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End rendition and secret detention: Europe’s duty

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 17:38:49 +0100

European states have been implicated in the US-led rendition and secret detention programme, in which people have been unlawfully detained and transferred from one country to another outside of any judicial process.

Some have been transferred from US custody to countries where torture and other ill-treatment is known to accompany interrogation; others have been transferred into US custody and subsequently held in detention centres in Afghanistan and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

A number of individuals have been subjected to enforced disappearance, including in secret CIA detention, and the whereabouts of some three dozen people remain unknown. Every one of the victims of rendition interviewed by Amnesty International has said they were tortured or otherwise ill-treated in custody.

Investigations by the Council of Europe and the European Parliament have recommended that Member States take measures to prevent such human rights violations occurring in the future and to ensure redress, including reparation, to the victims.

These recommendations have not been implemented to date.

Video: Abu Omar, victim of rendition and secret detention

Tue, 24 Jun 2008 12:57:10 +0100

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US and Italian agents snatched Abu Omar from the streets of Milan in February 2003

He was rendered by US agents, via Germany, to Egypt, where he was held for nearly four years, including 14 months in secret detention.

Time for real change as Supreme Court rules on Guantánamo detentions

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 15:55:15 +0100

On the 12 June 2008 the US Supreme Court recognized, in the case of Boumediene v.Bush, the right of those detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba to challenge their detention in US civilian courts. Amnesty International described the ruling as an essential step towards restoring the rule of law to the USA’s counter terrorism measures.

The judgment removes a key obstacle to vindicating basic rights ending the lawless environment of isolation, enforced silence, invisibility, and unrestrained executive power in Guantánamo Bay.

The Supreme Court declared as unconstitutional attempts by the administration and Congress (through the 2006 Military Commissions Act) to strip the detainees of their right to habeas corpus. The Court also dismissed as deficient the substitute scheme established by the administration and Congress to replace habeas corpus proceedings. That scheme consists of “Combatant Status Review Tribunals” (CSRTs), panels of three military officers empowered to review the detainee’s “enemy combatant” status, with extremely limited judicial review of final CSRT decisions under the 2005 Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). The first CSRTs were not held until more than two years after the detentions began. No judicial review of CSRT decisions had been undertaken at the time of the Supreme Court's decision.

"This is the third time since 2004 that the US's highest court has rejected arguments advanced by the Bush administration that it can indefinitely detain people without charge or trial, with no meaningful access to justice," said Amnesty International. The organisation had filed an amicus brief in the case.

“The time has come for the US government to finally bring its detention policies and practices in the 'war on terror' in line with international standards. It must stop all interference with the access of detainees to civilian courts. It should close Guantánamo promptly, abandon the fundamentally unfair military commission proceedings and either release or charge and try detainees held there in US federal courts”, Amnesty International said.

President George W. Bush’s immediate response to the judgment was to side with the four Justices who dissented from the majority opinion. The President stated that the dissenters had been concerned about national security, and that the administration would “study this opinion, and we'll do so with this in mind, to determine whether or not additional legislation might be appropriate, so that we can safely say, or truly say to the American people: We're doing everything we can to protect you.”

The organization expressed concern that the US Government has in the past sought to circumvent rulings of the Supreme Court dealing with their detention policies and practices - notoriously introducing the Military Commissions Act after the court ruled against it in Hamdan v Rumsfeld - and its hopes that the President’s response is not a signal the administration will not adequately address the substance of the Court’s ruling.

"Justice is long overdue for the some 280 detainees, many of whom have been detained for more than six years without access to any court,” said Amnesty International.

Video: Murat Kurnaz, former detainee at Guantánamo and Afghanistan

Mon, 16 Jun 2008 14:55:34 +0100

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Murat Kurnaz was arrested in Pakistan in November 2001, and then held in US custody in Afghanistan and Guantánamo.

He was detained without charge or trial for nearly five years.

Released in August 2006, he is now back home in Bremen, Germany.

USA: Amnesty International welcomes US Supreme Court decision

Fri, 13 Jun 2008 18:43:47 +0100

Reacting to today's US Supreme Court ruling recognizing the right of foreign nationals detained in Guantánamo Bay to challenge their detention in US civilian courts, Amnesty International said the decision was an "essential step forward towards the restoration of the rule of law."

"This is the third time since 2004 that the US's highest court has rejected arguments advanced by the Bush administration that it can indefinitely detain people without charge or trial, with no meaningful access to justice," said Amnesty International.

The organization expressed concern that the US Government has in the past sought to circumvent rulings of the Supreme Court dealing with their detention policies and practices, notoriously introducing the Military Commissions Act after the court ruled against it in Hamdan v Rumsfeld.

"Justice is long overdue for the some 280 detainees, many of whom have been detained for more than six years without access to any court,” said Amnesty International.

“The time has come for the US government to finally bring its detention policies and practices in the 'war on terror' in line with international standards. It must stop all interference with the access of detainees to civilian courts. It should close Guantánamo promptly, abandon the fundamentally unfair military commission proceedings and either release or charge and try detainees held there in US federal courts.

No hiding place for torture

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:41:52 +0100

Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to be free from torture and other ill-treatment. 60 years after it was adopted unanimously at the United Nations, Amnesty International documented torture in at least 81 countries.

The organization has documented torture for decades, but governments’ actions in recent years have challenged the validity of the prohibition itself, particularly in the context of counter terrorism.

This month, Amnesty International will seek to reverse this trend. In partnership with the Global Elders, the organization will call on governments to condemn and prevent torture and other ill-treatment and hold to account those responsible.

No justification for torture

Government responses to the attacks of 11 September 2001, and attacks in other countries since then, have amounted to a serious assault on the framework of human rights. They have not only used torture, they have sought to justify it in the name of security.

Detainees have been subjected to secret detention, enforced disappearance and indefinite detention without charge or trial. They have been transferred from one state to another without due process and have been sent to countries where they have faced torture. Such practices and lack of accountability have facilitated the spread and acceptance of torture.

Counter Terror with Justice

Torture is a crime that cannot be justified under any circumstances. Governments must bring to justice those responsible for authorising and inflicting it. The conditions which allow it to flourish, particularly illegal detention, must be brought to an end.

Governments have a duty to protect their population from violent attacks, but real security can only be achieved through justice and the promotion of human rights.

What you can do:

Amnesty International will organize actions on and around 26 June, International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Contact your local office and get involved;
Take action now to end illegal US detentions;
Stay informed by signing up to our e-newsletter and visiting our activism blog.

Different voices

Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:52:17 +0100

When Amnesty International presented Report 2008 to the media at The Foreign Press Association in London on 27 May, several people involved in human rights campaigning around the world were invited as special guests. We caught up with three of them.

The first female judge to work at the High Court in Pakistan, Majida Razvi, is now retired. She is currently a women's rights defender and one of seven trustees of the Panah Shelter Home for women in Karachi.

Panah seeks to provide a peaceful haven and temporary refuge for women who are victims of domestic violence or sexual abuse, or under threat of honour killings.

Majida Razvi says she's happy to support the launch of Amnesty International's Report 2008 because "we established the shelter homes in 2001 and the seed money was given by Amnesty International to start with. Also other organizations connected to Amnesty International have been helping us in Karachi. So I think Amnesty International has been a great help and I hope it will be in the future."

Since starting Panah, Majida Razvi says the greatest change she has noticed is the overall awareness of the issues surrounding violence against women. "We are not only providing shelter for these women but we are also trying to create awareness amongst these women by holding workshops and the like."

"There's a greater awareness amongst the public now too. We've also been successful in changing the attitude of the police and the judiciary, trying to get them to be more sympathetic and polite to women who are victims. We need a revolution in the mind of the public and in the minds of men and also in the minds of the women who are governed by their husbands, and by the mullahs of the area."

A young Brighton-based Zimbabwean, Alois Mbawara, has been living in exile in the UK since 2002. He is one of the founding members of Free-Zim Youth, an organization that tries to influence institutions and organisations to take a tougher stance on Harare.

"We are young Zimbabweans in exile who fled the repression and political violence in Zimbabwe," says Mbawara. "As citizens of Zimbabwe we need to be exposing the gross human rights violations being perpetuated by the Mugabe regime. So that's how we came up with the idea for this civic organization to lobby the African Union, to get it to take a stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe.

Mbawara explains why he agreed to join Amnesty’s launch event "It's good exposure. In particular it gives us a multilateral venue to express what is happening in Zimbabwe. It is an historical opportunity to express our views on the political nature of Zimbabwe."

He adds that Amnesty’s work has been helpful in "documenting the day-to-day lives of the ordinary person in Zimbabwe. I have to stress that, due to the lack of free press and media, even people who work for human rights organizations don't have access to information about the political violence in Zimbabwe and are unable to publicize it. So, Amnesty International plays a very pivotal role."

Since starting Free-Zim Youth, Mbawara says their advocacy work, lobbying and demonstrations have had an effect. "Some may call it undiplomatic but we had to confront South African leaders when they came over to the UK and say to them 'now look here, you need to be in a position to do something'" he says, recalling the group's protest during South African Foreign Affairs Minister Nkosazana Dhlamini Zuma's 2006 lecture at the London School of Economics.

"We have been having a positive response from that. The South African government has since released a critical statement that they will take a tough stance on what is happening in Zimbabwe."

Released from Guantánamo on 24 August 2006, German-born Turkish national Murat Kurnaz had been held for four years and eight months without charge or trial, despite little evidence to link him to "terrorist" activities. Both US and German intelligence services secretly acknowledged this, yet it took years to secure his release.

Kurnaz has alleged that he was subjected to torture and ill-treatment while in US custody. His book, Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo, was launched at an Amnesty International event in Belfast on May 8. John Le Carre called it "The most compassionate, truthful and dignified account of the disgrace of Guantanamo that you are ever likely to read." Patti Smith wrote a song about Kurnaz called "Without Chains" in 2006. She also wrote the foreword to his book.

Kurnaz says he agreed to attend the launch of the Amnesty International Report 2008 because "I like to use all the chances I have to talk, not for me, because I am already a free man, but I'm still trying to help the ones still held in torture camps and prisons and I'm campaigning against those people supporting torture and building torture camps."

Speaking about Amnesty International, Kurnaz says "Amnesty International is trying to show the people what is going on. It's up to the people, when they know the truth, then they can try to make things change."

While positive, Kurnaz concedes that change won't happen overnight. "Because things that have happened in the past have come to light, maybe they won't happen again in the future. I feel like even if it's very slow, things are going to get changed. A few days ago I was the first former Guantánamo detainee to testify before the American Congress. It was the first time they had talked about Guantánamo. I hope this will mean big changes for the future."

Parliamentarians meet US authorities over illegal detentions

Wed, 14 May 2008 09:49:40 +0100

International parliamentarians are meeting with US government officials from 14-16 May 2008 to discuss Amnesty International's framework to end illegal US detentions.

Sir Menzies Campbell, Member of the UK Parliament, and Christophe Strasser, Member of the German Bundestag, will represent the 1,236 parliamentarians from 30 countries that have already joined the call to US authorities to end illegal detention at Guantánamo and elsewhere, in accordance with Amnesty International's framework.

Sir Menzies Campbell and Christophe Strasser will meet with officials from the US Department of State, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee, the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Office of Senator McCain and the US Navy, among others.

Replica Guantánamo cell touring the US

Since 8 May, a replica of a maximum security cell at Guantánamo has been touring the US. The tour, organized by Amnesty International, is a way to enable people to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, ex-UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and a representative of the Global Elders, visited the cell in Miami on 10 May and spoke to Amnesty International activists who had gathered for a concert and rally.

Getting a glimpse of Guantánamo

Wed, 07 May 2008 12:46:52 +0100

Amnesty International is bringing a life-size model of a maximum security cell at Guantánamo to cities across the USA. The tour is a way to enable people in the United States to get a glimpse of the harsh realities of illegal detention and prolonged isolation.

Most of the detainees at Guantánamo are held in isolation, many of them with virtually no access to natural light or contact with other human beings, for up to 24 hours a day. Compounding their suffering is the fact that they have no indication of when or if they will be freed from Guantánamo.

Most are detained without charge. Those who have been charged face unfair trials by military commission. Some may face execution.

Starting in Miami on 8 May, the tour will make a stop in Washington D.C. on 26 June, to mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture.

Visitors to the cell are encouraged to enter and to experience the conditions of isolation and then share their experience in a video message. Watch a panoramic photo from inside the model cell to get an idea. And before leaving, they can also take action to end illegal US detentions at Guantánamo and elsewhere.

Follow the cell as it travels across the USA:

Take action now:

US Supreme Court rules lethal injections constitutional

Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:45:36 +0100

The US Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that the state of Kentucky's lethal injection procedures are constitutional. The ruling is likely to be followed by moves in various US jurisdictions to resume executions. However, the ruling is unlikely to stop litigation on this issue, according to Amnesty International.

Executions in the USA have been suspended since late September 2007 as states waited for the Supreme Court's decision. A majority of the 36 death penalty states, and the federal government, use the same three-drug combination as Kentucky to anesthetize, paralyze and kill the condemned prisoner.

Officials in a number of states, including Florida, Georgia, Arizona and Ohio, have already suggested that the Baze v. Rees decision should clear the way to a resumption of executions in their jurisdictions. The likelihood of execution dates being set soon in states such as Texas and Alabama is high.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases, unconditionally, regardless of the method chosen to kill the condemned prisoner. The organization says that there is no such thing as a humane, fair, reliable or useful death penalty system.

Chief Justice Roberts indicated that, in future cases, a stay of execution on the lethal injection issue would likely only be granted if "the condemned prisoner establishes that the State's lethal injection protocol creates a demonstrated risk of severe pain."

"He must show that the risk is substantial when compared to the known and available alternatives. "

Justice Stevens, concurring in the judgment, nevertheless wrote that he had assumed the Supreme Court's decision would bring the debate about lethal injection as a method of execution to a close.

"It now seems clear that it will not," he concluded. He went on to say that he was convinced that the case would also generate wider debate about the death penalty in general.

He wrote that his own experience had now led him to the conclusion that “the imposition of the death penalty represents the pointless and needless extinction of life with only marginal contributions to any discernible social or public purposes. A penalty with such negligible returns to the State is patently excessive and cruel and unusual punishment."

In similar vein, Justice Breyer pointed to the wider concerns about the death penalty, beyond the issue of any risks associated with lethal injections:

"The death penalty itself, of course, brings with it serious risks, for example, risks of executing the wrong person, risks that unwarranted animus (in respect, e.g., to the race of victims), may play a role, risks that those convicted will find themselves on death row for many years, perhaps decades, to come… But the lawfulness of the death penalty is not before us."

Justice Stevens pointed out that the risk of executing the innocent “can be entirely eliminated” by abolishing the death penalty.

Amnesty International emphasized that to end the death penalty is to abandon a destructive, diversionary and divisive public policy that is not consistent with widely held values. A recent indicator of this was the landmark UN General Assembly resolution in late 2007 calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty.

The organization pointed to the words of Justice Stevens in the Baze opinion: "State-sanctioned killing is becoming more and more anachronistic."