FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE DATE:
Contact: Gail
Davidson, Lawyers Against the War, 1-(604) 738-0338, law@portal.ca Elizabeth
Ramos, War
Criminals Watch/World Can't Wait, warcriminalswatch@worldcantwait.net
Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK, (415) 583-0608, codepink.nancy@gmail.com
Torture
Opponents
Say Ban Dick Cheney from Canada or Arrest and Prosecute Him
(Toronto) Torture suspect and former U.S. Vice
President Richard (Dick) Cheney is scheduled to speak at the Toronto
Global Forum, October 31, 2013, at the Metro Toronto Convention
Centre. The event is hosted by the International Economic Forum of
the Americas.
Lawyers and others are urging Canada to either
bar Dick Cheney from Canada as a person credibly accused of torture –
or to arrest and prosecute him on arrival, as required by the
Convention against Torture. That Dick Cheney authorized, directed and
failed to prevent the widespread use of torture by US officials on
non-Americans detained in off-shore prisons is no longer open to
question. The United Nations Committee Against Torture has determined
that torture suspects temporarily in Canada must be dealt with in
accordance with the Convention.
A letter has been sent to
Canada's Prime Minister, Attorney General and Ministers of Foreign
Affairs and Immigration advising them of Canada's legal
obligations. For a complete copy of the letter submitted click
here.
Gail Davidson,
spokesperson for Lawyers Against the War noted, "Evidence
of Dick Cheney's involvement in torture and other gross human
rights abuses is overwhelming. It is time for the law to step in.
"
"Former Vice President Cheney led the Bush
administration into a war based on lies which destroyed Iraq,
directing a far-flung regime of torture, rendition and detention he
referred to as 'the dark side.' He should be indicted and prosecuted
for violations of the conventions against torture,"
stated Debra Sweet, director of World Can't Wait.
"Thus far the U.S. has failed
to prosecute anyone up the chain of command for abuses that have
occurred in the highest offices of the United States of America,
setting a precedent for future leaders to repeat the same crimes,"
states Nancy Mancias, CODEPINK organizer. "We look to the
leaders in Canada to take steps to ban former Vice President Dick
Cheney from entering the country or prosecuting him for his involvement in
torture and the illegal invasion of Iraq." Lawyers
Against the War (LAW) is a
Canada-based committee of jurists and others who oppose war and
advocate for adherence to international humanitarian law and against
impunity for violators.
World
Can't Wait is a US-based
movement formed to halt and reverse the terrible program of war and
repression, initiated by the Bush/Cheney regime as well as the
on-going crimes that continue to this day – www.worldcantwait.net.
War Criminals Watch
is a project of World Can't Wait – www.warcriminalswatch.org.
CODEPINK
is a US women-initiated grassroots peace and social justice movement
working to end US- funded wars and occupations, to challenge
militarism globall, and to redirect our resources into health care,
education, green jobs and other life-affirming activities – www.codepink.org.
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