The United States offers asylum to non-citizens who enter the country because they face serious persecution in their countries of origin. To receive asylum status, immigrants must file an application within one year of entering the country — a rule intended to be a safeguard against abuse of the system More…
Three veteran FBI interrogators, concerned by Attorney General Eric Holder’s proposal to expand the “public safety” exceptions in the Miranda warning during terrorism investigations, have written to President Obama warning him of the dangers to relaxing Miranda.
Holder is scheduled to testify today to the House Judiciary Committee this More…
On Thursday, right as Round One of Omar Khadr’s pre-trial hearing gaveled to a close at Guantanamo Bay, the Office of the Secretary of Defense announced that four veteran reporters would be barred from returning to the base. Their offense was to report the name of a witness More…
Human Rights First, which staunchly opposes any decision to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 conspirators in a military commission, convened a conference call with three prominent retired military leaders More…
In February 2004, Ubrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi was charged with conspiring with al Qaeda in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere to attack and murder civilians and destroy property. The government claimed that al Qosi was an armed guard and driver for Osama bin Laden going back More…
Sen. Al Franken (D-Minn.) asked Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing this morning why it is that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is imprisoning people coming to the United States seeking asylum from persecution abroad.
“A 2005 congressionally authorized bipartisan commission found that it wasn’t appropriate More…
One of many consequences of President Obama’s decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan is that those troops are likely to capture many more prisoners that end up at the U.S.-run prison at Bagram air base. That’s raising concerns among human rights groups that the More…
A bipartisan group of more than 120 judges, prosecutors, diplomats, former members of Congress and high-level military and government officials yesterday released a proposed plan for closing the Guantanamo Bay prison camp and trying all suspected terrorists in civilian federal court.
“Some have opposed the closing of Guantanamo More…
As the Obama administration nears its deadline for deciding where to try the men suspected of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorists attacks, there are strong indications that those trials could take place in federal courts in the United States. That’s prompting fervent opposition from Republicans, who say the 9/11 More…
Seven major civil rights and open government organizations today sent a letter to leaders of the House and Senate Judiciary Committees urging them to pass legislation to restrict the government’s ability to use the “state secrets” privilege to dismiss litigation charging government wrongdoing. Although the Obama administration yesterday announced a More…
rss