For Immediate Release: March 29, 2012
Contact: Samantha Friedman: (202) 265-3000 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it  

U.S. government’s use of torture MUST be investigated
Polish government act stands in stark contrast to lack of U.S. government response

Washington, D.C. – Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture, released this statement today responding to reports that Zbigniew Siemiatkowsk, the former head of Poland’s intelligence service, has been charged for his role in allowing the CIA to run a secret "black site" prison in Poland in which the CIA is alleged to have abused prisoners:

"It is important that we applaud Poland for the significant contribution it is making to the cause of human rights by investigating this secret CIA-run ‘black site’ prison and the torture that is alleged to have occurred in it.  Unfortunately, we cannot similarly commend the United States.  Despite ample opportunity to investigate its past use of torture, and widespread acknowledgement that torture was used by CIA interrogators and others, the U.S. government has consistently refused to allow any form of accountability or atonement for its past actions.  This is a serious mistake.

People of faith know that torture is wrong; lawyers know that it’s illegal; and soldiers know it doesn’t work.  It’s time for our government to establish a non-partisan Commission of Inquiry to investigate our past use of torture and to make recommendations for preventing its use in the future."