The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: press@ccrjustice.org

CCR Executive Director Decries Reported Holder Promise Not to Prosecute for Torture

In
response to reports of a possible promise by Attorney General Nominee Eric
Holder to senior Republican members of Congress that he would not prosecute Bush
Administration officials involved in torture, Center for Constitutional Rights
Executive Director Vincent Warren issued the following
statement:

If true, Holder's promise not
to prosecute Bush administration officials for torture is deeply disturbing.

NEW YORK

In
response to reports of a possible promise by Attorney General Nominee Eric
Holder to senior Republican members of Congress that he would not prosecute Bush
Administration officials involved in torture, Center for Constitutional Rights
Executive Director Vincent Warren issued the following
statement:

If true, Holder's promise not
to prosecute Bush administration officials for torture is deeply disturbing.

It is the job of the Attorney
General to prosecute crimes where they are committed, not to judge whether it is
politically expedient to do so.

As a nation, we have to be able
to look squarely at the torture program and hold the individuals responsible
accountable. The only way to deter future descent into torture and lawlessness
is to send a clear and unequivocal message through prosecution to those who
would break the law and to the international community.

CCR has led the legal battle over
Guantanamo for
the last six years - sending the first ever habeas attorney to the base and
sending the first attorney to meet with a former CIA "ghost detainee." CCR has
been responsible for organizing and coordinating more than 500 pro bono lawyers
across the country in order to represent the men at Guantanamo, ensuring that
nearly all have the option of legal representation. CCR represented the
detainees with co-counsel in the most recent argument before the Supreme Court
on December 5, 2007.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated
to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States
Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by
attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a
non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of
law as a positive force for social change. Visit www.ccrjustice.org.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

(212) 614-6464