http://www.cvt.org/files/pg55/Statement_ObamaAdminRemarks_AntiTorture_Draft_28Sept2011.pdf
Statement from the Center for Victims of Torture
of this group is former Vice President Dick Cheney, who vigorously defends the previous
Administration’s unlawful and misguided interrogation policies in his memoir and during
subsequent national media appearances.
Over the past few months, the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) has been actively engaged in
calling upon President Obama and senior members of his Administration to reassert the Obama
Administration’s renunciation and rejection of torture. That is why we welcome the news that, in a
It is clear this Administration will not violate the rule of law, undermine our national security and
imperil our moral leadership throughout the world.
We know there is still work to be done. We continue to work with other human rights groups to
prevent the use of sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation and indefinite detention. Such treatment
rises to the level of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and has serious physical and
psychological consequences.
CVT will not cease in our efforts to ensure that no future presidency slips back to official policies
of torture. We remain committed to the establishment of an independent, nonpartisan commission
to investigate the use of torture and cruelty in counterterrorism activities post-September 11,
2001.
Statement from the Center for Victims of Torture
St. Paul, MN – Since the capture and killing of Osama bin Laden, there has been a small but
vocal group calling for the return to policies of torture and cruel treatment of detainees. A leader
of this group is former Vice President Dick Cheney, who vigorously defends the previous
Administration’s unlawful and misguided interrogation policies in his memoir and during
subsequent national media appearances.
Over the past few months, the Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) has been actively engaged in
calling upon President Obama and senior members of his Administration to reassert the Obama
Administration’s renunciation and rejection of torture. That is why we welcome the news that, in a
span of one week, two high-ranking officials in the Obama Administration, Assistant to the
President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism John O. Brennan and Attorney General
Eric H. Holder, Jr., made unequivocal statements that this Administration will not use torture.1
It is clear this Administration will not violate the rule of law, undermine our national security and
imperil our moral leadership throughout the world.
We know there is still work to be done. We continue to work with other human rights groups to
prevent the use of sleep deprivation, prolonged isolation and indefinite detention. Such treatment
rises to the level of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and has serious physical and
psychological consequences.
CVT will not cease in our efforts to ensure that no future presidency slips back to official policies
of torture. We remain committed to the establishment of an independent, nonpartisan commission
to investigate the use of torture and cruelty in counterterrorism activities post-September 11,
2001.
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