Impunity Watch: North America

BRIEF: US House Approves Bill that Bans Waterboarding

WASHINGTON, United States – In an intelligence funding bill, which has now been sent to the Senate for approval, the House of Representatives has forbidden the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) use of enhanced interrogation techniques, including simulated drowning (e.g. waterboarding).

If the act were passed into law, the CIA would only be allowed to use interrogation techniques that have been authorized in the 2006 Army Field Manual.  This document disallows interrogators from using,  “simulate[d] drowning, electrocution, sensory deprivation, mock executions, the use of attack dogs, the induction of hypothermia and the withholding of food, water, or medical care.”  The Army Field Manual also requires Geneva Convention protections to apply to all detainees (“unlawful enemy combatants) and not just prisoners of war.

President Bush has said that he will veto the bill if it passes through the Senate.

For more on this topic, please see:

BBC – US House Limits CIA Interrogation – 14 December 2007

Jurist – Army Field Manual Interrogations

BRIEF: New Jersey Likely to Abolish Death Penalty & Supreme Court Might Follow Suit

 NEW JERSEY, United States -  Governor Jon S. Corzine of New Jersey says it will sign the New Jersey legislature's bill to abolish capital punishment in the state.  This bill is the result of a state commission finding that the death penalty does not deter violent crime and could lead to innocent people being executed.  New Jersey, who has not executed any prisoner since 1963, would be the first state in over four decades to abolish the death penalty.  Marshall, who was convicted of hiring a hit-man to kill his wife still maintains his innocence and says it is frightening to have an execution hanging over his head while he hurries to appeal his conviction.

Republicans have expressed the desire to change or stop the bill so that police killers and terrorists could still be eligible for the death penalty but it is unlikely that their objections will effect the bill due to the dominance of Democratic state congressmen in both houses of the New Jersey legislature.  Robert O. Marshall, who was spared the death penalty in 2004 after spending 18 years on New Jersey's death row says "the death penalty isn't likely to deter even horrific crimes and it's now going to bring much solace to the families of the victims."

The Supreme Court could possibly follow New Jersey's lead in the near future.  In early January, the Supreme Court will hear testimony in the case review lethal objection procedures used in most capital punishment cases.  Depending on how the oral arguments go, the de facto moratorium on the death penalty could go indefinitely.  Capital punishment was reinstated by the Supreme Court in 1976.

CNN - N.J. Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Death Penalty - 13 December 2007

Newsday - AP Exclusive:  Ex-death row inmate glad capital punishment ending - 13 December 2007

BRIEF: Congress Members Knew of Waterboarding in 2002

picture available here

WASHINGTON, United States – The Washington Post reports that in September 2002, four members of Congress, including the present Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), were given a secret, “virtual tour” of the CIA’s international detention facilities and controversial, enhanced interrogation methods, including waterboarding, which has come under close scrutiny recently by Democrats and Republicans alike.

No objections were raised at this time to any of the CIA interrogation methods.

In addition to the 2002 CIA demonstration, a selection of lawmakers received numerous briefings that described many enhanced interrogation techniques, including the controversial method—waterboarding.

Waterboarding has now become a symbol of the current administration’s counter-terrorism campaign—many arguing that the interrogation methods, including waterboarding, amount to torture, which is illegal under both domestic and international law.  Recently, the CIA has admitted that it destroyed a videotape of an interrogation involving waterboarding against the recommendations

For more information, please see:

The Washington Post – Hill Briefed on Waterboarding in 2002 – 9 December 2007

British Residents Set to be Released From Guantanamo

By Jacob Leon Beier
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – The BBC reports that four British residents will be released from the Guantanamo Bay detention center.  The release date is unknown at this point. 

Three detainees will be returning to Britain, while another, Shaker Abdur-Raheem Aamer, will return to his home country, Saudi Arabia.  The detainees, Jamil el-Banna, Omar Deghayes, Abdenour Samuer and Aamer, were captured in various locations around the world and have been held for extended periods of time—some never appearing in front of a judge.

Supporters of the detainees have urged the British government for some time to demand the release of these men; some of whom, it is argued, were imprisoned simply because of mistaken identity.

The lawyer of the soon-to-be-released detainees, Clive Smith, said, “There’s no doubt that the agreement has been struck, that they will return home.  The question is, when?  There’s no reason why they couldn’t come home tomorrow, but the US are insisting on a lot of red tape.”

Often times, the release of Guantanamo detainees is complicated by countries refusing to receive a former terrorism suspect and/or objections by the released detainee pertaining to the likelihood that they will be tortured upon arrival by hostile governments. Furthermore, national security concerns slow the process.  A number of released detainees have been recaptured after they rejoined the fight.

The British government appealed the US government for the release and return of the five British residents in August.  Human rights groups applauded this move, because the UK government, up to that point, had refused to get involved in cases relating to non-British citizens.

Ethopian, Binyam Moammed al Habashi, the fifth detainee, will remain at Guantanamo Bay.  Approximately 300 detainees are currently held at the Guantanamo Bay military prison.

For more information, please see:

BBC - UK Guantanamo Four to be Released – 8 December 2007

BBC – Profile: UK Residents in Guantanamo – 8 December 2007

Washington Post – Released Detainees Rejoining the Fight – 22 October 2004

C.I.A. Destroys Interrogation Tapes and Bush Says "Can't Recall" Ever Knowing About Them

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, United States - According to the Washington Post, the White House stated that President Bush "does not recall" being told of the existence or 2005 destruction of video recordings made of the C.I.A. harshly interrogating suspected terrorists.  The New York Times says that one of the suspects in one of two videos destroyed was Abu Zubayah.  Zubayah was the first detainee to be held in C.I.A. custody.  The video allegedly confirms that "severe interrogation techniques", including water boarding according to MSNBC, were being used against him.  The New York Times points out, however, that both C.I.A. Director General Michael V. Hayden and President Bush have both publicly maintained that the information the C.I.A. has obtained through their interrogation program have been imperative to getting important intelligence against Al Qaeda.  President Bush specifically has pointed to Zubayah as providing the information to capture Khalid Sheikh Mohammed who was the "mastermind of the September 11th attacks."

The tapes of the interrogations were made in 2002 but destroyed by the C.I.A. in 2005 according to the New York Times.  2005 was a time of great controversy and scrutiny over the C.I.A.'s secret detention program.  General Hayden stated yesterday that the tapes were destroyed for fear that they would expose officials to possible retaliation against them and their families by Al Qaeda members and its supporters and also because the intelligence gained from those interrogations were no longer valuable.  The decision to destroy the tapes was apparently made by previous head of the Directorate of Operations, Jose A. Rodriguez.  Hayden, says MSNBC, said the C.I.A. has an internal watchdog that has verified that the interrogation techniques they saw on the tapes in 2003 were legal.  Hayden, however, banned the use of water boarding in 2006.  Hayden spoke to C.I.A. employees yesterday and, along with reassuring them that the techniques on the video were legal, the Washington Post states he said Zabayah (really Zabaida) became "defiant and evasive" during normal interrogation and that "other means' were needed to tap 'his extensive knowledge of Al Qaeda personnel and operations.'"

Once news was released yesterday that the C.I.A. had destroyed tapes Congress, the courts and September 11th Commission all questioned whether the C.I.A. had withheld information they had requested about aspects of their interrogation program.  The September 11th Commission finished their investigations and reports in 2004.  Members of the commission have expressed their surprise that they were never informed of the C.I.A. tapes and that they existed well past the publication of their report.  MSNBC says that members of the Senate Intelligence Committee were also alarmed and have "vowed to conduct a thorough review."  General Hayden, states the New York Times, says Congressional oversight committees new about hte existence of the tapes and were also given advance warning that they would be destroyed.  Two members of the Congressional oversight committee, including Representative Jane Harman (D-CA) have insisted that they were not aware of the existence or destruction of the tapes.  Harman stated, "this episode reinforces my view that the C.I.A. should not be conducting a separate interrogations program."  John Radsan, a former C.I.A. lawyer from 2002-2004 and current professor at William Mitchell School of Law says that legally, destroying these tapes could carry penalties according to MSNBC.

For more information, please see:

New York Times - CIA Destroyed 2 Tapes Showing Interrogations - 6 December 2007

Washington Post - Bush Does Not Recall Learning of CIA Tapes - 7 December 2007

MSNBC - CIA Destroyed Terrorism Suspect Videotapes - 7 December 2007

BRIEF: Expansion of 'Hate Crime' Definition Fails in the House of Representatives

On December 6, 2007, Congress dropped legislation that would have expanded the definition of a hate crime to include attacks on homosexuals.  The proposed bill would have expanded the definition of the federal hate crime law, acts of violence against individuals based on race, religion, color or national origin, to include sexual orientation, gender, gender identity and disability.  The bill, widely supported by Democrats in its inception, was attached to a defense policy bill that would authorize the allocation of more money to the Iraq war.  This attachment drew criticism from many Democrats and the bill lost the number of votes necessary to pass in the House of Representatives.

For more information, please see:

The Associated Press - Congress Drops Hate Crime Bill - 6 December 2007

CNN - Congress Drops Hate Crime Bill Covering Attacks on Gays - 6 December 2007

BRIEF: Guantanamo Detainee Attempts Suicide

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba – A detainee held in the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, attempted to slash his own throat with a fingernail he had sharpened. 

Military officials described the grisly attempt not as suicide but as an act of “self harm.”

Since the military prison was opened by the United States in January 2002 as a detainment institution for terrorism suspects, four men have successfully committed suicide.

Human rights groups argue that the suicide attempts are a display of their sheer despair.

For more information, please see:

News.com.au - Guantanamo Bay Inmate Slashes Throat with Fingernail – 5 December 2007

BRIEF: U.S. H.I.V. Rate Higher Than Projected

WASHINGTON, United States – American health authorities, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have concluded that a greater amount of people are being infected with H.I.V. than had been estimated earlier through the use of “informal methods.” 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had previously estimated that approximately 40,000 people per year contracted the virus.

Critics argue that national prevention programs are woefully underfunded  and more money must be allocated to prevent the continued spread of the virus.

For more information, please see:

The New York Times – Figures on H.I.V. Rate Expected to Rise – 2 December 2007

Defense Attorneys Ordered to Keep Witnesses Confidential from their Clients in Guantanamo

By:  Lindsey Brady
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - Omar Khadr, now 21, is likely to be one of the first detainees from Guantanamo to be prosecuted.  Khadr, who was originally born in Canada, is facing charges for his part in the killing of a U.S. soldier when he was 15 years old.  The Washington Post revealed yesterday that in October a U.S. military judge, Army Col. Peter Brownback, declared that the identities of witnesses could not be revealed by defense attorneys to their clients or anyone else.  Fox News says that the laws that allow for evidence to be classified and proceedings to be held in closed courtrooms has been in place since the first use of war-crimes tribunals in WWII era.

The decision was issued after military prosecutors expressed their concern that witnesses, who will most likely consist of members of the U.S. military, could be subject to retaliation by Al Qaeda or other terrorists.  The New York Times says that three weeks before the military trial, prosecutors can ask for the confidentiality requirement to be abandoned or they can ask the judge to continue the secrecy order.  Defense attorneys and outside commentators have serious concerns with the order.  Navy Lt. Comdr. William Kuebler is Khadr's lead defense attorney and has protested the order that requires him to keep the identities of witnesses confidential from his own client.  Kuebler claims, according the Washington Post, that the order impedes his ability to create the necessary attorney-client relationship based on trust and confidence.  Also it doesn't allow for the defense attorneys to ask their clients or anyone else about the witnesses to investigate the "veracity" of their testimony.  Above all, Kuebler tells the New York Times that "the order treated Mr. Khadr as if he had already been convicted and deprived him of a trial at which the public could assess the evidence against him...instead of a presumption of innocence and of a public trial, we start with a presumption of guilt and of a secret trial."

Khadr's defense lawyers, according to to the New York Times, points out that prosecutors have been seeking similar orders of secrecy in other military cases.  They argue that these kind of requests and orders are indicative of the Bush Administration's policies for handling the cases of detainees being held in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.    On a larger scale outside commentators have warned that the rest of the world is watching these proceedings and an order allowing classified evidence to be used against the accused and proceedings being conducted in closed courtrooms may look as if the United States is not fairly trying the cases of the detainees.  Ben Wizner, staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, was reported by the Washington Post as saying "Khadr's case may be the very first trial under this new system, and if the trial is conducted with rules that don't allow him to defend himself, the system will be seen as illegitimate and U.S. interests will be harmed."

For more information, please see:

The Washington Post - Trial Witnesses Kept Secret at Gitmo - 1 December 2007

The New York Times - Witnesses Names to Be Withheld From Detainee - 1 December 2007

Fox News - Trial Witnesses Kept Secret at Gitmo - 1 December 2007