By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON, D.C., United States – Since the United States Supreme Court decisions in Hamdi v. Rumsfeld and Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, fifteen Federal District Court Judges have heard and assessed habeas corpus petitions filed by Guantanamo Prison Facility detainees. These hearings continue as President Obama announced that ten detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, will be prosecuted in the U.S. in either federal court or by military commission. The judges have ordered the release of thirty Guantanamo prisoners since the hearings began.

The judges hearing the prisoners cases cited many reasons in granting their release, the main rationale being that there was a lack of evidentiary material to support a conviction. Judge Gladys Kessler wrote in granting the release of one prisoner that much of the government’s evidence was suspect because it contained second- and third-hand hearsay statements that were obtained by way of torture. Also, some of the statements and documents offered by the government could not be authenticated. 

An example of a detainee that was released was a prisoner name Janko. Before being captured by the U.S. military, Janko was tortured by Al-Qaida for three months and was forced to falsely confess that he was an American spy. He was then imprisoned by the Taliban for a year and a half. Despite this evidence, the government argued that Janko had ties to al-Qaida. In ordering his release, Judge Richard Leon wrote that “surely this extreme treatment of that nature evinces a total evisceration of whatever relationship might have existed” between Janko and the terrorist organization. 

Not all of the detainees who have had their cases heard have been released. For example, Judge James Robinson wrote that Adham Mohammed Ali Awad was a part of Al-Qaida despite questionable evidence that indicated otherwise. 

The habeas corpus hearings last approximately one to two days. The prisoners are allowed to present testimony in their own defense. They participate in their hearings by a secure video link. Those detainees that have been granted release have either been repatriated to their original country or have been released to other countries. Those prisoners that have had their habeas petitions denied await their trial in either a federal district court or by military commission. 

For more information, please see:

MSNBC – Gitmo Detainees Finally Get Day in Court – 16 November 2009

AP – Excerpts From Rulings in Guantanamo Bay Cases – 15 November 2009

NYTIMES – Uighurs Leave Guantanamo for Palau – 31 October 2009

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

BRITISH COLUMBIA, Canada – A man who was arrested as a national security risk after crossing the US-Canadian border with $800,000 in gold coins was released from custody Thursday. Khaled Nawaya crossed the border into British Columbia on October 6 and was arrested after he lied to border officials, saying he only had 10,000 Canadian dollars

When the Canadian border searched his car they found an additional $100,000 in cash. They also found a ring bearing the Hezbollah insignia and a DVD about September 11 conspiracy theories. Also in his car was a scarf bearing pictures of former US and Israeli presidents depicted to look like monkeys. He was detained because officials originally feared he might belong to the Hezbollah organization and the money might be terrorist funds.

Khaled Nawaya, thirty-four, is a Saudi Arabian-born Syrian who has been living in the U.S. since he was seventeen. He received the money in a lawsuit against the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Society after they gave him false information which caused him to lose his student visa. After he lost his visa he decided to move to Canada and had been approved by the Canadian Immigration Board for permanent residency at the time of his arrest.

Nawaya has fallen under suspicion of U.S. officials before after the September 11, 2001 attacks. His lawyer, Phil Rankin, says the suspicions where likely because he was of Middle Eastern descent and a flight instructor.

Nawaya says he wired money to his brother in Texas who bought the coins for him before he left. He decided to invest in the coins because he does not trust American banks and felt this would be safer. Nawaya says he lied to boarder officials because he was afraid they would tax him if he told the truth.

Nawaya has not been charged with any crime though the Royal Canadian Mounted Police originally recommended he be charged with failure to declare. The Canadian government is still in possession of the gold. Nawaya says he is still in shock but is just thankful for his release.

Nawaya’s lawyer points out that it is not illegal to be pro-Palestinian and anti-Israeli. He said “those feelings are shared by hundreds of millions of people and in Canada by tens of thousands of people.”

Although Nawaya still has some immigration issues to sort out he will most likely be allowed to live in Canada.

For more information, please see:

Taiwan News – Syrian Man Arrested at US-Canada Border is Freed – 13 November 2009

Globe and Mail – Flight Instructor Released After Month in Custody – 12 November  2009

CBC – Canadian Border Guards Nab Syrian With $800k in Gold – 11 November 2009

By William Miller

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

 

OTTAWA, Canada – Canada’s Supreme Court began to hear arguments in the appeal from a lower court decision finding that the Canadian government must ask the United States to return Omar Khadr to Canadian custody. Khadr, now twenty-three, is currently being held at Guantanamo Bay Prison. He has been in U.S. custody since he was accused of killing a U.S. solder at age fifteen.

Khadr was born in Toronto, Canada. His father was born in Egypt and his mother was born in Israel to Palestinian parents. Canadian officials claim that his family has close ties to Al-Qaida. In 2002, Khadr was arrested in Afghanistan after he threw a grenade in a battle with U.S. solders killing one of them. He has been held at Guantanamo Bay ever since.

U.S. Officials have now announced that Khadr will be one of five detainees whose case would be heard at military commissions. He will face several terrorism charges including murder, conspiracy, and support of terrorism. It is not yet known where he will be transferred but some have speculated he will be transferred to a naval prison in South Carolina. President Obama has ordered the prison at Guantanamo to be closed by January 22 of next year.

Khadr’s lawyers argue that Canada must request his return under international law. They say it is necessary to protect him as a child soldier and to repudiate torture. The United States has denied any allegations of torture saying that Khadr has been treated humanely.

The Canadian government’s main argument is that federal courts do not have the authority to order the government to make such a request. Federal lawyer Robert Frater said: “The government has the right to decide what requests should be made, how they should be made, and when they should be made. The courts are not in the best position to do that.” They also argue that Canada is not bound to protect the rights of its Citizens abroad and must only consider there requests.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper has consistently refused to ask the U.S. for Khadr’s release into Canadian custody. He has asserted that it is important to allow the U.S. legal system to “play out.” Parliamentary Secretary Pierre Poilievre has also supported the U.S. saying “We acknowledge the decision of the Obama administration to prosecute Omar Khadr through the U.S. military commission system and we believe the U.S. military process announced today should run its course.”

Last April, a federal judge found that Khadr’s Rights had been violated by the government’s refusal to ask for his return. He also found that Khadr had not been granted special status as a minor and had been subject to isolation and sleep deprivation. The Supreme court has not decided on the case yet having reserved there ruling for a later date.

For more information, please see:

AFP – Canada Court Urged to Bring Home Guantanamo Inmate – 13 November 2009

Associated Press – Canada Supreme Court Hears Gitmo Case – 13 November 2009

Liberal.ca – Conservitives Show Indifference to Human Rights Abuses Against Canadians Abroad – 13 November 2009

 

By Stephen Kopko

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

UTAH, United States – On Tuesday, the Salt Lake City Council passed an ordinance that outlawed discrimination because of sexual orientation in housing and employment within the city. The ordinance was passed after a number of back room meetings over the past few weeks. The ordinance was also supported by the Church of Latter Day Saints. It was the first time that the Mormon Church supported gay rights legislation.

The Mormon Church has been criticized over the past year for not supporting California’s Proposition 8, which would have allowed homosexual couples to marry in the state. The Church does not support homosexual marriage. However, the Church was crucial in passing the Salt Lake City ordinance. According to Michael Otterson, public relations director for the Mormon Church, the leaders of the religion supported the ordinance because it did not make homosexuals a special class of people and protect the institution of marriage. He stated that the Church respected all the dignity of all classes of people and that the ordinance promoted basic civil rights.

The Salt Lake City Council passed the ordinance unanimously. It was the first city in Utah to pass such protections. The ordinance will take effect in April. The mayor must appoint an administrator to investigate complaints of discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identification. Besides Salt Lake City, approximately one hundred cities across the United States have passed similar anti-discrimination ordinances.

Gay rights and transgender rights supporters see the passage of the ordinance and the Mormon Church’s support as a welcome sign. Will Carlson, a manager of Equality Now, Utah’s largest gay rights support group, stated that the Mormon Church’s support was “huge.” Also, the statement of the Church in regards to the ordinance gave Carlson hope that the Church would support more legislation. Equality Now initiated a program of “common ground” bills in 2009 that would halt the discrimination of homosexuals and transgender people.

Opponents of homosexual and trans-gender rights felt the passage of the ordinance brought the passage of homosexual marriage closer to being law. According to the Sutherland Institute: “Each new inclusion in the law of such vague terms as sexual orientation and gender identity represents a mounting threat to the institution of marriage.”

For more Information, please see:

AP – Mormons Throw Support Behind Gay-Rights Cause – 11 November 2009

NYTIMES – Mormon Support of Gay Rights Statute Draws Praise – 11 November 2009

Salt Lake City Tribune – Salt Lake City Adopts Pro-Gay Statutes, with LDS Support – 11 November 2009

By Brenda Lopez Romero
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America desk

TIJUANA, Mexico – The first oral arguments in front of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR) in Washington were heard for the torture allegations by the Military in Baja California. The families of the police and civilian detainees by the Military testified that they survived the pain and fear of torture. The survivors claimed that they were assaulted, given electric shocks, and warned that if they died their bodies would be throw randomly on the streets. They denounced the torture when they were in prison in Tepic, Nayarit. The victims claim that agents of the Secretary of Public Safety in Tijuana, Baja California participated “actively in acts of torture” of persons held under preventive detention.

Human rights organizations accompanied the families and presented elements and testimony before IACHR.  The Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights documented several cases where the so called “war on organized crime” was lead to torture policy being used as a general rule not an exception.

The petitions filed included requests to implement safeguard procedure en Tepic and to establish a working committee in Tijuana with representatives from all the Government branches, human rights advocates, and survivors and their families to find a resolution for prevention, sanctions, and documentation of torture.

The petitioners included Mayra López Pineda who testified about twenty-five police officer detained for forty days that were tortured. The police officers were never informed why they were detained and claim were torture to sign a confession declaration while their eyes were covered. Luis Castellanos testified for his brother Ricardo Castellanos and alleged his brother was beaten, shocked, and asphyxiated. Blanca Mesina, daughter of a police officer, testified to the similar torture of her father. 

Raúl Ramírez Bahena, director of IACHR stated: “We are not opposed to the presence of the military nor do we want to mire their work, but we are sure that they should not realize horrible actions such as torture, you cannot combat crime by committing crimes.” The Court is expected to announce its recommendation to the State authorities in December. 

For more information, please see:

La Cronica – Denuncian ante CIDH torturas de familiares arraigados – 11 November 2009    

EFE – Denuncian participación de funcionarios mexicanos en las torturas de detenidos – 5 November 2009 

El Mexicano – Analizarán violación a derechos humanos – 31 October 2009