Dear Spain: Please do what the U.S. won’t. Prosecute Torture.
A Spanish judge has just decided to proceed with a case against Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld. The Spanish legislature can be expected to try to block the case, unless perhaps they hear our voices loudly and clearly enough.
We began this effort in 2011, visiting Spanish embassies, generating media and placing advertisements in Spain, and communicating our appreciation for Spanish efforts to prosecute U.S. torturers. Now we need another big push.
Please sign this letter now, and we will deliver it to Spain:
(Leer en Español abajo.)
To the people of Spain
From the people of the United States of America and allies abroad
We are writing to thank you and to ask for your support as your courts consider cases to bring American officials to justice for the crime of torture. A Spanish judge, acting under international law, will soon decide whether to investigate U.S. officials' roles in authorizing torture. We hope you agree that such cases must go forward, despite pressure from the Obama administration to drop them.
The organizations signing this letter represent hundreds of thousands in the American public who believe the U.S. government must be held to the same rule of law as other countries. We are profoundly disappointed that our own government refuses to prosecute former officials, despite open admissions and government documents showing that they approved torture.
It will take a public show of support for the case to withstand pressures from Washington. WikiLeaks cables show the extremes to which U.S. officials have gone to thwart any attempt by Spain or other countries to uphold justice. We applaud the courage shown by Spanish officials who insist on giving priority to the rule of law.
Despite earlier assertions by President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder that waterboarding is torture, former President George W. Bush has publicly stated that he authorized waterboarding and added proudly that he would do it again. In a TV interview aired on November 8, 2010, Bush said he considered waterboarding legal "because the lawyer said it was legal." Waterboarding and other forms of torture were banned by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by the United States in 1994.
If international law is to serve any useful purpose, other countries must condemn violations "by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment," in the words of the chief prosecutor at Nuremberg.
We sincerely hope that the citizens of Spain and its judiciary will dispel the notion that any country is above the law.
Signed,
From the people of the United States of America and allies abroad
We are writing to thank you and to ask for your support as your courts consider cases to bring American officials to justice for the crime of torture. A Spanish judge, acting under international law, will soon decide whether to investigate U.S. officials' roles in authorizing torture. We hope you agree that such cases must go forward, despite pressure from the Obama administration to drop them.
The organizations signing this letter represent hundreds of thousands in the American public who believe the U.S. government must be held to the same rule of law as other countries. We are profoundly disappointed that our own government refuses to prosecute former officials, despite open admissions and government documents showing that they approved torture.
It will take a public show of support for the case to withstand pressures from Washington. WikiLeaks cables show the extremes to which U.S. officials have gone to thwart any attempt by Spain or other countries to uphold justice. We applaud the courage shown by Spanish officials who insist on giving priority to the rule of law.
Despite earlier assertions by President Barack Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder that waterboarding is torture, former President George W. Bush has publicly stated that he authorized waterboarding and added proudly that he would do it again. In a TV interview aired on November 8, 2010, Bush said he considered waterboarding legal "because the lawyer said it was legal." Waterboarding and other forms of torture were banned by the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, ratified by the United States in 1994.
If international law is to serve any useful purpose, other countries must condemn violations "by any other nations, including those which sit here now in judgment," in the words of the chief prosecutor at Nuremberg.
We sincerely hope that the citizens of Spain and its judiciary will dispel the notion that any country is above the law.
Signed,
26-50
of 37221 signatures
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| Number | Date | Name | Location | Optional: Add your message ... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 37196 | Wed Feb 18 17:55:55 EST 2015 | christine callanan | WI , US | |
| 37195 | Mon Feb 02 21:34:58 EST 2015 | Bonnie Tamres-Moore | TX , US | |
| 37194 | Mon Feb 02 19:30:08 EST 2015 | Suzanne O'Hatnick | MD , US | |
| 37193 | Mon Feb 02 14:59:08 EST 2015 | Kathryn Munnell | MD , US | |
| 37192 | Mon Feb 02 14:42:04 EST 2015 | Mibs Pell | MD , US | |
| 37191 | Sat Jan 31 10:54:15 EST 2015 | stan becker | MD , US | Please do not give in to pressure from the U.S. government. For the sake of future generations, we need to hold accountable those who tortured. |
| 37190 | Thu Jan 22 08:34:41 EST 2015 | Richard Bittner | CA , US | Torture is UnAmerican.Those who have perverted American values must be prosecuted as swiftly as possible. |
| 37189 | Thu Jan 01 22:01:02 EST 2015 | Gary Bradbury | AU | We need an independent investigation time Cheney and Co to face the music |
| 37188 | Thu Jan 01 22:00:57 EST 2015 | Gary Bradbury | AU | We need an independent investigation time Cheney and Co to face the music |
| 37187 | Sat Dec 27 21:11:20 EST 2014 | John Virden | TX , US | |
| 37186 | Fri Dec 26 18:59:52 EST 2014 | Ellen Ewig | WI , US | |
| 37185 | Thu Dec 25 21:05:07 EST 2014 | Bryan Wallace | CO , US | |
| 37184 | Thu Dec 25 11:48:08 EST 2014 | Polly Jackson | NM , US | |
| 37183 | Wed Dec 24 11:27:18 EST 2014 | Daniel Eastman | CO , US | |
| 37182 | Wed Dec 24 03:56:28 EST 2014 | Michael Phillips | TN , US | Please... be my conscious and prosecute these responsible. If the rest of the world won't hold them accountable where will this breakdown of international law end? |
| 37181 | Wed Dec 24 03:17:48 EST 2014 | Clay Adams | NY , US | |
| 37180 | Fri Dec 19 00:57:09 EST 2014 | Anonymous | IA , US | To torture is a war crime. To jail a whisle blower for the purpose of hiding a war crime is a crime. To ( over Classify) documents for the purpose of hiding a war crime is a crime!!!BUSH AND CHENEY More.... |
| 37179 | Tue Dec 16 06:43:15 EST 2014 | Phil Patterson | FL , US | Thank you you for doing what clearly needed to be done and for saying what so many Americans were whispering to each other. Our own despicable behavior cannot be condoned. Ever! |
| 37178 | Sun Dec 14 16:23:24 EST 2014 | Jan Wilkes | FL , US | |
| 37177 | Sat Dec 13 20:13:32 EST 2014 | Ann Tiffany | NY , US | |
| 37176 | Sat Dec 13 08:20:14 EST 2014 | Sarah B | NY , US | I am ashamed and distrustful of my US gov't. |
| 37175 | Wed Dec 10 22:12:28 EST 2014 | John Mitchell | NY , US | |
| 37174 | Wed Dec 10 22:00:25 EST 2014 | ron demarco | MA , US | |
| 37173 | Wed Dec 10 21:04:01 EST 2014 | Anonymous | NY , US | |
| 37172 | Wed Dec 10 20:10:12 EST 2014 | Sue Hammond | NY , US |
