Vigil Against Torture

Vigil Against Torture at Jeppesen headquarters

Jeppesen is a San Jose company that profits from illegal kidnappings and torture. The company handles the logistics for the CIA's so-called "extraordinary rendition" flights -- torture flights.

This action honors the International Day in Support of the Victims of Torture. June 26 is the anniversary of the effective date of the UN's Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The UN Convention Against Torture clearly states that no country may "extradite a person to another State where there are substantial grounds for believing that he would be in danger of being subjected to torture." The convention entered into effect on June 26, 1987 and was signed by the U.S. in 1988. This means that the CIA’s practice of "extraordinary rendition" -- outsourcing the interrogation of suspected terrorists to countries known to practice torture -- violates U.S. as well as international law.

San Jose-based Jeppesen, a Boeing subsidiary, has been accused of providing logistics for those "extraordinary rendition" flights. The U.S. Justice Department intervened in a lawsuit against Jeppesen, claiming that state secrets would be revealed if the lawsuit were allowed to go ahead. But in July 2006, Jeppesen Managing Director Bob Overby told employees, "We do the torture flights."

Suppose a local company had been accused of sex trafficking or drug running? Wouldn’t there be a general outcry and condemnation? Should law-breakers be able to do business freely in our city? Why is Jeppesen still a respected member of the San Jose business community?

For more than a year, San Jose Peace and Justice Center and other activists in San Jose and on the Peninsula have been organizing protests against Jeppesen, demanding that it cut ties to the CIA and torture flights. Jeppesen has so far refused to respond. Tell Jeppesen: "We don't want torturers in our community! Stop working for the CIA!"

Endorsed by these Peninsula and South Bay groups affiliated with the Iraq Moratorium project:
American Muslim Voice, Council of Churches of Santa Clara County, Declaration of Peace - San Mateo County, Global Peace Partners, Gold Star Families Speak Out, Green Party - Santa Clara County, Jewish Voice for Peace - South Bay Chapter, Los Altos Voices for Peace, Mountain View Voices for Peace, MoveOn District 14 Council, Multifaith Voices for Peace and Justice, Pacifica Peace People, Peace Action of San Mateo County, Peace Umbrella - Unitarian Universalist Church of Palo Alto, Peninsula Peace and Justice Center, Raging Grannies Action League, The Rebuilding Alliance, San Jose Peace and Justice Center, San Mateo County Democracy for America, South Bay Mobilization, Veterans for Peace, Womens International League for Peace and Freedom - Peninsula Branch