Impunity Watch: North America

BRIEF: JURY SELECTED FOR GUANTANAMO TRIAL

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba- Jury selection began today for the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, Osama Bin Laden’s driver. This will be the first U.S. war crimes tribunal since World War Two. Hamdan is charged with conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism. If convicted, he will face life in prison.
Prosecutors contend Hamdan was in al Qaeda’s inner circle, participated in al-Qaeda training camps and transported weapons that were used to attack U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan. Defense attorneys admit that Hamdan worked for bin Laden but say that he was a minor employee.
Hamdan himself told the court in pretrial hearings that he was beaten, threatened with death, deprived of sleep before interrogations and sexually humiliated by an interrogator in violation of Muslim sexual taboos.
Jamil Dakwar, director of the ACLU’s Human Rights Program, said the fact that the military can use hearsay evidence and statements obtained through harsh interrogation techniques are examples of how the system is flawed. Dakwar stated, "We know that the inherent problems are not going to allow this to produce a fair trial. It will only make it a show trial.”
Under the rules established by the Military Commissions Act of 2006, at least five military officers will make up the jury, and a two-thirds vote is required for a guilty verdict. A three-fourths vote is required for sentences that are longer than 10 years.

For more information, please see:
USA Today- Jury Selection Today in Gitmo Trial- 20 July 2008

Reuters- Bin Laden Driver Faces First Guantanamo Trial- 20 July 2008

BRIEF: Video of Khadr Interrogation Released

TORONTO, Canada – A video depicting the interrogation of Omar Khadr, 16 years old at the time of interrogation, at Guantanamo Bay was released on July 15, 2008.  The video was created by United States agents and shows Canadian intelligence agents questioning Khadr.  The video provides “insight into the effects of prolonged interrogation and detention on [Khadr].” 

The video shows Khadr crying for his mother and requesting treatment for his wounds.  Later in the video Khadr tells the interrogator that he was tortured while at the United States military detention center in Afghanistan.  A Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs report stated that a Canadian official who visited Khadr in 2004 was told by the American military that Khadr and other Guantanamo prisoners were “moved from cell to cell throughout the night to keep them awake and weaken their resistance to interrogation.”  In addition to the constant cell movement, the report noted that Khadr was placed in isolation for up to three weeks before being interrogated again. 

With the release of the confidential interrogation tape, Khadr’s lawyers hope to apply pressure to the Canadian government to seek his return. 

For more information, please see:

ABC News – First Video of Gitmo Interrogation Released – 15 July 2008

BBC News – First Guantanamo Video Released – 15 July 2008

Human Rights Watch Supports Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008; U.S. to Investigate Deaths of Labor Union Leaders in the Philippines; U.S. to Fund Long-term Growth in Haiti

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, U.S.- This week, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to consider reauthorizing an updated version of a 1974 bill that required that juveniles picked up for breaking the law be kept separate from alleged adult offenders. Juveniles held in adult facilities are more likely to be attacked, more likely to commit crimes once released and more likely to commit suicide than those held in facilities that house only minors.
The Juvenile Justice Delinquency and Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008 strengthens protections for juveniles while safeguarding judicial discretion to deal with exceptional cases. It also calls for preservation and expansion of programs that have been particularly effective in combating delinquency and crime among youth, including mentoring and after-school supervision.
Over the past decade, an increasing number of states have adopted laws allowing juveniles to be charged as adults for specific serious crimes. Under the proposed bill, even juveniles charged as adults must be held in juvenile facilities or “out of sound and sight” of adults in adult facilities unless a juvenile specifically orders otherwise.
Human Rights Watch supports the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008. The bill takes clear steps to reduce structural ethnic and racial discrimination in the justice system, bringing the US closer to compliance with its obligation under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), a treaty ratified by the United States in 1994.

For more information, please see:
Washington Post- Juvenile Justice- 13 2008

Human Rights Watch- Human Rights Watch Supports the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization Act of 2008- 3 July 2008

MANILA, Philippines- The United States Trade Representative (USTR) will conduct separate investigations into the situation of human rights and alleged labor malpractices in the Philippines. Among the issues to be examined is increase the killings of labor union leaders since 2001. Thirty-three labor and trade union leaders were reportedly abducted and killed since the government intensified its campaign against labor groups.
The U.S. government’s initiative was be launched after the USTR received a petition from the International Labor Rights Forum, where the Philippine government was accused of having a “no union, no strike” policy.
The USTR has informed the Philippine government that it must comply with the US law upholding internationally recognized worker rights. If the Philippine government does not comply, the trade relationship between the U.S. and the Philippines will be jeopardized.

For more information, please see:
ABS CBN- RP, US to probe labor rights abuses- 11 July 2008

Global Nation- “Concerned” government to respond to USTR Review of Labor Rights- 14 July 2008

MIAMI, U.S.- The U.S. Agency for International Development came to South Florida on Friday with a $170 million budget to find local groups to help them rebuild Haiti. South Florida is home to the U.S.’ largest Haitian population.
Jose Cardenas, acting administrator of USAID’S Latin American and Caribbean bureau stated, “Emergency food is not what we want to talk about, we’re promoting long-term growth so we don’t have to lurch from crisis to crisis.”

For more information, please see:
Dominican Today- USAID Offers $170 Million to Groups Rebuilding Haiti- 13 July 2008

PR News Wire- USAID Officials Will Hold Forum With Miami’s Haitian Community- 7 July 2008

Former Abu Ghraib Detainees Sue Contractors Over Alleged Torture; Hamdan Seeks Delay In Military Trial To Challenge The Legality Of The Military Commission; UPDATE: Senate Approves Bill Granting Immunity For Phone Companies

By Andrew Benfield
Impunity Watch Senior Desk Officer, North America

MARYLAND, United States – On June 30, 2008, four former Abu Graib detainees filed federal lawsuits that allege they were tortured by United States defense contractors. 

The suit alleges that prisoners were subjected to “forced nudity, electrical shocks, mock executions and other inhumane treatment.” 

Abu Graib first came under scrutiny in 2004 when pictures were released of United States soldiers posing with detainees in inhumane positions.  Stemming from this event, eleven United States soldiers were convicted and five others were disciplined. 

The four former detainees are seeking “payments high enough to compensate the detainees for their injuries, and to deter contractors from such conduct in the future.”

For more information, please see:

Yahoo! News – Abu Graib inmates sue contractors, claim torture – 30 June 2008

BBC News – Abu Graib inmates sue US firms – 1 July 2008

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WASHINGTON, United States – On July 3, 2008, lawyers for Salim Hamdan, Osama bin Laden’s former driver, have requested a civilian judge delay Hamdan’s military trial. 

Hamdan has challenged the “legality of the military commission system since 2004.”  After the Supreme Court’s recent ruling allowing Guantanamo detainees to use civilian courts, Hamdan wishes to renew his challenge to the legality of the commission.

Hamdan’s trial is scheduled to begin on July 21, 2008, a date that will not allow a civilian judge to consider “whether the military commission system is legal.” 

Hamdan has requested that a United States District Court judge order the military to delay his trial while he challenges his “detention and the military commission process.”

For more information, please see:

USA Today – Detainee asks civilian judge to delay 1st Guantanamo trial – 3 July 2008

Washington Post – Former Driver for Bin Laden Seeks Delay in Military Trial – 4 July 2008

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WASHINGTON, United States – On July 9, 2008, the United States Senate approved a bill that gave “legal immunity for phone companies that cooperated in the National Security Agency wiretapping program” President Bush approved in the wake of the September 11 attacks. 

Furthermore, the bill gives the executive branch broader latitude on “eavesdropping on people abroad and at home” who it believes are “tied to terrorism.”  The bill also reduces the role of the secret intelligence court in “overseeing certain operations.” 

The bill is seen as an “overhaul” of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed in 1978. 

For more information, please see:

NY Times – Senate Approves Bill to Broaden Wiretap Powers – 10 July 2008

BBC News – Bush Approves Surveillance Bill – 10 July 2008

Haitian Slum Calm; Declassified Records Reveal U.S. Indifference in Korean War Massacres; Calderon Will Use Anti-Drug Package to Improve Police

By Gabrielle Meury
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti- While the residents of Haiti’s most notorious slum, Cite Soleil, have notoriously been plagued by violent riots, a “sudden calm" has descended upon the city. Residents say that they do not know whether the quiet is due to a crackdown on the gangs that ruled the slums or exhaustion brought on by hunger. Daniel Jean, a fisherman and resident of Cite Soleil, stated, “the streets were so dangerous that nobody could go out. The security is better today, but the high food prices for food are a calamity. I haven’t fished in three days because the sea is rough, and when I go home at night there is no food.” Cite Soleil’s mayor, Wilson Louis, says the neighborhood has turned a corner. “Our biggest problem is that there are no jobs. Easily 75 percent of our young men have no opportunity.” Willy Jean Baptiste, who runs a small charity school in the slum, says that the calm is temporary. “Cite Soleil may look 100 percent safe, but I think it’s only 50 percent. The gangs and guns are still here, only in hiding. I have some of these young gang members stop here begging for good. Some of them say if they had a job, they wouldn’t be in the gang.”

For more information, please see:

Boston Globe- Haitian Slum Calm, but Racked by Hunger- 6 July 2008

The Daily News- Two Journalists Killed by Haitian Mob- 5 July 2008

SEOUL, South Korea- In a now-declassified record at the U.S. National Archives from the 1950s reveals that Far east commander General Douglas MacArthur took no action to stop multiple massacres of political prisoners in South Korea. The record has revealed that in the early days of the Korean War, other American officers observed, photographed and confidentially reported on mass executions. The officers took pictures in July 1950 at the slaughter of dozens of men at one killing field outside the city of Daejeon. Between 3,000 and 7,000 are believed to have been shot there by their own military and police, and dumped into mass graves.  The South Korean government’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission is investigating what happened during the “summer of terror.” Historian Jung Bying-joon, a member of the commission, commented on the Americans, stating, “The most important thing is that they did not stop the executions. They were at the crime scene, and took pictures, and wrote reports.”

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- AP IMPACT: US wavered over S. Korean executions- 6 July 2008

The Raw Story- AP: U.S. Okayed Korean War Massacres-  5 July 2008

MEXICO CITY, Mexico- Mexican President Felipe Calderon says that he plans the use the recently approved anti-drug aid to improve the country’s police force. The Merida Initiative aid package was approved last week, totaling $400,000 to be given in training and equipment, not cash. In a telephone call with George W. Bush on Friday, Calderon told Bush that “one of his main aims is to improve the technology and capacity of the federal police, in order to continue dismantling the financial and operational networks or organized crime.” Calderon’s office said that the aid package is a sign of the commitment by both countries to fight organized crime.

For more information, please see:

Associated Press- Mexico Sees Anti-Drug Aid for Police- 4 July 2008

The New York Times- Mexico Accepts Anti-Narcotics Aid From U.S.- 28 June 2008