Press Release
November 2, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Rev. Richard Killmer,
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, 202-547-1920 or 207-450-7242
Linda Gustitus, 202-557-8867 or 563-289-3462
National Interfaith Organization Weighs in on Mukasey Nomination; Urges Clear Rejection of Torture and Waterboarding
(Washington, DC) - The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), a campaign of over 130 religious organizations, wrote to the members of the Senate Judiciary Committee today expressing deep concern about the responses of Judge Michael Mukasey on the subject of torture and urging the committee members to "approve a nominee as Attorney General who is unequivocal in his or her stance against the use of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment."
NRCAT President, Linda Gustitus, and NRCAT Executive Director, Rev. Richard Killmer, told the committee that Judge Mukasey's answers "leave open the door to the use of techniques by the U.S. government that would be cruel, inhuman and degrading and that could amount to torture."
Referring to the period when Alberto Gonzalez was Attorney General, Gustitus and Killmer said, "It is time to turn a new page. It would be tragic to allow an individual, despite his or her legal training and ability, who has not clearly rejected the illegal and immoral practices of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment to become the leading law enforcement officer of our nation."
NRCAT's members include representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Orthodox Christian, Unitarian Universalist, Jewish, Quaker, Muslim, and Sikh communities. Over 18,000 individuals have signed NRCAT's "Statement of Conscience" against torture. In October, NRCAT sponsored the showing of the documentary "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib" in over 500 congregations nationwide.
