Human Rights First's U.S. Law and Security Digest is a weekly report to help keep you up to date about developments in U.S. national security law and policy that have an impact on civil liberties and human rights.

PENDING TERROR SUSPECT CASES CHALLENGE GOVERNMENT'S DETENTION PRACTICES
Two upcoming cases in federal court are likely to center on unresolved issues over how the U.S. government may capture and detain suspected terrorists.  The government plans to draw on some 230 wiretapped conversations in its prosecution this month of U.S. citizen Jose Padilla, The New York Times reported Thursday. Padilla's voice can be heard on seven of those calls, but he does not discuss violent plots, according to The Times. Human Rights First Law and Security Program Director Deborah Pearlstein told The New York Times the detention of Jose Padilla for more than three years in a military brig as an "enemy combatant" and his alleged abusive treatment before the government charged him deeply complicate the prosecution. The trial is scheduled to begin January 22. Meanwhile, Ali al-Marri, a Qatari student, remains imprisoned in that same military brig.  Al-Marri is waiting to hear from a federal court whether the government may indefinitely detain and deny basic fair trial rights to a foreign national living legally in the United States.  Human Rights First has written and coordinated multiple amicus curiae briefs in the cases of both defendants. Read more.

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT REJECTS NEW COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN'S REQUEST FOR INTERROGATION DOCUMENTS
Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) expressed disappointment Tuesday over the Justice Department's refusal to turn over two key documents outlining administration policies on the treatment of terror suspects. Leahy, who has promised to pursue the White House's culture of secrecy, called on the Justice Department to reconsider its response. The documents are a presidential directive on interrogation methods and overseas prisons and a Justice Department memo on CIA interrogation methods. Leahy, who requested the documents in November, has said he may issue subpoenas to obtain them. Democrats have long expressed frustration over the Bush Administration's reluctance to divulge information on its counterterrorism activities. In its response, the Justice Department said the information was classified and that the legal opinions Leahy requested were privileged. Read more.

FBI REPORT RAISES QUESTIONS ON ROLE OF CONTRACTORS IN INTERROGATIONS
A 2004 report on abuses at Guantanamo Bay released by the FBI Tuesday suggests that private contractors may have played a substantial role in interrogations and that some contractors may have issued orders to soldiers in violation of military protocol. The report, based on a survey of FBI personnel who witnessed interrogations overseas, indicates confusion in the chain of command may have existed at the detention centers. The FBI documents also detail new instances of mistreatment, including the wrapping of a detainee's head with duct tape and an interrogator squatting over a Koran. Private contractors had recently been exempt from liability under the Uniform Code of Military Justice except in wartime. As a result, contractors have largely escaped prosecution in cases of wrongdoing. But a clause inserted into the Defense Department's 2007 budget legislation places new restrictions on contractors by holding them accountable for their actions in military operations, regardless of whether part of war efforts. Read more.

GUANTANAMO REVIEW BOARDS FAIL TO RESOLVE QUESTIONS ON DETAINEE CASES
Defense Department review boards set up to evaluate the cases of Guantanamo Bay detainees fail to make any substantial review of the determinations of "enemy combatant" status, according to an examination this week by The New York Times. The analysis found that evidence remained a key problem. Many of the detainees were captured by Afghan and Pakistani forces, which provided U.S. troops with little information on the suspects. Military officials have defended the Combatant Status Review Tribunals and Administrative Review Boards as necessary administrative procedures that allow prisoners to refute government evidence. But a Seton Hall Law School study shows that the CSRTs routinely deny detainees witnesses they have tried to call, even when those witnesses are already housed at Guantanamo. The ARBs generally fail to look beyond the limited record of the CSRTs. In an analysis of the CSRTs, Human Rights First documented a number of ways they fail to meet basic legal requirements. In addition to their lack of a neutral decision-maker, the CSRTs deny detainees legal representation and have not been conducted in a timely manner. Read more.

FACING MOUNTING ATTACKS IN IRAQ, ARMY TRAINS MORE INTERROGATORS
Over the past three years, the U.S. Army has quadrupled the number of interrogators it trains and expects to turn out larger numbers in the future to collect information on the Iraqi insurgency and stem the increasing violence. Attacks against Iraqi and American targets recently reached a peak of nearly 1,000 a week. The training, which takes place at Fort Huachuca, Arizona, is designed to mimic conditions in Iraq and follows the Army field manual on "Human Intelligence Collector Operations," issued in September. The manual, which applies to every branch of the armed forces, bans "torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment" and warns against threatening or coercing detainees. At Fort Huachuca, instructors teach the Geneva Conventions and 19 approaches to interrogation, detailed in the field manual. Read more.

JANUARY 9: ITALIAN HEARINGS IN CIA ABDUCTION CASE
An Italian court will hold a hearing to determine whether to issue indictments for more than 30 U.S. and Italian agents in the alleged kidnapping and rendition from Milan of an Egyptian cleric known as Abu Omar. More information.

JANUARY 9: HEARING ON 9/11 RECOMMENDATIONS
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs will hold a hearing on "Ensuring Full Implementation of the 9/11 Commission's Recommendations" at 9:30 a.m. in room 342 of the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, D.C. More information.

JANUARY 11: FIVE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY OF GUANTANAMO BAY TRANSFERS
January 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the first transfer of prisoners to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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