WASHINGTON D.C., United States – On May 5, Homeland Security Inspector General Richard Skinner told Congress that he was reopening his investigation into whether the US Justie Department improperly deported Canadian Maher Arar. Arar was detained in New York in 2002, during a stopover from Tunisia to Canada. Arar was deported to his native Syria, where he was imprisoned and allegedly tortured.
A Justice Department spokesman, Peter A. Carr, said that its inquiry began in March 2007. The inquiry examined the role of department lawyers in expelling Arar to Syria. He was transferred to Syria despite requests to for him to be deported to Canada and fears that he would be subjected to torture if he returned to Syria.
In a report, which was heavily redacted, Skinner said that “the assurances upon which INS based Arar’s removal were ambiguous regarding the source or authority purporting to bind the Syrian government to protect Arar.”
For more information, please see:
AFP – US Officials Reopen Case of Wrongly Detained Terror Suspect – 6 June 2008
New York Times- Justice Dept Investigating Deportation to Syria – 6 June 2008
Reuters – U.S. Probes Deporting of Canadian to Syria – 6 June 2008
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INSTANBUL, Turkey – Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party has accused the country’s highest court of violating the constitution by overturning a government move to lift a ban on Muslim headscarves in universities.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party campaigned for re-election last year on a promise to lift a ban on head scarves, claiming the prohibition violated religious and personal freedoms. Upon victory, the government passed constitutional amendments to lift the ban.
On May 5, the court threw out the amendments Thursday, saying they violated Turkey’s secular principles. The decision, which is final, threw up a heavy legal barrier to any further attempts to lift the ban and has deepened the divide between the Islamic-leaning government and secular institutions.
Bulent Arinc, a top member of the AK Party described the decision as grave. “It gives me goose pimples… The Constitutional Court has indirectly seized the power of parliament,” said Arinc, a former parliament speaker.
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera – Turkey Headscarf Ruling Condemned – 6 May 2008
Associated Press – Turkish Gov’t Scolds High Court on Head Scarf Ban – 6 May 2008
New York Times – Turkey’s High Court Overturns Headscarf Rule – 6 May 2008
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TEL AVIV, Israel – On June 2, the Israeli Supreme Court heard a petition from Gisha, an Israeli human rights group, representing two Gazan students who had their exit permits denied. The students were granted Fulbright Fellowships to study abroad in Great Britain and Germany but had their requests to leave Gaza denied by Israel.
In its holding, the court criticized the Israeli government for its almost total ban on student travel. A member of the court stated that Israel’s policy was harming “any chance of coexistence” between the Jewish state and its neighbors in Gaza. Also, the court stated that the government should review its policy within the next two weeks. According to Gisha, if Israel does not relax its travel restrictions against Gazans soon, hundreds of students will miss deadlines to pursue studies abroad.
This decision follows the reinstatement of seven students’ Fulbright Fellowships after they were withdrawn on May 30. These students’ fellowships were briefly deferred as a result of Israel denying them exit visas. According to officials in the US State Department, the students’ fellowships were reinstated following US intercession.
Sari Bashi, Gisha director, said, “We hope that Israel will listen to the clear message of Secretary of State Rice’s comments regarding the importance of the right to access education and let all Gaza students leave and study abroad.”
For more information, please see:
New York Times – Israel to loosen Limits on Gaza Scholar – 6 May 2008
Associated Press – 4 Fulbright Students Leave Gaza – 5 June 2008
Reuters – Court Tells Israel to Review Gaza Student Travel – 2 June 2008
