Avi Soifer, Eric Yamamoto, Lorraine Bannai

The Peace/Post 9/11 Committee focuses on the protection of civil rights and liberties under assault in the context of the current "war on terror."

June 10, 2008 Update: SALT issued Statement Condemning Harassment, Intimidation, and Disbarment of Chinese Human Rights Lawyers, in which SALT calls on the government of China to restor the law licenses of Mr. Teng Biao and Mr. Jiang Tanyong, and to desist from intimidating, harassing, and sanctioning lawyers who represent clients or causes disfavored by the government or threatening action against the law firms who employ them. 

May 5, 2008 Update: On May 5, 2008, SALT issued Society of American Law Teachers Statement on Investigation and Prosecution of Promoters of the Use of Torture, in which we asked for investigation of both the National Security Principals who authorized and implemented and the attorneys who wrote the justifications for torture be investigated and prosecuted. 

In July 2005, SALT submitted a statement to Judge John H. Koehltl, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, regarding the sentencing of Attorney Lynne Stewart after she was convicted of violating her oath to abide by the Special Administrative Measures in representing her client sheik Omar Abdel Rahman.

In 2007 we drafted a Statement on the Full Restoration of Constitutional Rights, Including Habeas Corpus, adopted by the Board of Governors, urging passage of the Habeas Corpus Restoration Act and full restoration of all constitutional rights.

We also focused on anti-immigrant measures, drafting SALT Statement on Post 9/11 Anti-Immigrant Measures that emphasizes the importance of creating viable paths to legalization and family unification, and urging Congress to eliminate the long waiting periods and high fees currently faced by immigrants.

As hostile language continues directed at Iran, in February 2007, SALT issued Open Letter to Congress, Bush Administration and the Armed Forces.

We continue to monitor "domestic security" and immigration legislation, and urge SALT members to send us information on new developments of concern.

Recently, in response to the imposition of a state of emergency in Pakistan, on November 6, 2007, SALT issued a statement demanding immediate elections and a return to the rule of law. SALT has joined other progressive organizations from around the country and the world in demonstrations at consultates and court houses, in solidarity with attorneys and judges in Pakistan.

SALT and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) issued a joint press release on November 27, 2008, opposing the Homegrown Terrorism Prevent Act, which passed the House without much notice and with overwhelming support and is now before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. Click here for the full statement.

Ben Davis, member of the Peace Post 911 Committee, published an op-ed on University of Pittsburgh School of Law, on-line Jurist, Resist Torture of Acquiesce: A Question for Americans, February 7, 2008.

A link to the Washington Monthly issue dedicated to ending torture and the use of harsh interrogation techniques.

For a fuller description of SALT's Peace Post 911 Committee, click here.