{"id":97,"date":"2015-07-15T22:01:06","date_gmt":"2015-07-16T02:01:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ncstn.org\/content\/?page_id=97"},"modified":"2024-01-22T17:52:12","modified_gmt":"2024-01-22T22:52:12","slug":"take-action","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/ncstn.org\/content\/take-action\/","title":{"rendered":"Take Action"},"content":{"rendered":"

Write to North Carolina’s Governor Roy Cooper and Attorney General Josh Stein.\u00a0 Call on them to act on th<\/strong>e NC Commission of Inquiry on Torture report!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"\"
Beth Brockman at press conference, February 2012.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

September 2018<\/em> — The repo<\/a><\/span><\/span>rt<\/a> of the NC\u00a0Commission of Inquiry on\u00a0<\/span>Torture<\/span>\u00a0lays out the responsibility of state and county officials in N<\/span>orth Carolina to investigate 49 cases of conspiracy to kidnap.\u00a0 These “extraordinary rendition” flights were flown by pilots of Aero Contractors from its headquarters at the Johnston County Airport, or from its hangar at the Kinston Gl<\/span>obal TransPark.<\/span><\/p>\n

The report explains North Carolina’s obligation under international and federal law.\u00a0 It names the state laws that enable county and state officials to investigate.\u00a0 It describes their investigative authority.<\/span><\/p>\n

Download the petition to Gov. Cooper and AG Stein<\/strong><\/span> here<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0 Use these sample letters to Gov. Cooper<\/a><\/span> and AG Stein<\/a><\/span>.\u00a0\u00a0As the petition says,<\/span><\/p>\n

We urge Governor Cooper and Attorney General Stein to hold private contractors such as Aero Contractors accountable for involvement in the torture program.<\/span><\/p>\n

Enforce state, federal, and international law.\u00a0 Stop hosting Aero at our public airports.\u00a0 Don\u2019t let North Carolina be home to \u201ctorture taxis.\u201d<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/a>The Senate Torture Report: Follow Up February 25, 2015: Protest Government Whitewashing of Senate Torture Report at Two Concurrent Vigils<\/h2>\n

Raleigh: 10 am, Terry Sanford Federal Building (Person and New Bern streets)
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

If you can’t join us at one of these protests, please call, email or tweet!<\/a><\/p>\n

PRESIDENT OBAMA: @BarackObama, 202-456-1111, or e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We call on you to:<\/p>\n

– Order Federal Agencies to Stop Ignoring the Torture Report<\/b>: The Justice and State departments received the full torture report, but locked it away and have not used it meaningfully. The State Department marked the envelope: “Congressional Record \u2013 Do Not Open, Do Not Access.”<\/p>\n

– Direct the Attorney General to Appoint a Special Prosecutor<\/b>: Either Eric Holder or his successor should appoint a prosecutor with full authority to conduct an independent, complete examination of the torture program, as well as the cover-up and the CIA’s spying on its Senate overseers. No one should be above the law.<\/p>\n

– Provide Apology and Compensation<\/b>: Publicly acknowledge and apologize to the victims of U.S. torture policies. To comply with international law, appoint an independent body to provide compensation and rehabilitation.<\/p>\n

SENATOR BURR:<\/b> @SenatorBurr, (800) 685-8916 (Winston-Salem) or (202) 224-3154 (DC) or e-mail<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We call on you to:<\/p>\n

\u2013\u00a0Release the Full Report on CIA Torture; Stop Trying to Bury It<\/b>: As intelligence Chair, it is your duty to oversee the CIA, not protect it! The full 6,900-page report contains as-yet undisclosed and important details on the failed, brutal program. The American people have a right to see the full picture, including the role of private contractors and collaborating intelligence agencies.<\/p>\n

– Demand a Complete CIA Accounting of all Prisoners Rendered and Tortured<\/b>: Children were rendered by the CIA and were not included in the torture report. At least 16 detainees omitted from the summary of the report were secretly transported to torture chambers by CIA-run Aero Contractors of Johnston County, NC. The CIA must provide the complete list of victims and survivors of torture.<\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>Tell Senator Burr: Americans Deserve to See the Full Senate Torture Report<\/a><\/h2>\n

Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), the new Chair of the Senate Committee charged with overseeing the CIA, wants to wash the committee’s hands and our memories of the spy agency’s recent crimes.<\/b><\/p>\n

National media report that Sen. Burr is seeking to ensure his committee’s 6,700-page investigation into the United States’ torture program never becomes available to the average citizen.<\/p>\n

Burr casts the torture report as a partisan effort to smear the George W. Bush administration.\u00a0 He must not trust the American people to see it the way he does.<\/p>\n

His latest efforts aim to undermine the report, and shield it from public scrutiny now and forever.<\/p>\n

Tell him Tar Heels won’t stand for his shenanigans!<\/b>
\n<\/span><\/p>\n

As a hub for aircraft and flight crews that delivered innocent men and children to torture chambers, North Carolinians have a special responsibility to demand accountability.<\/p>\n

Take a moment to call or e-mail Sen. Burr today.<\/p>\n

Click here<\/strong><\/a> to send an email to Senator Burr.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Or call him at:<\/strong>
\nWinston-Salem
\nPhone: (800) 685-8916<\/strong>
\nPhone: (336) 631-5125<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\nWashington, DC
\nPhone: (202) 224-3154<\/strong>
\n<\/strong>
\nHere is an example of what you can say or write:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Senator Burr:<\/em><\/p>\n

I’m disappointed that you have asked the White House to return copies of the Senate Select Intelligence Committee torture report to the Committee.<\/em><\/p>\n

Clearly, you don’t trust your constituents and other Americans to read the report and draw their own conclusions.\u00a0 We deserve to see the entire 6,700-page report.\u00a0 <\/em>
\nInstead of trying to erase history, you should be holding the officials who ordered the CIA\u2019s torture program accountable.\u00a0 You should also lead an investigation into the infrastructure of torture hosted in our state and the complicity of state and local law enforcement and elected officials in the program.<\/em><\/p>\n

Respectfully,<\/em><\/p>\n

Additional details are here <\/a>and here<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\n

<\/a>Americans Are Paying Attention:
\nTake Action on Torture Now!<\/h2>\n

“‘Does torture work?’ as a question needs to be put in the bin with ‘Is slavery commercially feasible?’ and ‘Can genocide help overpopulation?<\/i><\/b>‘”
\n— Dec. 10, 2014 tweet from Hend, @LibyaLiberty<\/p>\n

The world is digesting appalling revelations from the Senate torture report.\u00a0 Release of the redacted executive summary is a historic step forward.\u00a0 Those who have compiled the report and fought for its partial publication should be saluted for their tenacity and courage.<\/p>\n

However, much information remains secret, including important facts about detainees and flights that will help to expose North Carolina’s extensive role in extraordinary rendition.\u00a0 Sen. Richard Burr has denounced the report as a partisan witch-hunt and proclaimed that under his leadership, the Senate Intelligence Committee will ignore the report and move on.<\/p>\n

What we can do:<\/p>\n

\n
    \n
  1. Thank outgoing Senate Intelligence Chair Dianne Feinstein (@SenFeinstein,www.facebook.com\/SenatorFeinstein<\/a>) for release of the summary.<\/li>\n
  2. 2. Contact Senator Richard Burr, incoming Intelligence Chair, here<\/a>.\u00a0 Suggested talking points:
    \n
    \n
      \n
    1. Torture is a moral issue.\u00a0 Exposing it is not smearing Bush — there is blame to go around.\u00a0 Torture is always wrong.<\/li>\n
    2. Opposition to torture should unite Republicans and Democrats.<\/li>\n
    3. Release the full report and help us address North Carolinas role.\u00a0 All the survivors and families of victims deserve justice!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/li>\n
    4. Write letters-to-the-editor.\u00a0 This is the time to keep pushing!<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      Background:<\/span><\/p>\n

      At least 18 of the 34 rendition survivors and victims transported for the CIA by Aero Contractors were named in the Senate report, validating what we have contended since 2005 that North Carolina is deeply involved.\u00a0 Yet the words ‘North Carolina’ appear nowhere in what was released on Dec. 9.\u00a0 The CIA and perhaps other government entities maintained vital rendition infrastructure in our state for many years.\u00a0 Our public airports functioned as aviation hubs to transport incapacitated detainees to secret prisons where they were held indefinitely and interrogated under often-brutal torture.<\/p>\n

      The names of 119 CIA detainees appear in Appendix 2 of the summary, and we learned some of those names for the first time on Tuesday.\u00a0 Yet other survivors of CIA extraordinary rendition are not on the published list, including:<\/p>\n