Categories
Join Us At:
|
Fighting for Sunlight on Torture DocumentsYesterday, we were in court seeking the release of secret government documents related to the treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody overseas. Specifically, we asked the court to order the release of redacted portions of Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) memos describing "enhanced interrogation techniques" authorized for use by the CIA, as well as documents describing the contents of destroyed videotapes depicting CIA interrogations. Unfortunately, the judge, who had privately viewed a 65-document sample of the hundreds of documents we want released before the hearing began, ruled that the documents can be kept secret, and that he would defer to the CIA to decide what information could be kept from the public. Time and time again, the CIA has cited national security concerns in an effort to keep torture records secret. That argument has little merit because of the level of public disclosure about the CIA’s rendition, detention and interrogation program; the fact that much of the information the CIA is suppressing relates to illegal conduct; and the fact that the president declassified four key OLC memos earlier this year. The still-secret information is critical to filling in the gaps and informing the ongoing debate about accountability for torture. The American public has a right to know about the abuse committed in its name. Alex Abdo, ACLU National Security Project Legal Fellow and one of the lawyers who presented oral arguments yesterday, discusses the details of yesterday's hearing in this short video:
We intend the comments portion of this blog to be a forum where you can freely express your views on blog postings and on comments made by other people. Given that, please understand that you are responsible for the material you post on the comments portion of this blog. The only postings that we ask that you refrain from posting and that we cannot permit on our website are requests for legal assistance and postings that could cause ACLU to incur legal liability.
One important law in that regard is the prohibition on politically partisan activity. Given our nonprofit status, we may not endorse or oppose candidates for elective office. That means we cannot host comments on our site that show a preference for one candidate or party. Although we in no way wish to discourage you from that activity elsewhere, we ask that you not engage in that activity on our website (or include links to other websites that do so). Additionally, given that we are subject to very specific rules concerning the collection of personally identifying information through our website (names, email addresses, home address, financial information, etc.), we ask that you not use the comments portion of this blog to solicit this information from users of our website. We also ask that you not use the comments portion for advertising or requests for legal assistance, and do not add to your comment links to other websites, as we cannot be responsible for the content on other websites. We are not able to respond to unsolicited inquiries, complaints or requests for assistance sent to this blog. Please direct your complaint or request for assistance to the ACLU affiliate in your state. Requests for legal assistance left in the blog comments will not receive a response or be published. Finally, the ACLU cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of any information in the comment section and expressly disclaims any liability for any information in this section. |
|
|
© ACLU, 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY 10004 |
