Last week, under the leadership of Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Senate Intelligence Committee made public the executive summary of its 6,000-plus page report on the CIA’s use of torture post 9/11. CVT has worked for the release of this report for more than four years.Please read CVT’s statement in response to the release of the executive summary.The executive summary describes some things we already knew: that the CIA torture program was more brutal and widespread than had been previously reported, and that the CIA intentionally misled the Congress and the Executive Branch.

For The Atlantic, Dr. Steve Miles, a professor at the University of Minnesota's Center for Bioethics and a CVT board member, participates in a Q&A on doctors’ involvement in torture. Dr. Miles is also the author of the book, Oath Betrayed: America's Torture Doctors.

Today in Washington, DC, The Constitution Project released the results of a national poll finding 69 percent of Americans believe a declassified version of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s report on CIA torture should be released to the public.Among respondents, support for releasing the report is bipartisan, with 71 percent of independents, 69 percent of Democrats, and 67 percent of Republicans saying the report should be made public.

Each year, CVT presents the Eclipse Award around June 26 – International Day in Support of Victims of Torture – to an individual or organization that has played a crucial role in the prevention of torture or treatment of torture survivors. The 2014 recipient is Professor David M. Crane, who is being honored for his extraordinary efforts in fighting impunity for torture.

In this commentary, Executive Director Curt Goering describes some of the important reasons why CVT supports the public release of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s 6,300 page report on the Central Intelligence Agency’s former detention and interrogation program.