CVT Statement on Justice Department Ending Investigation into CIA Interrogations

Today’s announcement from Attorney General Eric Holder does not close the book on holding accountable those government officials who authorized and engaged in torture and cruel treatment.

CVT will not cease in our efforts to ensure the United States does not return to official policies of torture and cruel treatment.  CVT renews its call for the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence to make public its forthcoming report on the CIA’s detention and interrogation program with as few redactions as possible.

The public is entitled to a complete reporting of the facts, detailing how and why the CIA’s policies of torture and cruel treatment came to be used.

We also remain committed to the establishment of an independent, nonpartisan commission—headed by distinguished, fair-minded leaders—to thoroughly and publicly investigate all the facts and circumstances surrounding the torture and cruel treatment of detainees.

Accountability for the past use of torture and cruel treatment is essential to preventing similar abuses in the future.