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.

FIVE YEARS LATER, STILL NO JUSTICE AT GUANTANAMO
Five years ago Thursday, the United States transferred the first terrorism suspects to the detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Today the notorious prison holds some 395 detainees, who have lingered for years without any due process. Over the five years the Supreme Court has twice struck down the administration's Guantanamo policies, holding that detainees there must have access to a federal court to challenge their detention through habeas corpus and that the military commissions set up by the president to try them were illegal. In response, Congress passed a flawed package of legislation that aims to deny detainees the right to habeas and fundamental fair trial protections. On Thursday, HRF Executive Director Maureen Byrnes decried the Guantanamo policy, saying " the abuses of Guantanamo have stained America's reputation for justice, fairness, and transparency." Read more.

HIGH COURT REJECTS CHALLENGE TO TERRORIST ORGANIZATION DESIGNATION
The Supreme Court declined Monday to block the prosecution of seven Iranian refugees, now U.S. citizens, accused of providing financial support to an Iranian group the government has labeled a terrorist organization. The defendants argue they are entitled to challenge in court the State Department's designation of the People's Mojahedin of Iran as a terrorist organization. In a brief filed on the defendants' behalf, The Iran Human Rights and Democracy Caucus of the House of Representatives described the organization as a legitimate Iranian opposition group seeking a secular democracy. But the government charges the group has admitted to supporting attacks on Iranian facilities. The Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 gives the Secretary of State authority to designate foreign groups as terrorist organizations and to prohibit donations and other support to those groups. The defendants face up to 10 years in prison for soliciting money for the organization. Read more.

PENTAGON LAWYER WHO APPROVED ABUSIVE INTERROGATION TECHNIQUES WITHDRAWS NOMINATION AS JUDGE
Pentagon general counsel William Haynes withdrew his nomination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit Tuesday in response to statements made by leaders of the new Democratic majority in the Senate. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has said that lawmakers are likely to confirm only "consensus nominees." Haynes' nomination has been held up over concerns that he helped formulate detention and interrogation policies that violated U.S. and international law. As general counsel for the Department of Defense, Haynes recommended that detainees at Guantanamo could be subjected to abusive treatment including forced nudity, stress positions, isolation, food deprivation and sleep deprivation and considered waterboarding and death threats "legally available" options. Read more.

ITALIAN COURT TO EXAMINE EXTRAORDINARY RENDITION CASE
A court in Milan opened hearings Tuesday in what has become the most detailed public examination so far into the U.S. government's practice of capturing and transporting terror suspects without court permission to third countries where they may be subject to abuses. Italian prosecutors are seeking the arrest of 25 CIA operatives and a U.S. Air Force colonel as well as nine Italians for the abduction of an Egyptian cleric known as Abu Omar. Omar has said he was beaten, tortured, and sexually abused while in Egyptian custody, where he continues to be held. He described his ordeal in a letter smuggled out of his prison cell, which prosecutors say they will offer as Omar's testimony in absentia. The Milan court is now deliberating over whether to order the trial of the Americans and Italians implicated in Omar's rendition to Egypt. Earlier statements by Italian intelligence officials suggest Italian and CIA officers collaborated in planning and covering up the abduction. A decision on whether to hold the trial could come as early as February. Read more.

HOUSE VOTES TO CREATE SUBCOMMITTEE TO CONTROL INTELLIGENCE SPENDING
On Wednesday the House of Representatives voted to increase oversight of U.S. intelligence agencies by creating an Appropriations subcommittee to monitor intelligence spending. The vote came the same day the House voted to implement recommendations made by the Sept. 11 bipartisan commission that examined the attacks. But the subcommittee's structure differs from the Sept. 11 commission's proposal, which called for oversight power to be concentrated among a small group of legislators, who would both authorize and appropriate funds for intelligence activities. The panel also recommended that the overall intelligence budget, which remains classified, be made public. CIA oversight has become an increasingly important concern for legislators following revelations of abuses in secret CIA prisons for terror suspects and the president's acknowledgement in September that the CIA has operated secret prisons overseas. The new bill also calls on the administration to engage U.S. allies in crafting a unified approach to complying with Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. Read more.

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.

JANUARY 14-21: TERRORISM AND SECURITY CONFERENCE
The International School on Disarmament and Research on Conflicts (ISODARCO) will hold a conference on "Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Human Rights" in Andalo (Trento), Italy. Director of Human Rights First's Law and Security Program Deborah Pearlstein will speak about the search for effective constraints on U.S. counterterrorism powers. More information.

back to top

© 2006 Human Rights First