Constitutional Law

These 150,000 Pages Demand Accountability

By Ateqah Khaki, ACLU

As you know if you've been keeping up with the 'Document a Day,' all month long we've been commemorating 'Torture Awareness Month' by highlighting documents from the voluminous pages of previously secret government records that show that hundreds of prisoners were abused or tortured in U.S. custody, and that the torture policies were devised and developed at the highest levels of the Bush administration. However, there has been very little public outcry for meaningful accountability, and despite the extensive documentation that exists, the U.S. has yet to hold any high-level officials accountable for their roles in the torture program.

So to show Americans what 150,000 pages of torture documents look like, the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union organized a "flash mob" event today, on the eve of International Day in Support if Victims of Torture, at Union Square in New York City. The purpose of our display was to visually depict the 150,000 pages of torture documents that the ACLU has unearthed through litigation under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), to remind the public that the United States has yet to hold accountable government officials who knew about and authorized torture under the Bush administration, and to encourage people to take action.

Stay tuned for a video documenting our activity, as well as a similar flash mob organized by the ACLU of Southern California in Los Angeles today, as well as more information about how you can join in our call for accountability. And if you haven't already, send a message to Attorney General Holder today demanding a thorough investigation of torture crimes.

Full post as published by Blog of Rights on June 25, 2010 (boomark / email).