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
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
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,
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of 10206 signatures
Next ->
| Number | Date | Name | Optional: Add your message ... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10206 | Fri Apr 25 04:18:54 EDT 2014 | Blanca McBrien | |
| 10205 | Thu Apr 24 18:09:44 EDT 2014 | Emilie Trautmann | |
| 10204 | Thu Apr 24 17:19:53 EDT 2014 | Madeline Labriola | Let's make these men face the consequences of their actions. Thank you Spain. |
| 10203 | Thu Apr 24 17:18:04 EDT 2014 | Aurelie Andry | |
| 10202 | Thu Apr 24 17:12:21 EDT 2014 | John P. Orlandello | |
| 10201 | Thu Apr 24 16:18:37 EDT 2014 | Rosemarie Pace | |
| 10200 | Thu Apr 24 11:40:05 EDT 2014 | Banbose Shango | |
| 10199 | Thu Apr 24 09:21:50 EDT 2014 | Theresa F Alt | |
| 10198 | Thu Apr 24 09:17:17 EDT 2014 | alis castano | |
| 10197 | Thu Apr 24 01:08:49 EDT 2014 | Aileen lowe | It is an international matter of justice to the people who have been used and killed to promote greed. The US administration under Bush, Cheney and Rumsfeld need to be held accountable for their actions More.... |
| 10196 | Thu Apr 24 00:22:51 EDT 2014 | Melanie Moorehead | |
| 10195 | Wed Apr 23 22:06:12 EDT 2014 | Robert and Louise Amyot | Muchissimas gracias por su buena voluntad en este. |
| 10194 | Wed Apr 23 16:24:52 EDT 2014 | Anonymous | |
| 10193 | Wed Apr 23 14:22:53 EDT 2014 | Mary Hladky | |
| 10192 | Wed Apr 23 13:39:28 EDT 2014 | Patricia Blair | |
| 10191 | Wed Apr 23 12:11:19 EDT 2014 | H. Bruce Franklin | |
| 10190 | Wed Apr 23 10:27:54 EDT 2014 | Ellen E Barfield | Thank you Spanish judges for trying to bring justice worldwide! |
| 10189 | Wed Apr 23 10:26:13 EDT 2014 | Joseph Dignam | |
| 10188 | Wed Apr 23 09:36:19 EDT 2014 | John Lamperti | |
| 10187 | Wed Apr 23 09:15:53 EDT 2014 | Anonymous | |
| 10186 | Wed Apr 23 08:13:51 EDT 2014 | Russell Christensen | Please go ahead and prosecute. the world has to wake up to the games our leaders play. Russ Christensen |
| 10185 | Wed Apr 23 07:41:43 EDT 2014 | James Del Duca | Viva la democracia! |
| 10184 | Wed Apr 23 07:12:02 EDT 2014 | Karyn Stack | |
| 10183 | Wed Apr 23 05:55:55 EDT 2014 | jo faso | |
| 10182 | Wed Apr 23 00:40:28 EDT 2014 | Leah Bolger |
