Web pages about "Counter Terror with Justice"

President-elect Obama recommits to closing Guantánamo and ending torture

Tue, 18 Nov 2008 13:36:27 +0000

US President-elect Obama said in an interview on Sunday that he will take “early action” on closing the detention centre at Guantánamo Bay and ensuring that the USA does not resort to torture. He told the CBS programme 60 Minutes on Sunday: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantánamo, and I will follow through on that.

"I have said repeatedly that America doesn't torture. And I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture."

Amnesty International said on Monday that President-elect Obama's statement is an important a step in the right direction.

"Amnesty International urges him to seize the initiative after taking office in January and to prioritize ending all internationally unlawful detention and interrogation practices by the USA,” said Rob Freer, Amnesty International's researcher on the USA.

"We urge president-elect Obama to turn his words into action within the first 100 days of his presidency and demonstrate his commitment to meeting the USA's international obligations, including by signing an executive order prohibiting torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law.

“President George W. Bush also said that the USA would not torture, but the use of "waterboarding" and other "enhanced interrogation techniques" against detainees held in secret CIA custody and the torture or other ill-treatment of detainees in Afghanistan, Iraq and Guantánamo have told a different story.

"They reveal the sad and disturbing fact that the USA has authorized and justified the use of torture and other unlawful practices in the name of national security,” said Rob Freer.

Amnesty International is also calling on the President-elect to support an independent commission of inquiry into all aspects of the USA's detention and interrogation practices in the "war on terror", and to ensure full accountability for human rights violations committed in that context.

The organization has written to President-elect Obama to urge him to ensure that closing Guantánamo, ending torture and other ill-treatment, and supporting a commission of inquiry, are among his priorities for his first 100 days in office.

Europe urged to protect Guantanamo detainees who cannot be returned home

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 17:00:10 +0000

Five human rights groups have called on European governments to provide humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees who will not be charged with any crime but who cannot be returned to their country of origin for fear of torture or other human rights violations.

Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and the International Federation for Human Rights urged governments to accept Guantanamo detainees into their countries and ensure they are provided with adequate support.

The call to work with the new US administration on this important step towards the closure of the detention facility at the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, was made after a two-day closed strategic workshop in Berlin. The workshop was convened by the NGOs with other international actors active on the issue of humanitarian protection.

Around 50 of the detainees currently held in Guantánamo, who the US government has said it does not intend to charge, cannot lawfully be sent back to their countries of origin because they could face torture and other ill-treatment. They come from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

A joint statement by the human right groups highlighted the "primary and ongoing legal responsibility held by the USA to find solutions for these individuals after years of unlawful detention, including providing them with a safe place to live and receive rehabilitation,"

"Everyone appears to rightly agree that Guantánamo must be closed, and President-elect Obama has said that he will close it," said Daniel Gorevan, Counter Terror with Justice Campaign Manager at Amnesty International. "Clearly, other governments can help make this happen by offering protection to individuals who cannot be released to their own countries. This would have a double effect: helping to end the ordeal of an individual unlawfully held in violation of his human rights, and helping end the international human rights scandal that is Guantánamo."

"This is a key opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to move beyond the misguided acts of the 'war on terror': rendition, secret detention, and torture," said Cori Crider, Staff Attorney at Reprieve. "President-elect Obama says he will close Guantánamo -- the question is when and how. One of Reprieve's clients was sent back to Tunisia, drugged, hit, and threatened with the rape of his wife and daughter.

"Another is fighting, even now, to stay in Guantánamo because Tunisia threatened him with 'water torture in the barrel.' The US still asserts total authority to send him back. Europe can send a powerful message by reaching out to Obama and providing a safe alternative for these few people.”

"President-elect Obama has committed to closing Guantánamo, but he is going to need Europe's help," said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Director at Human Rights Watch. "European governments could provide much-needed assistance by agreeing to take in some of the detainees who cannot be sent back home."

Human Rights groups call on European governments to offer humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees

Mon, 10 Nov 2008 11:28:43 +0000

(Berlin, November 10, 2008) -- Five leading human rights groups today call on European governments to provide humanitarian protection to Guantánamo detainees who will not be charged with any crime but cannot be returned to their countries of origin for fear of torture or other serious human rights violations. European governments should agree to accept them into their countries and ensure they are provided with adequate support.

Amnesty International, the Center for Constitutional Rights, Human Rights Watch, Reprieve and the International Federation for Human Rights urge governments to work with the new US administration to take this important step in order to facilitate the closure of the detention facility at Guantánamo.

“We must find a solution to the 50 men imprisoned at Guantánamo simply because they have nowhere to go,” said Emi MacLean, Staff Attorney at the Center for Constitutional Rights. “The US government has twice previously tried to send our client, Abdul Ra’ouf Al Qassim to Libya even though it is undisputed that he would likely be tortured, or disappeared into Libyan jails, if returned. His survival depends on the simple humanitarian gesture of another country opening their doors to him.”

“Everyone appears to rightly agree that Guantánamo must be closed, and President-elect Obama has said that he will close it,” said Daniel Gorevan, Counter Terror with Justice Campaign Manager at Amnesty International. “Clearly, other governments can help make this happen by offering protection to individuals who cannot be released to their own countries. This would have a double effect: helping to end the ordeal of an individual unlawfully held in violation of his human rights, and helping end the international human rights scandal that is Guantánamo.”

“This is a key opportunity for both sides of the Atlantic to move beyond the misguided acts of the ‘war on terror’: rendition, secret detention, and torture,” said Cori Crider, Staff Attorney at Reprieve. “President-elect Obama says he will close Guantánamo -- the question is when and how. One of Reprieve’s clients was sent back to Tunisia, drugged, hit, and threatened with the rape of his wife and daughter. Another is fighting, even now, to stay in Guantánamo because Tunisia threatened him with ‘water torture in the barrel.’ The US still asserts total authority to send him back. Europe can send a powerful message by reaching out to Obama and providing a safe alternative for these few people.”

“President-elect Obama has committed to closing Guantánamo, but he is going to need Europe’s help,” said Joanne Mariner, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Director at Human Rights Watch. “European governments could provide much-needed assistance by agreeing to take in some of the detainees who cannot be sent back home.”

“FIDH and CCR mobilised 77 members of the European Parliament who issued a joint call to EU member States to offer relocation for Guantanamo detainees. As an important strategic partner of the US, the EU should help the Administration relocate these men,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH President.

Background

It is the primary responsibility of the United States to find solutions for all those held at Guantánamo, as it was the USA that brought them to the detention facility and is holding them there unlawfully. If the USA is not planning to charge and try them in ordinary US courts, and cannot release them to their own countries safely, it should immediately offer them an opportunity to be released into the USA.

It is also clear, however, that governments in Europe and elsewhere can and should play a vital role in providing such individuals with humanitarian protection in the form of a safe place to get on with their lives after years of suffering. The involvement of European governments will be instrumental in reaching a solution to this problem -- a solution that is critical to the international aim of closing Guantánamo.

Around 50 of the detainees currently held in Guantánamo cannot lawfully be sent back to their countries of origin because they would face a real risk of human rights violations such as torture or other ill-treatment. They come from countries including China, Libya, Russia, Tunisia, and Uzbekistan.

The human rights groups made their call after a two-day closed strategic workshop in Berlin, convened by the NGOs with other international actors active on the issue of humanitarian protection.

Statements of Support from International Actors

“We are at a critical juncture. It is now possible to anticipate the closing of Guantanamo, the end to the US practice of executive detention, and the re-affirmation of fundamental human rights principles, including the prohibition of torture in all circumstances. But European engagement and support will be essential to get there. One step that European governments should take is to accept into their borders the small number of men at Guantanamo who cannot be repatriated safely. Guantanamo cannot be closed until these men have a country which will accept them, and where their lives and liberty are not in jeopardy.”
Manfred Nowak, UN Special Rapporteur on Torture

“I urge European governments to open their doors to a small number of men who fear persecution or torture if transferred to their home countries. Such assistance is both the right thing to do, and of critical importance in our attempts to push for the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay.”
Thomas Hammerberg, Human Rights Commissioner of the Council of Europe

“The efforts must be renewed now with European governments and the U.S. government working to close Guantanamo and offer protection to those unable to be returned safely to their own countries. The efforts of human rights NGOs are coming at the best moment, in order to use the next months in the most positive way.”
Anne-Marie Lizin, Special Representative on Guantanamo for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE.

President-elect Obama: 100 days to demonstrate commitment to human rights

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:31:44 +0000

The election of Barack Obama to the US presidency opens new opportunities for an end to the seven-year assault on human rights by the US administration.

Amnesty International urged US President-elect Obama to make human rights central to his new administration on Wednesday. The organization is calling for certain concrete steps in his first 100 days in office that would demonstrate a genuine commitment to bringing the USA into line with its international obligations.

The new president will have the authority to rectify some of the unlawful policies and practices adopted during his predecessor’s term in office in the name of counter-terrorism and national security.

Counter terror with justice: a human rights challenge

In the first 100 days, Amnesty International is calling on the new administration to:

announce a plan and date to close Guantánamo;
issue an executive order to ban torture and other ill-treatment, as defined under international law;
ensure that an independent commission to investigate abuses committed by the US government in its “war on terror” is set up.

These demands are part of a “checklist” of actions Amnesty International is asking the new US President to take during the first 100 days in office.

Promoting human rights at home and abroad

Amnesty International has numerous human rights concerns in relation to the USA. The organization is seeking a meeting with President-elect Obama to discuss how the USA will take forward policies that will advance internationally recognized human rights both at home and abroad.

Take action

Call on President-elect Barack Obama to demonstrate a commitment to human rights in his first 100 days in office.

Show real leadership in human rights

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 20:18:11 +0000

The attacks in the USA on 11 September 2001 were a crime against humanity. Since then, the USA has committed grave human rights violations in the name of countering terrorism.

Suspects have been abducted and covertly transported to secret US-run facilities or transferred to the custody of other governments where they have faced torture.

Individuals have been victims of enforced disappearance. Some remain unaccounted for.

Hundreds of people have been unlawfully detained in conditions that have amounted to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment at the Guantánamo Bay detention facility.

US officials have effectively admitted that the USA has used torture and other ill-treatment and have reserved the right to do so again.

The response of the US government to the public exposure of these human rights violations has been plainly inadequate, and at worst it has amounted to helping perpetrators go unpunished for crimes under international law.

President-elect Barack Obama must take immediate steps after taking office to end this assault on human rights.

Bali bombers to face firing squad

Fri, 31 Oct 2008 11:07:33 +0000

Three men convicted of involvement in the 2002 Bali nightclub bombings, which killed 202 people and injured a further 209, are to be executed in early November. The announcement was made by a spokesman for the Indonesian Attorney General's office on 24 October.

Amrozi bin H Nurhasyim, his brother Ali Ghufron and Imam Samudera, were sentenced to death by the Denpasar District Court in 2003. They were convicted for their part in three bombs which exploded in two nightclubs on the Indonesian island on 12 October 2002. The majority of the dead and injured were tourists.

Some time in November, officials from the Indonesian government will take the three men from their cells in Nusakambangan prison, to a field, where they will be blindfolded, placed before a firing squad and shot through the heart.

In the past few months Indonesia has moved away from the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty and has stepped up the number of executions. Up until June 2008, Indonesia had executed just 11 people in the last decade. The execution of the Bali bombers will bring the number of executions in the last six months to 10. At least a further 107 people are believed to be on death row.

The rise in the number of executions flies in the face of the UN General Assembly Resolution 62/149 of 18 December 2007, which calls for a moratorium on executions. The death sentences of Amrozi, Ghufron and Samudera also violate Article 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ratified by Indonesia in 2006) as well as the Indonesian Constitution – both of which ban the retroactive application of criminal laws. The three were tried and sentenced to death under the Law on Combating Criminal Acts of Terrorism, brought into force after the 2002 bombings. Nevertheless the Indonesian Supreme Court rejected the three men's appeal on these grounds in 2007.

Heads of state of abolitionist countries within the region, including Timor-Leste and New Zealand (which lost citizens in the bombings), have publically stated their opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances, specifically including the case of the Bali bombers. Other states in the region yet to take such a principled stand include Australia, which has abolished the death penalty.

While the Bali attacks were a horrific atrocity, Amnesty International firmly believes that to continue the cycle of violence through state sanctioned killing will not bring redress for the victims, and furthermore answers the violation of human rights with further violations.

The organization says that there is no reliable evidence that the death penalty deters future criminal acts, and in this particular case, the executions may only serve to perpetuate such atrocities. There is a serious risk that the executions will turn the bombers from murderers to martyrs, whose memories will be used to increase support and recruitment to their cause. As the executions approach, the three men themselves have made very public calls for their supporters to seek retribution for their deaths.

Amnesty International says that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It is the premeditated and cold-blooded killing of a human being by the state. It is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment that violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception regardless of the nature of the crime, the characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to kill the prisoner. The organization calls on Indonesia to draw a line under its policy of escalating executions and to establish an immediate moratorium with a view to abolition. The sentences of people awaiting execution on death row should be commuted without exception.

UK's highest court to hear key test cases on deportations with assurances

Wed, 22 Oct 2008 17:00:24 +0000

The UK’s highest court will begin hearing two important test cases related to human rights and the UK government's counter-terrorism policies on Thursday. The decisions in these cases may have a profound impact on the UK's attempts to deport people to countries where they will be at real risk of grave human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment.

The UK has been seeking for some years to deport a number of individuals whom it alleges pose a threat to national security. It has acknowledged that these individuals could not ordinarily be deported, because of the real risk of grave human rights violations that they would face in the countries to which they are to be returned.

The UK government has therefore sought, in each of these cases, so-called "diplomatic assurances" from the countries to which these individuals are to be returned. These are promises, unenforceable in any court of law, that the individual will be treated in accordance with international human rights standards. To date, the UK has secured assurances in one form or another from Algeria, Jordan, Lebanon and Libya.

The cases to be heard by the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords (the UK’s highest court) concern attempts to deport two individuals, referred to in legal proceedings in the UK as ‘RB’ and ‘U’, to Algeria, and a third individual, Omar Othman (also known as Abu Qatada), to Jordan.

The court will be asked to consider what weight should be given to assurances given to the UK by the governments of Algeria and Jordan as to how the men will be treated if they are returned to those countries.

Amnesty International, along with many others, is opposed to the idea that these promises between governments can be relied on to send someone to a country where they will face a real risk of grave human rights violations.

"These promises are only sought from countries where international legal obligations to prevent torture and other grave human rights violations have not been respected," said Nicola Duckworth, director of the Europe and Central Asia programme at Amnesty International. "If those countries do not respect those obligations, which are binding as a matter of international law, there are absolutely no grounds for confidence that they will respect promises given at a bilateral diplomatic level.

"The obligation which all states are under is clear and unequivocal: not to send anyone to any country where there is a real risk that they will be subjected to grave human rights violations, including torture or other ill-treatment. This basic principle applies no matter what that individual is alleged to have done, or – as in these cases – what threat that individual is alleged to pose to national security."

As well as the question of the reliability of diplomatic assurances, the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords will be asked to consider the fairness of hearings before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC). The SIAC is the court established to hear appeals from people whose deportation has been ordered on the grounds that they pose a threat to national security.

Among the issues which the court will be considering in these cases are the question of how far the Court of Appeal should be able to review the decisions of the SIAC; and the fairness of the SIAC’s use of secret material and closed hearings.

"Appeals before the SIAC are very unfair," said Nicola Duckworth, "because of their heavy reliance on closed hearings in which secret information, including intelligence material, is considered in the absence of the individuals concerned and their lawyers of choice”.

These cases are expected to be heard over five days; the judgment will not be given until some weeks after the hearing. Amnesty International delegates will observe the hearings.

UK House of Lords to vote on 42-day detention

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:57:20 +0000

The House of Lords in the UK is expected to vote on Monday on proposals that would allow the period of pre-charge detention in terrorism cases to be extended.

The proposals, contained in the Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008, would allow a government minister to extend the maximum period of pre-charge detention from 28 days up to 42 days. As a result, people suspected of involvement in terrorism could be detained for six weeks without being charged with any criminal offence.

Amnesty International has unreservedly opposed any further extension of the period for which people can be detained without charge in the UK.

“28 days is already too long,” said David Edwards, Amnesty International's researcher on the UK.

The House of Commons, the lower house of the UK parliament, narrowly approved the proposals, by 315 votes to 306, in June 2008.

Amnesty International has called on the members of the House of Lords to take this opportunity to reject this dangerous proposal, which would, if enacted, take the law in the UK even further away from the basic principle that people who are detained have a right to be charged promptly, or to be released.

If the proposals are rejected by the House of Lords, they will return to the House of Commons, and – unless the government agrees to withdraw them – could be put to the vote again there. If the government chooses, and if it can muster sufficient support in the House of Commons, it could eventually invoke exceptional powers (known as the Parliament Act) to force the proposals through against the will of the House of Lords; this process would take at least another year.

UK House of Lords rejects 42-day detention

Mon, 13 Oct 2008 17:09:09 +0000

The House of Lords rejected proposals on Monday that would allow the period of pre-charge detention in terrorism cases to be extended up to 42 days.

Amnesty International welcomed the House of Lords’ vote, by 309 votes to 118, and called on the UK government to respond by abandoning once and for all these misconceived proposals.

“Today’s vote should mark a turning point in the UK’s approach to the question of terrorism,” said David Edwards, Amnesty International researcher on the UK. “Rather than seeking to extend further and further the length of time for which people can be held without being charged with any offence, the UK should recognize that the dangerous notion that security can be bought at the expense of individual rights has been thoroughly discredited. Security and human rights are not – and never have been – mutually exclusive.

“Although today’s vote is a crucial and welcome development, it by no means marks the end of the rigorous scrutiny which the Counter-Terrorism Bill requires. It is vital that the attention given to the pre-charge detention proposals should not allow other deeply concerning elements of the Bill to pass unchallenged."

Amnesty International has drawn attention, in particular, to sections of the Bill relating to coroners’ inquests. These sections, if enacted, would allow a government minister to order that part of an inquest should be held in secret, in the absence of the family of the person whose death is being investigated, whenever a minister thinks it in the ‘public interest’ to do so.

"Coroners’ inquests in the UK have a vital role to play in investigating deaths in violent or suspicious circumstances, including deaths for which it is alleged that agents of the state are responsible. These proposals would seriously undermine the ability of inquests to conduct the full and independent investigations which are needed,” said David Edwards.

The House of Lords is expected to vote on the proposals relating to coroners’ inquests later this week.

Poland: government must investigate secret CIA jails

Fri, 12 Sep 2008 19:05:16 +0000

With evidence that the CIA operated a secret detention facility in Poland mounting, Amnesty International has welcomed the news that public prosecutors have initiated an investigation into these long-standing allegations. This is an important step in the journey towards accountability for the unlawful detention and transfer of detainees in Europe.

The organization has, however, stressed that the investigation must be thorough and independent, and expressed concerns about its proposed scope and powers. Former government officials have reportedly said that although they are willing to speak to investigators, their testimony will be limited by Poland’s laws on the confidentiality of state secrets.

Also, the scope of the prosecutor’s investigation will be limited to offences under Article 231 of the Polish Penal Code, relating only to public officials overstepping their official powers. Those held in the CIA secret detention programme, however, were subjected to torture and enforced disappearance, both crimes under international law.

Amnesty International's demands

The Polish government must initiate a full, independent, impartial and effective investigation, which is adequately resourced and able to establish whether or not there was a CIA detention facility on Polish soil, and if so, the arrangements under which it operated. The investigating body must refer appropriate information about alleged criminal conduct and human rights violations to the relevant authorities.

Prosecutors, in this or any future investigation, must have authority to investigate allegations that individuals were subjected to the crimes of enforced disappearance and torture and other ill-treatment on Polish territory, regardless of nationality, position or rank of those alleged to have been responsible or complicit.

Background

The stonewalling and denials of the previous government are increasingly wearing thin. In August 2008, Polish media reported that a note prepared by military intelligence, confirming the existence of a secret CIA facility, had been seen by government officials in 2006. Allegations of secret CIA detention facilities in Eastern Europe first emerged in November 2005 in the Washington Post; other media and Human Rights Watch later identified Poland as one of the countries hosting CIA “black sites”.

Earlier in 2005, Amnesty International interviewed three Yemeni men who had been held in the secret CIA programme, who had alleged that they were detained in Europe. Former detainees from other countries have since provided similar accounts.

In 2007, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe’s report affirmed that “there was now enough evidence to state that secret detention facilities run by the CIA did exist in Europe from 2003 to 2005, in particular in Poland and Romania”.

The Polish government initiated internal inquiries in November and December 2005. The Sejm (Polish Parliament) Secret Services committee conducted the investigation but did not release the findings or methodology. The government nevertheless claimed that they “unequivocally” showed that there was no secret detention facility in Poland.