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Human rights organization urges Senate to vote against amendment
Contact: Sharon Singh 202-509-8194, [email protected]
(Washington, DC) – Geneve Mantri, Amnesty International government relations director for security and human rights, issued the following statement regarding a new amendment by Senator Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) to the appropriations omnibus bill on the Senate floor that would bar all foreign terror suspects from federal trials:
“This new amendment goes further than any previous attempt to undermine both human rights and the fight against terrorism and is dangerous. It would remove a keystone which serves to keep the United States safe.
“The definition of character is to do the hard right, not the easy wrong. It's a great punch line to say you are tough on terror and that we should just lock them all up and throw away the key. In reality, federal trials have been one of the most successful tools to combat terrorism, which was used hundreds of times by previous U.S. presidents including George W. Bush. Federal trials have prosecuted more terror suspects than military commissions by a margin of over 500 to 5.
"Amnesty International urges the U.S. Senate to do what is not only right but also effective by voting against the amendment.”
.Amnesty International is a Nobel Peace Prize-winning grassroots activist organization with more than 2.8 million supporters, activists and volunteers in more than 150 countries campaigning for human rights worldwide. The organization investigates and exposes abuses, educates and mobilizes the public, and works to protect people wherever justice, freedom, truth and dignity are denied.
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For more information, please visit www.amnestyusa.org