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.

SECRET PROCEEDINGS BEGIN FOR TOP AL QAEDA SUSPECTS
On Wednesday, the Defense Department released the transcripts for the hearings of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, thought to be the highest-ranking member of al Qaeda in custody, and two other suspects who were secretly detained for several years. Mohammed claimed to have planned some 30 terrorism operations, including the suicide hijackings of Sept. 11, according to the transcript. Through a process known as Combatant Status Review Tribunals (CSRTs), a panel of officers is seeking to determine whether to declare the detainees are "enemy combatants."  The Defense Department created the hearings in 2004 in response to the Supreme Court's ruling in Rasul v. Bush and Hamdi v. Rumsfeld, which held that detainees may challenge their detentions in U.S. courts. But unlike in civilian courts, the CSRTs deny the defendants lawyers, withhold access to evidence and witnesses, and may rely on evidence obtained through torture. Mohammed also indicated that he was abused and made false statements to interrogators, according to the transcript. Hearings were also conducted on Saturday for Abu Faraj al-Libbi and Ramzi bin al-Shibh, suspected senior-level members of al Qaeda.
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ABU GHRAIB OFFICER SAYS HE WAS NOT INFORMED OF HIS RIGHTS
The only officer to be charged in connection with the abuses at Abu Ghraib asked a military judge to throw out his previous statements denying he witnessed abuses at the prison, because he says he was not informed of his rights under military law. Lt. Col. Steven Jordan is accused of lying to investigators about what he saw as director of interrogations at Abu Ghraib, as well as failing to use his authority to stop soldiers from stripping detainees, photographing them in humiliating positions, and threatening them with dogs. Two generals who investigated the abuses at the prison contradicted Jordan, saying they properly advised him of his rights. If convicted, Jordan could face 22 years in prison and join the ranks of lower-level officers prosecuted since the revelation of abuses at the prison in 2004. Higher-level officers, such as Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the commander in Iraq at the time, and Jordan's commanding officer at Abu Ghraib, Col. Thomas Pappas, who were both implicated in the scandal, were not charged with crimes relating to the abuses.
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EVANGELICAL CHRISTIANS CALL FOR END TO TORTURE
The National Association of Evangelicals endorsed an anti-torture statement Wednesday affirming the support of Evangelical Christians for upholding human rights amid the "war on terror." The statement goes on to say that the United States has crossed boundaries of moral and permissible treatment of terror suspects. Seventeen Evangelical scholars, writers, and activists drafted the statement, "An Evangelical Declaration Against Torture: Protecting Human Rights in an Age of Terror." The authors continue to support President Bush and the nation's counterterrorism efforts, a drafter of the statement said, adding that doesn't mean using any means necessary. The statement also criticizes the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for permitting the indefinite detention of some terror suspects and failing to hold intelligence agencies to the same standards of humane treatment as the military.
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COURT MARTIAL OPENS FOR SOLDIER ACCUSED OF KILLING IRAQI DETAINEES
A senior enlisted soldier acknowledged Wednesday at a court martial that he had asked over a military radio why three Iraqi detainees captured last May were still alive. The testimony comes as part of a military trial for Staff Sgt. Raymond L. Girouard, one of four members of a 101st Airborne Division squad charged with the murder of Iraqi detainees. The testimony is key for Girouard's lawyers, who are arguing he acted on orders from top commanders.  The other three soldiers pleaded guilty in earlier hearings. Two of them testified Tuesday that they killed the detainees after Girouard, the squad leader, told them to cut off the prisoners' handcuffs, allow them to flee, and then shoot them. The case centers on the deaths of three unarmed Iraqi men who were shot and killed after they were detained by U.S. soldiers outside of Baghdad. Girouard is charged with crimes including premeditated murder and conspiracy, and faces up to life without parole in prison. 
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SECRET DETENTION OPERATIONS SUSPECTED IN EAST AFRICA
Human rights advocates in Kenya have accused the U.S. government of backing allies in East Africa in operations to capture and secretly detain more than 150 people fleeing the recent war in Somalia. Kenyan authorities captured the prisoners, who include men, women, and babies, as part of a regional campaign against Somalia's Islamist militias. Authorities have since transferred the prisoners to secret prisons in Somalia and Ethiopia, where human rights groups fear the prisoners could be subject to abuses. The United States has worked closely with East African nations to drive out Islamist groups in Somalia thought to have ties to al Qaeda. In recent months, the United States has provided Ethiopia with intelligence and used air strikes to target terror suspects in Somalia.
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MARCH 14-16: CIVIL SOCIETY AND PREVENTING TERRORISM
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the CIDOB Foundation will hold a working level meeting on "The Role of Civil Society in Preventing Terrorism" in Barcelona. Human Rights First International Legal Director Gabor Rona will participate in the meeting.

MARCH 19: POST-SEPT. 11 NATIONAL SECURITY TALK
Michael Posner, president of Human Rights First, will discuss "Human Rights and National Security Post 9/11" at Duke University. The lecture begins at 5:30 p.m. at the Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy in Durham, North Carolina.
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MARCH 19: CONFERENCE ON EMERGING SECURITY ISSUES
American University's Washington College of Law will host a conference on Emerging Issues in National and International Security (EMININT). The conference will take place from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at the Washington College of Law, Room 603, 4801 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington, D.C.
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MARCH 21: TORTURE TELEVISED
New York University School of Law's Center on Law and Security will hold a discussion on the television show 24 and issues related to torture on television. Human Rights First Director of Public Programs Jill Savitt will speak on the panel. The talk will take place from 6 to 8 p.m. at the NYU School of Law, Lipton Hall, 108 W. 3rd Street, New York City.
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MARCH 22: SPARER SYMPOSIUM
The University of Pennsylvania Law School will host the 26th Annual Edward V. Sparer Symposium, addressing "Judicial Responses to International Violence." Deputy Director of Human Rights First's Law and Security Program Hina Shamsi will speak at 3:30 p.m. about torture. The all-day symposium will be held at the Paul Levy Conference Center, University of Pennsylvania Law School, 3400 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 
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MARCH 22: INTERNATIONAL LAW CONFERENCE
The Columbia Society of International Law at Columbia University School of Law will host the annual Friedmann Conference on International Law. This year's conference will address the topic "Toward Peace and Justice: The Role of International Law in Confronting War and Genocide." The conference will take place at Columbia Law School, 435 West 116th Street, New York City.
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