John Yoo Protest and Witness Against Torture

2-5 p.m. Sunday, May 31, 2009
1241 Grizzly Peak Blvd. in Berkeley
Google Map
Rides from North Berkeley BART: 510-333-6097

John Yoo wrote legal memos for Bush’s Office of Legal Counsel saying that “enhanced interrogation methods” weren’t legally torture. As a result, torturers were able to get al-Libi to lie and say that Al Qaeda and Saddam Hussein were working together. That lie was used to justify the illegal, immoral invasion and occupation of the sovereign country of Iraq , were hundreds of thousands have died, been displaced, and suffered enormously. Thousands are locked up and treated in humanely, and many innocent victims of our “war on terror” have been swept up and jailed indefinitely. John Yoo must be held accountable. He must be fired from his job at UC Law School, disbarred, and prosecuted for the felony of complicity in war crimes. Torture and inhumane treatment of prisoners are illegal under U.S. and international law.

Article in the “Berkeley Daily Planet” about this action

About 50 protesters from CODEPINK, World Can’t Wait, National Lawyers Guild SF Committee Against Torture, PDA, and other groups went to the 9th Circuit Court in San Francisco on May 27 to call for Judge Jay Bybee’s immediate impeachment.

As head of the Office of Legal Counsel, Bybee signed off on legal memos that advised Cheney, Bush, Rumsfeld, Rice, etc. that “enhanced interrogation techniques” amounting to torture were legal. Any act complicit in torture is a felony under U.S. law. A New York Times editorial on April 18 said “…Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him.”

There were orange jump-suited people and WCW had an installation of “The Bybee/Bush Museum of Torture.” Golden Gate Chapter members Holly Harwood (aka Dozo the Clown), Cynthia Papermaster, Susan Harman and Sharon Adams spoke at the protest. We gathered signatures for an Impeach Bybee petition and handed out flyers with websites for online Impeach Bybee petitions.

Simultaneous protests were held at other 9th Circuit locations including Pasadena, Portland, Seattle, Honolulu, Fresno, and Anchorage.

Online petitions to remove Judge Bybee:

Center for Constitutional Rights

http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/383/t/4089/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=27088

Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)

http://capwiz.com/pdamerica/issues/alert/?alertid=12935991&PROCESS=Take+Action

Common Cause

http://www.commoncause.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=5115995

People for the American Way

https://secure.pfaw.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=ImpeachBybee&gclid=CISg75SZz5oCFRxNagodU2ra2w

Thursday, May 28th 2009, 1 PM
Location: Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 95 7th Street (@ Mission), San Francisco
BART Station: SF Civic Center

Gather to call for the impeachment of Judge Jay Bybee, who was given a lifetime appointment to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by George Bush after Bybee wrote legal memos saying that torture is legal if the President orders it.

“These memos make it clear that Mr. Bybee is unfit for a job that requires legal judgment and a respect for the Constitution. Congress should impeach him.” New York Times, April 19, 2009, p. WK9 www.nytimes.com/2009/04/19/opinion/19sun1.html

As assistant attorney general in President George W. Bush’s Justice Department, he was responsible for the notorious torture memos that enabled the excesses at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo, and other places. Bybee should be impeached, disbarred and prosecuted as a war criminal. Over 100 detainees have died and thousands are going through hell because of his unethical actions. If torture was carried out to establish a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq, as evidence shows, he is also responsible for the deaths of thousands upon thousands of human beings.

• Signs with Bybee’s picture provided
• Sign a petition to Congress for impeachment
• Sing Impeach Bybee songs
• Listen to speakers from CODEPINK, National Lawyers Guild, PDA, World Can’t Wait.

Some of the groups urging Bybee’s Impeachment: CODEPINK, MoveOn, Progressive Democrats of America, Common Cause, Center for Constitutional Rights, National Accountability Network, People for The American Way, Human Rights First, World Can’t Wait, Veterans for Peace, Think Progress, Afterdowningstreet.org, SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture

Contact:
Cynthia Papermaster, 510-333-6097, cynthia_papermaster@yahoo.com
Susan Harman, susanharman1@gmail.com

Sponsored By:
CODEPINK, Progressive Democrats of America, World Can’t Wait, SF National Lawyers Guild Committee Against Torture