Bahrain: free political prisoners
Campaign Features
Hamdan defense frustrated with Military Commission
The first Military Commission since World War II wrapped up its opening week, leaving the defense for Salim Hamdan feeling ill-equipped and frustrated under the constraints of specialised rules favoring the prosecution.
Judge excludes testimony in Salim Ahmed Hamdan case
The navy judge presiding over the military commission for Osama bin Laden’s former chauffeur, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, threw out testimony that was obtained in Afghanistan because he said it was “highly coercive”. However, the judge did allow the prosecution to use testimony gathered while Hamdan had been detained in Guantanamo Bay. He also denied Hamdan the protection from self-incrimination under the 5th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
Detainee speaks out on interrogation tactics
Defense attorneys for Salim Ahmed Hamdan are seeking to have a judge throw out incriminating statements he allegedly made to interrogators, saying that the statements were obtained through coercive interrogation tactics. Hamdan claims a female interrogator used sexually suggestive behavior while questioning him in 2002.
Canada ignores the mistreatment of Omar Khadr
Documents released on Wednesday show Canada turned a blind eye to the torture of one of its own citizens. At the hands of the U.S. Government, Omar Khadr was deprived of sleep to make him more "amenable" for interrogation.
JUDGE GIVES GUANTANAMO CASES TOP PRIORITY
A federal judge ordered the U.S. Justice Department to make Guantanamo Bay detainee cases its top priority. After more than six years of incarceration, the detainees will have their day in court.
THE GUANTANAMO FIVE
Five Guantanamo detainees have resumed their pre-trial hearings this week in front of a U.S. Military Commission. The major issue of discussion is whether the defendants were coerced into opting out of legal representation.
PARHAT SCORES TWO FOR GUANTANAMO DETAINEES
The Bush Administration’s “because the government says-so” policy took a one-two punch from the U.S. Court of Appeals last month. In a decision released on June 30th, the three judge panel reversed a military tribunal’s determination of a Uighur detainee as an “enemy combatant,” as well as denied the government’s motion that all nonclassified information it deemed as either “law enforcement sensitive” or “identifying information” be kept from public disclosure.
Sami Al Hajj thanks Amnesty International members
We wish to thank everyone who wrote a letter to Sami Al Hajj, the 39-year-old Sudanese Al Jazeera cameraman who had been held in U.S. custody since December 2001. We recently forwarded to him 10,000 Amnesty International members' letters, and he has replied with the following message.
Europe in denial over role in US rendition
Amnesty International warns that not a single measure has been taken to prevent further European involvement in rendition and secret detention, and calls for independent investigations to be initiated urgently.
No hiding place for torture
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.
Amnesty International puts spotlight on torture
To mark International Day in Support of Victims of Torture on 26 June, Amnesty International will lead worldwide events and publish reports putting a spotlight on torture and other ill-treatment. It will lead attempts to roll back the assault on the prohibition of torture, in particular the arguments that it is justified or necessary to counter the threat of terrorism.
Binyam Mohammed - abandoned by British Government
Binyam Mohamed is the last British resident remaining in Guantanamo Bay. Like many Guantanamo detainees, he has been the victim of extraordinary rendition and torture, and instead of being granted access to justice, he now faces a U.S. Military Commission which could sentence him to death.
Replica Guantanamo cell to be launched in US
On 8 May in Miami, Florida, Amnesty International will launch its national tour of a life-size Guantanamo prison cell replica.
Supreme Court rejects protest against lethal injections
On Wednesday 16 April 2008, the United States Supreme Court stated that the lethal injection procedure used in Kentucky does not violate the American constitution's ban on 'cruel and unusual punishment.'
Terror trial in Australia
February 2008 marked the beginning of one of the first trials under the controversial anti-terror laws. Twelve men (Fadal Sayadi, Abdul Nacer Benbrika, Ahmed Raad, Aimen Joud, Abdullah Merhi, Amer Haddara, Shane Kent, Majed Raad, Hany Taha, Shoue Hammoud, Bassam Raad and Ezzit Raad) are now standing trial for terrorist-related crimes in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
The future of Guantanamo detainees
Salim Ahmed Hamdan is accused of being Osama bin Laden’s driver in Afghanistan. He has been detained at Guantanamo Bay since 2002 and his lawyers have recently asked a military judge to declare that Mr.Hamdan had been subjected to ill-treatment, abuse and sexual humiliation in the course of his detainment.
From Abu Ghraib to secret CIA custody
One man's story illustrates the global reach of the USA's secret detention network and provides chilling allegations of the deliberate and persistent use of torture and other ill-treatment. It is the story of a man who has never been charged with any crime, but who spent nearly three years in U.S. custody as a victim of enforced disappearance.
More military commission proceedings at Guantanamo
This week, the U.S. Government will be conducting further military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. Amnesty International will once again have an observer at these pre-trial proceedings.
© US DoD
Impunity and injustice in the ‘war on terror’
From torture in secret detention to execution after unfair trial? Read our latest report on the recent U.S developments of torture and its military commissions.
Repatriate Guantanamo detainees, six years on
It has now been six years since the establishment of a US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba for "enemy combatants", a category with no legal equivalent under the Geneva Conventions or international law. It has been four years since the US began filing "war crimes" charges, defining "war crimes" in a way that appears inconsistent with the law of war.
Thanks for this - a great read and so important right now. Keep it coming :)
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11 May 2012, 12:20PM