BORDC Decries DOJ’s Derogation of International Human Rights

Calls for Expanded Investigation and Prosecutions

Contact:

Amy E. Ferrer, Associate Director
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
media@bordc.org
(413) 582-0110

Northampton, MA—Following the Justice Department’s release on Friday of its Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) report finding Bush administration lawyers who authorized criminal conduct at the highest levels of government culpable only of “poor judgment,” the Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) called today for prosecutions of those former federal officials to prevent torture from recurring in the future. Given the unlikelihood of the Justice Department to pursue meaningful accountability or deterrence given its internal institutional interests, BORDC continues to promote long overdue independent action by Congress, as well as state courts and bar associations.

BORDC has crafted model legislation enabling municipal legislative bodies, such as town meetings and city councils, to assert universal jurisdiction under well-established principles of international law and authorize prosecution of federal officials complicit in torture by local district attorneys enforcing the Convention Against Torture (CAT). If the federal government continues to abdicate its legal duty to investigate, the responsibility to enforce international human rights falls to the sovereign states.

Dick Cheney recently admitted to violating international law by ordering government lawyers to contrive legal opinions authorizing conduct long considered by the international community to constitute torture. Others have alleged that their authorizations were part of a pre-meditated, coordinated campaign to construct a public case justifying the invasion of Iraq.

According to Shahid Buttar, executive director of BORDC, “These lawyers invited future torture around the world of victims including US troops, drove recruits into the arms of our nation’s enemies, and dishonored the sacrifices of veterans of our nation’s world-historic victory in WWII. States are well within their rights to pursue prosecution—in fact, they routinely prosecute far less objectionable conduct every day.”

BORDC’s spring 2009 letters to Attorney General Holder were joined by nearly 500 K-12 educators, more than 100 interfaith leaders, 100 medical professionals, and more than 200 legal professionals, all noting how the Department of Justice’s failure to enforce provisions of the CAT mandating investigation of all credible torture allegations, and prosecution wherever warranted, has offended the ethical integrity of their respective professions.

Thousands more Americans joined BORDC in seeking inquiries by the bar associations of five states in which lawyers who authorized torture (as well as other human rights abuses and violations of constitutional rights) maintain licenses to practice law. Most have dismissed complaints without examining the allegations; others have deferred to the Justice Department’s internal investigation. According to Chip Pitts, chair of BORDC's board of directors, “These analyses aimed to justify criminal acts by government officials. Unless those officials are held accountable, we risk undermining fundamental ethical standards and international legal protections against torture.”

Formed immediately after the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001, The Bill of Rights Defense Committee (BORDC) is a national organization defending constitutional rights and civil liberties violated by “war on terror” laws and policies. BORDC’s mission is to promote, organize, and support a diverse, effective, national grassroots movement to restore and protect civil rights and liberties guaranteed by the Bill of Rights. Our purpose is to educate people about the significance of those rights in our lives; to encourage widespread civic participation; and to cultivate and share the organizing tools and strategies needed for people to convert their concern, outrage, and fear into debate and action to restore Bill of Rights protections.

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