Liberty and Justice for All
To Senator George Allen, Senator John Warner, and Representative Frank Wolf:
“No one should be above the law, but FBI agents have reported
government-funded abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay, including persons ‘chained hand and foot in a fetal position to the floor, with no chair, food, or water…for 18, 24 hours or more.’
“Funding should be stopped for Guantanamo Bay prison and secret government-funded prisons where these abusive practices are likely to occur.
“Congress should also ensure that all prisoners get such basic
protections as humane treatment, access to a lawyer and a court, the right to know the government’s charge against them, and a meaningful right to prove their innocence.
“The government should not be able to transfer prisoners to foreign governments that torture people. I have read that people are being shackled and flown on government-chartered planes to countries such as Syria and Egypt where they are tortured — typically without any criminal charge or any useful information being obtained. I understand that the government even kidnapped a Canadian citizen in New York, flew him to Syria where he was tortured for nine months, and then released him — without ever charging him with any crime.
“I have read that some prisoners are being held in complete secrecy. The federal government continues to hold prisoners, known as ‘ghost detainees,’ in secret prisons around the globe. These prisons were created after President Bush signed a secret presidential order based on a secret memorandum scheming to keep prisoners off prison rolls and outside the reach of the Red Cross.
“Once again, I urge you to cut off all funds for the Guantanamo Bay prison, for secret government-funded prisons around the globe and for sending people to foreign countries that torture people. I furthermore urge you to ensure that all prisoners get basic protections such as humane treatment, access to a lawyer and a court, the right to know the government’s charge against them and a meaningful chance to prove their innocence.”
You can easily send a letter like this to your senators and representatives, too. Just click below:
I have no doubt that some of the people being detained at Guantanamo Bay are really, really bad people — people who hate everything about the United States and would do anything they possibly could to destroy our country.
People like that scare the hell out of me. I mean… we’ve all seen what they’re capable of, right?
It’s easy to understand how some people might come to the conclusion that these detainees — these terrorists — don’t deserve the same kinds of rights we grant to citizens guilty of plain old garden-variety crimes here in the states. (Much less, the many protections we have in place for people who are only suspected of some crime but who haven’t yet gone to trial!)
Here’s the thing, though:
Freedom and democracy are not served by denying the civil rights of those who would destroy us.
If we truly want to show the rest of the world how great democracy is (and it is great!), we have to apply it to every situation. We have to show them that democracy really works. That it really is all about being fair and open and honest.
We’ve got to close down those “secret prisons.” We’ve got to name the people we’ve got in custody, officially charge them with crimes (or set them free), provide them with legal counsel, treat them humanely while they’re awaiting trial, and we’ve got to show them what democracy is all about.
We’ve got to show them justice.
Posted by RebeccaHartong on June 16, 2005 under Uncategorized
Add A Comment