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Holder on the Verge of Violating Convention Against Torture With Very Limited Investigation by Special Prosecutor
from Kevin Zeese
"The Holder Department of Justice is putting politics ahead of the law."
Washington, DC: Today, Kevin Zeese, an attorney who filed complaints seeking the disbarment of 15 Bush-Cheney torture lawyers, derided the likely appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate less than a dozen cases of torture.
“The Attorney General does not have the discretion to selectively prosecute torture cases. The Convention Against Torture requires an investigation of all incidents of torture including the policy makers and lawyers who facilitated the policy. It is a shame to see that politics comes before law enforcement in the Holder Department of Justice,” said Kevin Zeese, executive director of www.VotersForPeace.US.
Zeese sent a letter to the attorney general on August 10th 2009, on behalf of 150 organizations seeking an independent special prosecutor which provided specific citations to the Convention demonstrating that selective prosecution of torture was illegal. The letter concluded:
“You can restore our moral high ground and the Department of Justice’s reputation as an agency that follows the law by appointing a special prosecutor, independent of the Department of Justice, with the very clear mandate – investigate the facts and apply the rule of law wherever it leads – as required by the Convention Against Torture.”
See, “Groups Call on Attorney General Holder to Appoint Independent Special Prosecutor to Investigate Torture,” http://votersforpeace.us/press/index.php?itemid=2457.
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“The Convention Against Torture, which was signed by President Ronald Reagan, does not give government’s discretion to ignore torture. It must be investigated and prosecuted. Surely, the Attorney General is aware of these requirements yet he has chosen to ignore the law. His decision is intended to protect policy makers and torture lawyers who participated in violating the law. Sadly, it means the U.S. still has a lawless Department of Justice when it comes to war crimes committed by Americans,” - Kevin Zeese.
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For more information visit www.DisbarTortureLawyers.com a project spearheaded by Velvet Revolution and www.VotersForPeace.US.
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