Prisoners in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba
On April 16 President Obama ordered the release of memos outlining what interrogation techniques were authorized under the Bush administration.
These memos are known as the "torture memos" because they offer extreme interpretations of U.S. and international law to falsely legitimate torture, abuse, and other cruel, inhumane, and degrading practices in interrogating terror suspects.
The memos prove that officials at the highest level of the U.S. government approved the use of torture.
FCNL Responds to the Memos
In response to the release of the torture memos, FCNL calls for a "Commission of Inquiry". We believe it is the United States' moral obligation to investigate the authorization and use of torture by U.S. government agents in our name. Find out more about a commission of inquiry.
We also call on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the abuse, and assign personal accountability. The memos contain evidence that the highest U.S. officials broke laws. The United States must send a signal that such actions will not be tolerated.
These measures are crucial to ensure that the United States will never torture again.
Take action: Urge the president to take these steps.
How did the U.S. interrogate suspects?
These memos, prepared by the Justice Department between 2002 and 2005, authorized in sadistic and graphic detail specific applications of torture. While the existence of the memos was known and protested by many groups like FCNL prior to their release, the detail and the direct responsibility of high ranking officials was not previosuly acknowledged.
Liliana Segura has summarized the content of the four torture memos into ten types of torture. See her summary of "10 Horrifying Discoveries".
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