The members of September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows stand behind the American Civil Liberties Union in their decision to assemble defense teams to be available to assist in the representation of some of the Guantanamo detainees that the U.S. government is preparing to prosecute.

September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, founded in 2002, is an organization of individuals who all lost family members on 9/11. For six years we have advocated for nonviolent and legal responses to the terrorist attacks that claimed our loved ones’ lives. By developing and advocating nonviolent actions in the pursuit of justice, we hope to break the cycles of violence engendered by war and terrorism.

We have a tremendous stake in seeing that justice is served in the prosecution of 9/11 suspects. It is our heart-breaking obligation to see those responsible for the deaths of our loved ones brought to justice. However, in our view, justice will not be served by a legal process that has been compromised by political interference and stripped of the minimum of defendants’ rights and protections that define a fair trial.

Adding to the pain of our loss is the painful awareness that our nation is betraying its own values – and the values of so many who died on 9/11. If we wish to see justice and peace in the world, we, as individuals and as a nation, must embody the principles of due process of law. Terrorism has taken our loved-ones’ bodies. We must not allow fear or a desire for revenge to take our souls.

We believe that the military tribunal commission process does not adhere to the principles of due process of law, the standard of justice for our nation. We find no comfort in confessions obtained by coercive techniques, nor in any of the other egregious violations of the Constitution and international law, and assaults against civil liberties by our government that have occurred during the six year period that the accused have been imprisoned. We believe that justice is not served in a trial that admits evidence obtained by torture; that justice cannot be served in a system that abandons due process; and that no truth can be discovered in a prosecution based on secrecy.

We urge all Americans to join with us in supporting the American Civil Liberties Union in their efforts to assure fair trials for all people, regardless of the charges they face. It is the only way to preserve our moral integrity as a nation.