Torture is Wrong, Illegal and Un-American

For sixty years, the United States has led the fight against torture around the world. The U.S. not only signed but helped to draft the international treaties and laws that banned torture after the atrocities of WWII. The U.S. spoke out against inhumane treatment of prisoners and offered refuge to victims of atrocities perpetrated by other governments. Now, betraying a long, proud tradition of humane detention and interrogation practices, the U.S. is using torture.

Learn more about how torture and waterboarding are illegal >>

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.

DETENTION >>

RENDITION >>

TORTURE FOIA >>

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.
MORE >>

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.
MORE >>

Documents newly released under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) show how the FBI apparently made a deliberate decision not to conduct follow-up interviews after receiving descriptions of detainee abuse from its own personnel. MORE >>

NEWS

> Bush Admits To Knowledge of Torture Authorization by Top Advisers (4/12/2008)

> News Report Reveals White House Approved Torture Techniques (4/10/2008)

> Innocent Victim Of CIA Extraordinary Rendition Program Takes Case To International Tribunal (4/9/2008)

> Military Commission Proceedings Put Credibility Of US Justice System On The Line (4/9/2008)

> ACLU And NACDL Assembling Guantanamo Defense Teams (4/3/2008)

> Bush Administration Memo Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Apply To Military Operations Within US (4/2/2008)

> Secret Bush Administration Torture Memo Released Today In Response To ACLU Lawsuit (4/1/2008)

> ACLU Appeals Dismissal Of Extraordinary Rendition Lawsuit Against Boeing Subsidiary (3/14/2008)

MORE >>