High School Scholars Petition Bush to Obey the Law

When President Bush attended a photo op June 25th with the 2007 Presidential Scholars-- a high school boy and girl from every state and territory-- he was confronted with a petition signed by 50 of them calling for an end to the use of torture and the restoration of habeas corpus for the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

The hand-written letter read in part, "We do not want America to represent torture. We urge you to do all in your power to stop violations of the human rights of detainees, to cease illegal renditions, and to apply the Geneva Convention to all detainees, including those designated enemy combatants."



The White House Press Secretary said "The president enjoyed a visit with the students, accepted the letter and upon reading it let the student know that the United States does not torture and that we value human rights."

According to the website Newshounds , Anderson Cooper's program on CNN was the only broadcast to mention the incident.