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[JURIST] The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) [advocacy website] filed suit[complaint, PDF; press release] Tuesday on behalf of US citizen Amir Meshal, alleging that FBI agents were involved in his interrogation and rendition in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia in 2007. The suit, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia [official website], alleges that agents repeatedly threatened Meshal with torture, disappearance, and execution in order to force him to acknowledge ties with al Qaeda. Meshal was originally detained in Kenya while fleeing fighting in Mogadishu between militia known as Islamic Courts Union [BBC profile] and forces of the US and Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government of Somalia [official website; JURIST news archive]. After being held in Kenya, Meshal was returned to Somalia and eventually taken to Ethiopia where he was held until his release in May of 2007. No charges were ever filed against Meshal.
The issue of west African renditions was first raised by Human Rights Watch (HRW) [advocacy website] in March 2007 when they claimed [JURIST report] that the US, Kenya, and Ethiopia were cooperating with the transitional government of Somalia to secretly detain people fleeing that country’s conflict. Further reportsalleged [JURIST report] that US intelligence agents were involved with the secret prisons in Ethiopia and that citizens of western nations such as Sweden, Canada, and the US were being held there along with citizens of west African nations. The governments of Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia have all denied illegally transporting and jailing people, claiming they have only taken action against legitimate suspects.
November 03, 2009
A split en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has ruled that a Canadian citizen who alleges that U.S. officials “rendered” him to Syria to be tortured in 2002 lacks standing to sue the U.S. government in federal court.
“Our ruling does not preclude judicial review and oversight in this context,” Chief Judge Dennis G. Jacobs wrote for the 7-4 majority in Arar v. Ashcroft, 06-4216-cv. “But if a civil remedy in damages is to be created for harms suffered in the context of extraordinary rendition, it must be created by Congress, which alone has the institutional competence to set parameters, delineate safe harbors, and specify relief. If Congress chooses to legislate on this subject, then judicial review of such legislation would be available.”
Read entire article.
http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/torture_archive/index.htm
83,000 digitized pages of items related to torture might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but this invaluable resource created by The National Security Archive at The George Washington University is a real gem and an important research tool. Released in August 2009, The Torture Archive contains primary source documents related to the “detention and interrogation of individuals by the United States, in connection with the conduct of hostilities in Iraq and Afghanistan.” The project started in 2006 with support from the Open Society Institute, and this archive brings together many documents which are currently available in different places on the Internet. On the site, visitors can view an interactive timeline of related events and search the entire database of documents by title, date, organization, or keywords. Additionally, some parties will want to watch the documentary film “Torturing Democracy“, which is available here as well.
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Hat Tip to the Internet Scout Report. To subscribe to the Scout Report in text or HTML format, go to:
http://scout.wisc.edu/About/subscribe.php
In its first-ever review of the PATRIOT Act, the Supreme Court has announced it will decide the constitutionality of a controversial anti-terrorism law that makes it a crime to give any form of aid, including humanitarian assistance, to groups on the State Department’s list of foreign terrorist organizations. The Supreme Court case centers on a lawsuit filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project. “Democracy Now” speaks to David Cole, a Georgetown University law professor and attorney in the case.
Listen/Watch/Read
http://www.democracynow.org/2009/10/1/supreme_court_to_take_up_patriot
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JURIST – Paper Chase: Obama administration releases highly anticipated CIA interrogation report
On Monday the DOJ released a much anticipated 2004 Central Intelligence Agency inspector general report [text, PDF] detailing controversial interrogation techniques used on terror detainees.
“Fair Use” excerpt follows:
In a drive to crack down on illegal immigrants, the United States has locked up or thrown out dozens, probably many more, of its own citizens over the past eight years. A monthslong AP investigation has documented 55 such cases, on the basis of interviews, lawsuits and documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act. These citizens are detained for anything from a day to five years. Immigration lawyers say there are actually hundreds of such cases.
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Read entire article here.
IN RE: GUANTANAMO BAY DETAINEE LITIGATION
(U.S. Dist. Ct., D.C., March 13, 2009) – In a declaration filed by U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder today in federal court, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government’s authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility. The definition does not rely on the President’s authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress’s specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial, and does not employ the phrase “enemy combatant.”
US V. SLOUGH, ET AL.
(U.S. Dist. Ct., D.C. Dist., Dec. 8, 2008) – The indictment of five Blackwater guards involved in the September, 2007 massacre in Baghdad’s Nisour Square was unsealed today. The guards were indicted on 14 counts of voluntary manslaughter, 20 counts of attempted voluntary manslaughter, and one count of discharging firearms during and in retaliation to a crime of violence.
