from Denounce Torture website:
http://blogs.amnestyusa.org/denounce-torture
Senate Falls Short of Restoring Habeas
Thursday, September 20, 2007
Your help needed to gain four more Senator's support!
The Senate held a cloture vote today on the Leahy-Specter amend-
ment to restore habeas corpus. We needed 60 votes for cloture, and while we fell short (the vote was 56 Yeas to 43 Nays) we picked
up additional Senators this time. (The vote to retain habeas during
the passage of the Military Commissions Act had been 51-48.) The
House should continue forward with it's efforts to restore habeas,
and we can continue to ask Reps to support that effort, as we work
to pick up the extra 4 Senators that we need for restoration in the
Senate.
The vote count: All Democrats and Bernie Sanders (I-VT) voted
yes to advance the Leahy-Specter habeas amendment as did six
Republicans: Specter (PA), Sunnunu (NH), Smith (OR), Hagel
(NE), Lugar (IN) and Snowe (ME). Senator Liberman (I-CT)
voted "No" as did all the remaining Republicans, with the
exception of Senator Chambliss (GA) who did not vote. (You can
look up your Senators here) Please express
your thanks to the Senators who supported the Leahy-Specter Amendment
to restore habeas corpus, and express your disapointment to your Senators
if they voted against restoring this fundamental safeguard. You can call
their office at 202 224-3121. Please be accurate, brief, and courteous when speaking to them!
Friday, September 21, 2007
Sunday, September 02, 2007
Gonzales' resignation: A Victory for Torture Survivors
نصر لضحايا التعذيب.....
استقالة جونزاليس مهندس ومنظر بيوت الأشباح الأمريكيةضحايا التعذيب السودانيون كانو من أول من رفضوا تعينه في هذه المذكرة عام 2004
In this regard, GATS would like to re-post its protest letter to President Bush against his appointment in Jan 2005:
Philadelphia, PA-The Group Against Torture in Sudan (GATS) is seriously troubled by the Bush Administration’s nomination of Mr. Alberto Gonzales to the post of Attorney General of the United States.As White House Counsel Mr. Gonzales supervised the development of policies that were applied towards the handling of prisoners in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere and wrote a memo that was considered contemptuous of the Geneva Conventions. At his current confirmation hearings he stated “The decision not to apply Geneva in our conflict with Al Qaeda was absolutely the right decision for a variety of reasons,” ostensibly stating that U.S. officials need not be bound by laws prohibiting torture.To nominate a person who has effectively facilitated and justified the use of torture by this government is outrageous and insulting, particularly for the more than 300,000 torture survivors who live in this country.We believe that every candidate for such an important office must be carefully evaluated on the basis of his or her entire record, including whether or not he or she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties. This is the only thing that differentiates the democracy we want here and the tyranny of fanatic regimes like that of Sudan. How can we claim that we are different from the fanatic regime of Khartoum, Sudan – a government that arrogantly made the founder of the torture system their Chief Justice? How could GATS members trust that Mr. Gonzales, as Attorney General, would advocate on their behalf to bring the torturers to justice?We add our voice to all other survivors of torture and human rights activists in other organizations and call upon the United States Senate to reject the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States.
استقالة جونزاليس مهندس ومنظر بيوت الأشباح الأمريكيةضحايا التعذيب السودانيون كانو من أول من رفضوا تعينه في هذه المذكرة عام 2004
In this regard, GATS would like to re-post its protest letter to President Bush against his appointment in Jan 2005:
How could Torture Advocate Help Torture Survivors?
Philadelphia, PA-The Group Against Torture in Sudan (GATS) is seriously troubled by the Bush Administration’s nomination of Mr. Alberto Gonzales to the post of Attorney General of the United States.As White House Counsel Mr. Gonzales supervised the development of policies that were applied towards the handling of prisoners in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere and wrote a memo that was considered contemptuous of the Geneva Conventions. At his current confirmation hearings he stated “The decision not to apply Geneva in our conflict with Al Qaeda was absolutely the right decision for a variety of reasons,” ostensibly stating that U.S. officials need not be bound by laws prohibiting torture.To nominate a person who has effectively facilitated and justified the use of torture by this government is outrageous and insulting, particularly for the more than 300,000 torture survivors who live in this country.We believe that every candidate for such an important office must be carefully evaluated on the basis of his or her entire record, including whether or not he or she has demonstrated a strong commitment to the protection of civil rights and civil liberties. This is the only thing that differentiates the democracy we want here and the tyranny of fanatic regimes like that of Sudan. How can we claim that we are different from the fanatic regime of Khartoum, Sudan – a government that arrogantly made the founder of the torture system their Chief Justice? How could GATS members trust that Mr. Gonzales, as Attorney General, would advocate on their behalf to bring the torturers to justice?We add our voice to all other survivors of torture and human rights activists in other organizations and call upon the United States Senate to reject the nomination of Alberto Gonzales as Attorney General of the United States.
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