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A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: media@aclu.org

Obama Endorses Bush Secrecy On Torture And Rendition

After
the British High Court ruled that evidence of British resident Binyam
Mohamed's extraordinary rendition and torture at Guantanamo Bay must
remain secret because of threats made by the Bush administration to
halt intelligence sharing, the Obama administration told the BBC today
in a written statement: "The United States thanks the UK government for
its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security
information and preserve the long-standing intelligence sharing
relationship that enables both countries to protect their citizens."

NEW YORK

After
the British High Court ruled that evidence of British resident Binyam
Mohamed's extraordinary rendition and torture at Guantanamo Bay must
remain secret because of threats made by the Bush administration to
halt intelligence sharing, the Obama administration told the BBC today
in a written statement: "The United States thanks the UK government for
its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security
information and preserve the long-standing intelligence sharing
relationship that enables both countries to protect their citizens."

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union:

"Hope is flickering. The Obama
administration's position is not change. It is more of the same. This
represents a complete turn-around and undermining of the restoration of
the rule of law. The new American administration shouldn't be complicit
in hiding the abuses of its predecessors."

When the ACLU learned of the High
Court's ruling earlier today, it sent a letter to Secretary of State
Hillary Rodham Clinton urging her to clarify the Obama administration's
position relating to the Mohamed case and calling on her to reject the
Bush administration's policy of using false claims of national security
to avoid judicial review of controversial programs.

The ACLU's letter to Secretary of State Clinton is available online at: www.aclu.org/safefree/general/38660leg20090204.html

The British High Court ruling is available online at: www.judiciary.gov.uk/docs/judgments_guidance/mohamed-judgment4-04022009.pdf

The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.

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