ST. PAUL, Minn. — The Center for Victims of Torture™ (CVT) responds to news from Carol Rosenberg at the New York Times, that a judge has thrown out FBI testimony from the man accused of being the mastermind behind the attacks of 9/11.
“The news today from a military judge that evidence from Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, in which he confessed to planning the brutal attacks of 9/11, must be excluded is a critical moment. Because his testimony was derived under torture, it is not admissible.
“Among many other reasons, this is why torture is illegal under U.S. and international law and must not be used. Not ever, by any regime, any agency, any government. It compels people to say anything to make it stop, any evidence obtained from it is inadmissible, and in this way it blocks the pathway to justice.
“The effects of torture do not disappear just because decades have passed. We are nearing the 25th anniversary of 9/11, and the impacts of the United States government’s decision to use torture post 9/11 continue to play out.
“Torture doesn’t stay contained inside interrogation rooms – it influences decisions and lives well into the future. For 25 years, families of the victims of 9/11 have been waiting for justice, but the United States’ choice to torture has prolonged their wait, while creating the spectacle that was the CIA torture program.
“This is not the first confession thrown out in the broken military commissions at Guantanamo. Torture doesn’t get truth or justice; it just gets you a case that collapses.” -Yumna Rizvi, CVT senior policy analyst
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The Center for Victims of Torture is a nonprofit organization with offices in Ethiopia, Iraq, Jordan, Kenya, Mexico, Uganda, United States and additional project sites around the world. Visit www.cvt.org
