate investigation.

ACLU Condemns Administration Attack on Guantánamo Lawyers (01/12/2007)
NEW YORK -- Having twice been told by the United States Supreme Court that its detention policies at the Guantánamo Bay detention camps are unlawful, the Administration has now launched an attack on the lawyers representing those detainees.

ACLU of Florida and Amnesty International Call on Congress to Restore Habeas, Close Guantánamo (01/11/2007)
MIAMI, FL - On the fifth anniversary of the first known flight of prisoners to the U.S. prison in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida and Amnesty International are calling for restoration of habeas and due process rights as well as closure of the Guantánamo prison. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 gutted habeas - our law against unlawful imprisonment - from our Constitution, thus removing the limitations on arbitrary executive power over any person's individual freedoms.

CIA Provides Further Details on Secret Interrogation Memos (01/10/2007)
NEW YORK - In an ongoing lawsuit with the American Civil Liberties Union, the CIA has filed a declaration arguing that the agency should not be compelled to release two Justice Department memos discussing interrogation methods and a presidential order concerning the CIA’s authorization to set up detention facilities outside the United States.

ACLU Continues Campaign to End Unlawful Government Spying on Americans (01/09/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union continues its campaign to end illegal wiretapping by the National Security Agency.

ACLU Urges Congress To Clean House; Calls on Lawmakers to Restore and Protect Civil Liberties (01/09/2007)
WASHINGTON – Top leaders of the American Civil Liberties Union today called on the newly installed 110th Congress to defend the fundamental freedoms of all Americans. In a letter sent to all members, the leaders also outlined the ACLU’s legislative agenda.

New ACLU Ads Call on 110th Congress to Restore Lost American Freedoms (01/04/2007)
WASHINGTON - Beginning Thursday, January 4, a new print advertisement will run in targeted congressional districts, calling on the 110th Congress to restore the constitutional freedoms lost in recent years.

ACLU Seeks Answers and Congressional Oversight on President Bush’s Snooping Authority (01/04/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today said that it plans to file a Freedom of Information Act request seeking information about President Bush’s statement that he is authorized to open people’s mail without a warrant in emergency conditions.

FBI Inquiry Details Abuses Reported by Agents at Guantanamo (01/03/2007)
NEW YORK - The American Civil Liberties Union today released more than 200 pages of documents obtained from the Federal Bureau of Investigation detailing 26 eyewitness accounts by agents of detainee abuse, 17 of which the Bureau apparently chose not to investigate further.

U.S. Citizen Asks Federal Court to Insure Safe Passage For His Family Back from Canada (12/21/2006)
CHICAGO - The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois today asked a federal judge to help ensure a safe, uneventful trip across the U.S.-Canadian border for a suburban Chicago father and U.S. citizen when he, his wife and young children travel next week.

After 25 Years, FBI Finally Releases Last 10 Documents in John Lennon FBI File (12/20/2006)
LOS ANGELES - After nearly 25 years since the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California sued the FBI for the release of its files on John Lennon, the Bureau has finally made public the last 10 documents it maintained on the legendary English rock star.