January 10, 2013, New York – In response to today’s announcement that Zero Dark Thirty has been nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Center for Constitutional Rights Executive Director Vincent Warren issued the following statement:

As an organization that has seen first-hand the effects of torture on our clients, the Center for Constitutional Rights is profoundly disappointed to see that Hollywood is prepared to bestow its highest honor upon a film that glorifies one of the darkest periods in our nation’s history. Instead of awards, Zero Dark Thirty should be earning condemnation for falsely suggesting that torture played a role in the capture of Osama Bin Laden. This should be a moment of national shame and a commitment never to repeat the horrors depicted in the film. Torture is always wrong and should be unequivocally prohibited, regardless of the debate around its effectiveness in obtaining information. We hope that members of the Academy will vote their consciences and withhold their votes from this film.