Dec 5th, 2008
Posted by Suzanne Ito, ACLU at 2:56pm	National Security

ACLU Challenges Government Suppression Of Torture Testimony At Guantánamo

From our press release:

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a legal challenge today to prohibit the government from censoring prisoners’ testimony about torture and abuse in their military commission proceedings. Currently, the government cuts off the audio feed whenever a detainee testifies about CIA abuse so that observers cannot hear descriptions of brutal interrogations. In its motion, filed with the judge overseeing the prosecution of five defendants charged with involvement in the 9/11 attacks, the ACLU also seeks the immediate release of all transcripts of past proceedings in which the audio was turned off.

This kind of censorship threatens the American public's right to know about the abusive interrogations and torture being done in our names. Read the brief here.

Permalink |	National Security

1. Jeff Snyder Says:
   Dec 5th, 2008 at 11:50pm

   Torture produces poor intelligence, but it can be used to literally destroy witnesses.
   Forensic tracking of dates, data, locations, chain of command, orders for interrogations, personnel and prisoner transfers might lead to circumstantial evidence sufficient for legal process.
   It's not just that the techniques were illegal, it is about the purpose.
   IF there were complicity by major players around 9/11, WTC7, torture (Shock Doctrine type) would be a way to sweep the world clean of witnesses under the guise of making the (very profitable) war shorter or safer for our troops. Granted, these are ugly possibilities, but the dots are starting to fill in a picture from an undisclosed location.
   P.S. What was a new all white cube truck w/lift with zero identifying marks doing parked near my home?
   Twice.
   Please acknowledge receipt.

2. Kathryn Says:
   Dec 7th, 2008 at 7:11am

   The torture testimony should be suppressed: suppression being the legal term indicating that the testimony derived through torture cannot be used in a criminal trial against the defendants.
   The issue here is censorship - whether the information should be broadcast to the public.