ABA Releases Report on Exploring Counterterrorism Detention Alternatives

01 October 2009

ABA Releases Report on Exploring Counterterrorism Detention Alternatives

By Mario A. Flores
Special Features Editor, Impunity Watch Journal

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In June of this year, the American Bar Association Standing Committee on Law and National Security brought together a group of legal experts, scholars and practitioners in the field of national security law for a day-long workshop on “Exploring Counterterrorism Detention Alternatives.” The workshop focused on whether new or different detention authority is necessary and wise for effective counterterrorism policy.

This is the third workshop that the ABA has sponsored as part of their series “Due Process and Terrorism.” The workshop that initiated the series was held in October 2007. The next one was in April of this year and focused on “Trying Terrorists in Article III Courts.”

The ABA then releases post-workshop reports that compile the insights and experiences of the expert practitioners and scholars who participate in the discussions.

To read the reports, please click on the following links:

Exploring Counterterrorism Detention Alternatives – September 2009

Trying Terrorists in Article III Courts – July 2009

Due Process and Terrorism – November 2007

Roadside Bomb Kills 30, Injures 39 in Afghanistan


By Alok Bhatt
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

 MAIWAND, Afghanistan – A roadside bomb planted beneath a crowded inner-city bus travelling along the fringes of Kandahar killed 20 civilians on Tuesday.  Among the dead were 10 children.  Additionally, many more civilians incurred injuries from impact and debris.  The blast left the bus burning and twisted, demonstrating the power of militant groups’ improvised explosive devices (IED).  The victims of the blast were rushed to a nearby hospital in Kandahar.  
 
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 This latest attack signifies the increasing danger Afghan civilians must face when traversing public roads. Although roadside bombs are utilized to kill foreign troops, over 1,500 Afghanistan civilians have fallen victim to these lethal mechanisms.  The western district in which this tragedy occurred has long been a zone of combat between insurgents and Western armed forces.  As a result, many varieties of traps remain strewn about the city streets.  Afghan citizens often travel along roads used by Western military forces where enemy combatants lay roadside bombs and other IEDs.  A Taliban spokesperson stated that the organization does not intentionally target civilians, disclaiming responsibility for the attack.  However, despite the designs of the Taliban and other insurgent factions, IED’s, the deadliest weapons used in Afghanistan, continue to indiscriminately take the lives of the innocent. 

The attack in Maiwand exacerbates over 8 years of war-weariness and discontent felt among the Afghan population.  While a seemingly fruitless war against terrorism continually plagues their land, this summer’s questionable elections suggest that the corrupt officials have moved to silence the political voice of the people.  These travesties represent a violation of Afghan nationals’ fundamental rights to live in peace and democratic right to participate in the selection of their leaders.  

The Obama administration continues to formulate strategies for the Afghanistan front, yet the Taliban and other militant organizations steadily exploit violence to demonstrate their presence in key areas.  Members of the North-Atlantic Treaty Organization have expressed pessimism in the West’s ability to prevail in this war.  Until the West begins employing effective tactics, it seems Afghan civilians must continue living in fear of being caught in the tides of war.  

 

For more information, please see:

Al-Jazeera – Dozens die in Afghan roadside blast – 29 September 2009

The L.A. Times – 30 killed when Afghan bus hit roadside bomb – 29 September 2009

Yahoo! News – Taliban roadway attacks spread fear in Afghanistan – 29 September 2009

Goldstone Defends Gaza Inquiry, Calls for Accountability

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GENEVA, Switzerland – Richard Goldstone, lead investigator of the United Nations fact-finding report on Israeli-Palestinian fighting in Gaza during the winter of 2008, called on the UN Human Rights Council to accept the report and to hold both Israelis and Palestinians accountable for violations of human rights laws.

 

“A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long,” said Goldstone to the UN Human Rights Council on September 29. “The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point…The ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence.”

 

The Goldstone Report called for the UN Security Council to refer any allegations of war crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague after six months from the report’s release if either the Israelis or the Palestinians did not investigate or prosecute those suspected of war crimes.

 

On September 30, Goldstone told CNN that he believed Israel had intentionally targeted civilians, though not as a policy, nor as the primary goal of Israel’s Operation Cast Lead. However, Goldstone pointed to evidence that some of the civilian casualties were intentional.

 

“There was no mistake in bombing factories,” Goldstone said. “The Israeli intelligence has very precise information.”

 

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appealed to the UN Human Rights Council on September 30, urging the Council to “come to its senses” and reject the Goldstone Report. Netanyahu said that the UN Human Rights Council has passed more resolutions against Israel than any other nation, and that adopting this report would harm peace efforts in the Middle East.

 

“It will harm the war on terrorism and it will grant legitimacy to terrorists who hide behind civilians,” said Netanyahu. “It will also harm the UN’s standing and, most of all, it will be a crippling blow to the peace process.”

 

Sarah Leah Whitson, the Middle East Director at Human Rights Watch, emphasized that the Goldstone Report sharply criticized both the Israeli government and the Hamas government, demonstrating the report’s lack of bias. Whitson called on both Israel and Hamas to conduct thorough investigations of the report’s allegations.

 

“Israel has repeatedly shown that it lacks the political will to investigate itself impartially,” Whitson said. “And Hamas’s record on internal investigations is even worse.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

Ha’aretz – Israel to UN Body: Come to Your Senses on Goldstone Report – 1 October 2009

 

Ma’an News Agency – Goldstone: Israel Intentionally Targeted Gaza Civilians – 1 October 2009

 

Al Jazeera – UN Investigator Defends Gaza Report – 29 September 2009

 

Palestinian News Network – Through Women’s Eyes: PCHR Report on Gender-Specific Impact and Consequences of Operation Cast Lead – 29 September 2009

 

Human Rights Watch – US: Endorse Goldstone Report on Gaza – 27 September 2009

 

 

Taylor Continues to Deny Allegations

By Jonathan Ambaye
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

The HAGUE, Netherlands – Today, Charles Taylor again denied additional claims made by witnesses regarding his involvement in the atrocities that took place across West Africa during his time as the President of Liberia.  In his testimony on September 29, 2009 he denies claims by a witness that he ordered rebel attacks against Guinea, Sierra Leone, and The Ivory Coast all during his tenure as President of Liberia. The witness a former member of the Revolutionary United Front (RUF), a Sierra Leonean rebel group, claims Taylor supplied the group with the resources and instruction to carry out their attacks.

In his testimony the witness told prosecutors that the former interim leader of the RUF Sam Bockarie, rather than discuss decisions with his own members, would seek advice from Taylor. It is during his discussions with Taylor that the witness claims Bockarie was encouraged by Taylor to attack Freetown and free RUF leader FODAY Sankoh who had been imprisoned.

In response to these allegations, Taylor said to the judge, “I sure did not plan it. I don’t know if Sankoh did, but I did not. I did not plan any invasion of Freetown, never.” Taylor went on to deny having any knowledge of shipments of weapons used in the Freetown attacks into Liberia, and that he had no idea what the witness was talking about in general.

The Special Court’s Prosecution team is alleging Charles Taylor supplied the RUF with weapons in return for diamonds, further perpetuating the severe conflict taking place in the country at the time. They also allege he was controlling the RUF and planning attacks in not just Sierra Leone but also surrounding countries such as Guinea and the Ivory Coast, in hopes to further his own political agenda.

Taylor vehemently denies all of these claims. In response to the claims that he had RUF rebels attack Guinea, he claims if it was in his best interest to attack Guinea why he wouldn’t use the Liberian’s he had at his disposal to do so. It was a question he posed during his testimony in an attempt to dismiss the witness’s claims as illogical. Taylor’s testimony will continue this week regarding additional witness testimony.

For more information please see:

All Africa – Taylor Did Not Know of Sierra Leone Attack Plans, Nor Order A Rebel
Attack OnGuinea, He Says – 29 September 2009

CharlesTaylorTrial.org – Taylor Says He Didn’t Order Rebel Attack on Freetown – 29 September 2009

Impunity Watch – Taylor Denied More Allegations in Court – 27 September 2009

All Africa – I Was Not Aware of RUF’s Operation No Living Thing – 8 September 2009

Justice Is Served As Human Rights Activist and Leader Is Released

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Chief Justice Godfrey Chidyausiku issued a permanent stay of prosecution on Monday in the case of the prominent human rights activist Jestina Mukoko and eight other defendants facing charges of plotting to topple President Robert Mugabe’s government. Mukoko had been illegally abducted, beaten, and tortured in jail, by Zimbabwe’s security forces last year. Chidyausiku ruled that Mukoko and her co-accused could not be tried now, or in the future, because their constitutional rights had been violated.

Last year in December Mukoko, the leader of Zimbabwe Peace Project, was abducted from her Norton home in the early hours of the morning, wearing nothing but her night clothes. For weeks police claimed they did not have her in custody, only for the then State Security Minister, Didymus Mutasa, to admit in court papers that he had sanctioned the abductions as a matter of state security. Mukoko spent more than a month in several secret locations where she was tortured by state security agents to force her to confess to an anti-government plot. Her captors accused her of recruiting and attempting to recruit people, including a police officer, to undergo military training in Botswana so they could topple Mugabe’s government.

Monday’s ruling sets a precedent for other human rights and opposition activists who face similar charges and were subjected to the same conditions. They have applied to the same court to have their charges dropped but are awaiting rulings. “This is really a positive thing for activists and civil society but I hope the state will comply with the ruling because in the past they (the state) have re-arrested people on fresh trumped up charges,” John Makumbe, a political analyst and Mugabe critic, said. Innocent Gonese, a member of parliament from Tsvangirai’s party, said the judgment could be “the beginning of good things to come, politically,” but added that scores of other party activists remain jailed or face charges.

The Zimbabwe Peace Project director said she would be going home to rest and thanked everyone who had supported her during her ordeal. Mukoko also vowed to continue her activism work.

For more information, please see:

SW Radio Africa – Terror Charges Dropped Against Mukoko And 8 Others – 28 September 2009

CNN – Zimbabwe court bars activist Mukoko’s prosecution – 28 September 2009

Reuters – Zimbabwe Court Rules Activist Can’t Be Prosecuted – 28 September 2009

AP – Terror charges dropped against Zimbabwe activist – 28 September 2009