(Washington, D.C.) In response to the recent release of Wikileaks documents describing the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Rev. Richard Killmer, Executive Director of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT), released this statement today:
“These documents are the latest in a series of leaks that point to serious flaws in our system of treating detainees. Whether describing a simple shepherd who was held for three years despite evidence that he was not a threat or a detainee who was treated like a dog, sexually humiliated, and forced to urinate on himself, these documents point toward an immoral, incompetent brutality that should be unacceptable to all Americans. Our nation made grave mistakes that led to the use of torture and other forms of cruelty.
“While President Obama has ordered improvements in the treatment of detainees, he has not taken the necessary step of creating a Commission of Inquiry to review all aspects of our treatment and interrogation of detainees to ensure that in the future, we treat detainees in a moral way. Our nation faces a crisis of conscience.
“Will we take an honest look at the mistakes we made and move forward with a plan to ensure that they are not repeated? Or will we continue to try to cover up the past and allow the slow drip of leaked documents to continue to demonstrate the immorality of our treatment of post 9/11 detainees?”
The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, 300 religious groups have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian Universalist, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, Baha’i, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations
