Ben Davis : "I have been greatly troubled reading the censored transcript of the hearing of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed before the Combat Status Review Tribunal (CSRT) – antechamber to the Military Commissions created under the Military Commissions Act of 2006. As I read what Mr. Mohammed said, my immediate reaction was "A mechanism is grinding [...]
The US military lawyer for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks said Monday that his client was sedated for 24 hours last month before being told about new charges against him. Maj. Michael Mori said Hicks was given a drug to ease his complaints of stomach pain, but while the medicine took effect, a US [...]
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) urged the US and Afghanistan governments Sunday to establish a better legal framework to guide US military actions in the fight against the Taliban, criticizing US forces for civilian deaths in Afghanistan. The AIHRC said the Afghanistan Constitution and the six international human rights treaties that the country [...]
The FBI largely ignored growing concerns from its own lawyers and managers about the lawfulness of retrieving thousands of telephone records of US citizens between 2004 to 2006, the Washington Post reported Sunday. The allegations follow a sharply critical March 9 report by US Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine on Patriot Act investigative [...]
Minutes after the Iraqi High Tribunal resumed proceedings Sunday in the Anfal trial it adjourned the proceeding after a prosecution request for more time. The trial is expected to begin again on March 26. On Thursday, two defense witnesses testified anonymously from behind a curtain. The first witness insisted he had nothing to share with [...]
Over 100 members of the Egypt parliament boycotted a Sunday parliamentary session called to debate constitutional amendments proposed last year by President Hosni Mubarak . Critics say the amendments, which target 34 articles of the constitution, are designed to favor Mubarak and his ruling National Democratic Party and restrict powers of the Islamist and independent [...]
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales apologized in a conference call with federal prosecutors Friday for mishandling the dismissal of eight US Attorneys. Gonzales has been heavily criticized since he fired the attorneys in 2006 amid speculation the moves were politically motivated . During the phone call, Gonzales regretted suggesting the firings were reflective of the [...]
Polish President Lech Kaczynski assured German Chancellor Angela Merkel Saturday that Warsaw would not hinder efforts to reach agreement on a European Constitution . Poland joins Spain and Italy in their recent pledge to support Germany in reviving the European charter which stalled in 2005 after being rejected by voters in France and the Netherlands. [...]
Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has filed for an injunction to delay his military trial currently scheduled to start March 20 . Maj. Michael Mori, Hicks' Pentagon-appointed lawyer, said Saturday that Hicks' defense team asked the US District Court in Washington last week to order the suspension of Hicks' military commission , even though [...]
UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers Leandro Despouy has urged the Iraqi government not to execute Saddam-era Vice President Taha Yassin Ramadan because of "grave shortcomings" in his legal process. Despouy is the second UN special rapporteur to make such a request. Last month, Phillip Alston , UN Special Rapporteur on [...]
