Civil Rights Attorneys Want Bush Administration Lawyers Prosecuted

Velvet Revolution, a Washington, D.C. based non-profit organization, is calling for the United States government to hold torture lawyers accountable for crimes they have committed.

At a news conference Monday, prominent lawyers Bruce Fein and Kevin Zeese stated their intentions to file complaints against John Rizzo, the acting General Counsel of the CIA, and Jonathan Fredman, a lawyer for the Director of National Intelligence. Rizzo and Fredman have facilitated war crimes yet are still receiving government paychecks, said Zeese.

The United States has been criticized for allegedly torturing individuals at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, and Bagram Air Force Base.

Zeese also stated that the “United Nations Convention Against Torture”, which was signed by President Ronald Reagan, requires the prevention of torture. Therefore, if President Obama does not prosecute Rizzo and Fredman he would be in violation of the law.

Fein, who served as an attorney under President Reagan, criticized the United States for covering up torture in the name of political expediency, rather than prosecuting those involved with it. “That’s what the Soviet Union would do. That’s what China would do, not the United States of America,” said Fein.

“The toxicity of torture is a poison in our body politic, and there is only one way to remove it. And it’s not to sweep it under the rug. We have to look at the facts, understand what happened, and then hold those accountable through the rule of law,” said Zeese.

Former State Dept. Official: Chinese Need To End Oppression of Uyghurs

Randall G. Schriver, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia, testified in front of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, stating that the Chinese need to end the oppression of the Uyghurs so that they can live peaceful lives. (0:16)

Uyghur Gitmo Detainees Described As "Peaceful Men"

A group of 17 Uyghur men are being held at Guantanamo Bay for no reason according to the defense attorney for six of the men.

Uyghurs (Wee-gurs) are a group of Turkic people who live in the areas of Central Asia that is commonly known as East Turkestan. The men were picked up during the Afghan war by bounty hunters and handed over to the U.S. They believe they have been portrayed as dangerous terrorists, however, they have been working to change their image to that of peaceful, innocent men. They have been held at Guantanamo for 6 years.

“What the American public needs to understand about the Uyghurs at Guantanamo is that they have been exonerated by the military,” said Susan Baker Manning, a lawyer for six of the men, at a press conference Tuesday in Washington, D.C., “They were exonerated by the Bush administration and they have been exonerated by the courts. The courts have found that there is no evidence of a link to terrorism. The courts have found that there is no evidence that they are dangerous in any way, shape or form. We cannot in good faith and we cannot Constitutionally continue to imprison these innocent men at Guantanamo," Manning said.

According to Manning, a military translator confused the word “protest” in Uyghur for “fight.” She said the mistranslation may be the reason the men have been held at Guantanamo.

Manning added that she believes the administration is dedicated to the release of these men and it has to happen as soon as possible. There is currently a Supreme Court petition pending for a review of the men’s cases.

Statement by Center for Constitutional Rights on meeting with Obama

Vincent Warren, Executive Director of the Center for Constitutional Rights, met yesterday with President Obama. He released this statement:

CCR attended the meeting as did ACLU, Human Rights Watch, Charlie Swift and others. The president did not preview his speech for us. The president was very open in hearing CCR's concerns on a range of guantanamo policy issues. I came out of the meeting deeply disappointed in the direction that the administration is taking and I don't see meaningful differences between these detention policies and those erected by President Bush.

No Terrorists In My Backyard...Except Maybe In Michigan

By Jonathan Bronstein, Talk Radio News Service

Senators Mitch McConnell (center) and James Inohofe (left)

Zacarias Moussaoui, a convicted conspirator in the September 11 attacks, was jailed in the suburban Alexandria, Virginia, during his trial beginning in 2002. The effect that he had on the city was immense, as busy thoroughfares were shut down when he traveled back and forth from the jail to the court, and the entire jail was placed on lock down anytime he left his cell.

The fear of many members of Congress is that this dilemma will be replicated in cities throughout America because of the imminent closure of Guantanamo Bay.

On January 22, 2009 Barack Obama signed an executive order that would close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay in one year. This means that all detainees need to be relocated, and this process must occur quickly.

Senate Republicans are firmly opposed to the closure, and are gaining support from Democrats.

“We (the Republicans) feel united in wanting to do something to make sure we keep that (Guantanamo Bay) resource down there since there is no alternative,” said Senator James Inohofe (R-Okla.) today at the Senate Republicans weekly press conference.

The alternatives, according to Inohofe, would be to place detainees in two prisons Afghanistan, Bagram and Kandahar. But those prisons only accept Afghan citizens and refuse to take in terrorists from other nations, such as Yemen and Pakistan.

“Guantanamo Bay is the perfect place for terrorists,” said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who continued to say, “It has worked very, very well. No one has escaped from Guantanamo Bay since September 11, 2001.”

McConnell was pleased with the recent Democratic support for keeping Guantanamo Bay open, “They (the Democrats) are coming in the right direction.”

However, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) did not believe that the closure of Guantanamo Bay was necessary because he, along with Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.) and both Presidents Bush and Obama, believe that “Guantanamo makes us less safe.”

“The Senate overwhelmingly, does not want terrorists to be released in the United States,” said Reid vehemently.

Reid refused to divulge anymore information about the possibility of detainees being relocated to United States’s prisons, only saying “We (the Senate) do not want them around.”

However, Senator Carl Levin (D-Mich.) refused to state that Michigan would not accept Guantanamo Bay detainees, “If the governor and local government accept them then that ought to be considered.”

The acceptance of detainees would require the construction of a large, maximum-security prison that would help create jobs and stimulate the economy, which is the main reason why Levin believed that states would agree to accept detainees. But he reiterated that the local governments must make the decision.