Contact: Sharon Singh, [email protected], 202-675-8579, @spksingh
(Washington, D.C.) – Suzanne Nossel, Amnesty International USA executive director issued the following statement in response to the latest release of U.S. military detention policy documents by Wikileaks:
“These documents underscore the need for a thorough accounting of the U.S. government’s handling of detainees. Despite some reform and the Obama administration’s rhetoric, human rights violations under the guise of national security continue –including detention without charge, unfair military commission trials and impunity for torture.
“The constant drip of disturbing revelations, without a full and impartial investigation and accountability, becomes the responsibility of not only the leaders during the time the abuses were committed, but also the current leaders, who subsequently turned a blind eye to the mountains of evidence and the obligation to mount such an investigation.
“To truly demonstrate that the Obama administration is genuinely committed to human rights and to the rule of law, the veil needs to be lifted from the secrecy that has obscured human rights abuses from public scrutiny, and shielded those responsible from accountability.
“If there is no accountability for past crimes, it sends the message that some people are above the law, and it makes it more likely that the crimes will continue to be committed.”
Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 3 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.