NEW YORK, NY -- January 4 -- Human Rights First today announced the launch of its online campaign, EndTortureNow.org, to mobilize the American public to oppose the U.S. government’s ongoing secret detentions and abuse of prisoners at U.S. detention facilities. Attorney General nominee Albert Gonzales and his record as the architect of the administration’s torture policy will be a first target of the campaign.

“Mr. Gonzales has a compelling life story: the son of a poor immigrant who beat the odds and is living the American dream, but there are serious questions about his record, namely his commitment to upholding the Constitution and the rule of law,” said Michael Posner, Executive Director of Human Rights First. “As White House Counsel, Gonzales and his staff have crafted legal interpretations of U.S. and international law that ignore the human rights of its prisoners in the ‘war against terror.’ These policies have resulted in secret detentions, torture, and other abuses in Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo Bay, and other U.S. detention facilities around the world, trampling human rights guaranteed by the U.S. Constitution and the Geneva Conventions.”

EndTortureNow.org urges the public to contact their Senators – and urge Members to examine Gonzales’ positions on torture when he appears before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearings on January 6, 2005. Specifically, EndTortureNow.org seeks clarification on the following points:

Does he believe the Geneva Conventions apply to all those captured by U.S. authorities in Afghanistan and Iraq?

Does he support affording the International Committee of the Red Cross access to all detainees in U.S. custody?

What rights under U.S. or international law do suspected members of Al Qaeda, the Taliban, or members of similar organizations have when brought into the care or custody of U.S. military, law enforcement, or intelligence forces?

Does he believe that torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment – such as dietary manipulation, forced nudity, prolonged solitary confinement, or threats of harm – may lawfully be used by U.S. authorities so long as the detainee is an “unlawful combatant” as he has defined it?

Does he believe that CIA and other government intelligence agencies are bound by the same laws and restrictions that constrain the operations of the U.S. Armed Forces engaged in detention and interrogation operations abroad?

Concerned citizens can join this call for action and urge that their Senators ask Mr. Gonzales about his record on torture at Http://www.EndTortureNow.org. End Torture Now has also prepared a report on Gonzales' role in the administration’s policies on torture, secret detention, and other abuses. The report, and background information on Gonzales’ record is available at: http://www.humanrightsfirst.com/us_law/etn/gonzales/index.asp

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