Dear Friends, Family Members, and Neighbors,

I am writing because I cannot stand aside any longer while our government continues to commit torture, and to hold prisoners in "indefinite detention" for years without presenting any evidence against them.

There is an enormous and convincing body of evidence that these things have occurred, and that they continue to occur.

Yes, it is true that the Senate and House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved legislation stating that "no individual in the custody or under the physical control of the United States Government, regardless of nationality or physical location, shall be subject to cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment." President Bush signed that legislation in the last week of 2005. But when he did so, the president explicitly reserved the right to ignore the very law he'd just signed!

Excellent, reliable resources documenting the U.S. government's ongoing practice of torture and indefinite detention is linked from the "Background Information" page of the site http://www.ActAgainstTorture.org .

Also on that site are suggestions for actions that individuals and groups can take to put a stop to these unacceptable practices -- ten things we can each do to end U.S. torture and indefinite detention.

I have taken some of these suggestions, and I hope you will do the same.

Please visit the website http://www.ActAgainstTorture.org and write back to me with your ideas about what you and I can do, and about how we can convince our friends, families, and neighbors to join in this critical effort.

Yours,

I. M. Active