DC & Around the Country! Alliance for Justice Sponsors Torture Accountability Day November 12th

On Thursday, November 12, Alliance for Justice is holding a National Torture Accountability Day.

There are three ways your organization can get involved:

Take Action in Washington, DC:

On November 12th, the Federalist Society, an ultraconservative legal organization, is featuring John Yoo, one of the authors of the infamous “torture memos,” as a speaker at their annual convention at The Mayflower Hotel, 1127 Connecticut Ave. NW, Washington, DC.

Alliance for Justice invites local activists to join us outside the Mayflower Hotel, as we hand out copies of the U.S. Constitution and ask that Attorney General Eric Holder authorize a full investigation of the Bush administration’s descent into torture.

Attached is a promotional flyer about the November 12th action outside the Federalist Society convention at the Mayflower Hotel. Please distribute this flyer to your supporters in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area.

Urge activists to sign a petition – and place a call to Attorney General Holder:

On November 12, Alliance for Justice is asking people to sign an online petition and call Attorney General Holder to urge him to release the report by the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) on the conduct of Justice Department lawyers who provided legal cover for torture.

Sample Call Script:

I'm calling to ask the Attorney General to immediately release the OPR Report on the lawyers who wrote the “torture memos” and conduct a full investigation of torture.

The Bush administration turned America into a nation that tortures, and we have a right to know what was done, what laws were broken, and hold those who are responsible accountable so this never happens again.

Only by knowing the facts can our nation move forward and take the necessary actions to uphold the Constitution and the law.

Thank you for taking my call.

Background:

President Barack Obama ended six years of American torture of suspected terrorists arising from the aftermath of the 9-11 attacks. U.S. torture was originally outlined and sanctioned in 2002 by a series of memos drafted by lawyers in the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel.

The Department of Justice has been investigating the infamous "torture memos" since 2004. A report on the findings was expected by June of this year. More than four months later, we are still waiting to hear from the Justice Department on exactly who authorized the use of torture by American men and women.

The lack of public information about how torture was approved keeps the focus on the actions of CIA interrogators, rather than investigating those who designed, ordered, and justified torture.

For the past five years, while the facts have been concealed, questions about the responsibility of the lawyers who allowed torture have been debated in the court of public opinion while they should be settled in a court of law. Releasing the report is the first step in establishing accountability.

Please contact Kellye McIntosh, Associate Outreach Director at Alliance for Justice, at kellye@afj.org or 202-822-6070 for more information on these activities.