Georgetown Security Law Brief

Report says no sanctions for ex-Justice lawyers

01/31/10: The Washington Times reports that Bush administration lawyers who drafted legal theories that led to waterboarding and other harsh treatment of terrorism suspects showed poor judgment but won't face sanctions for professional misconduct, according to a published report.

Opinion: Obama admnistration takes several wrong paths in dealing with terrorism

01/31/10: The Washington Post has an opinion piece by Michael Hayden, former director of the CIA, arguing that in doing that for which we have created government -- ensuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness -- it is difficult to be adequately aggressive to ensure the first value, without unduly threatening the other two, and the Obama administration often fails to strike the right balance.

US to consider local views on 9/11 trial site

01/31/10: The Washington Times reports that the Obama administration said Sunday it would consider local opposition when deciding where to hold Sept. 11 trials and pledged to seek swift justice for the professed mastermind of the attacks.

'Torture memo' authors may get DOJ reprieve

01/30/10: Politico reports that the Justice Department has reportedly softened its line towards two former DOJ lawyers, John Yoo and Jay Bybee, concluding that they exhibited "poor judgment" but not professional misconduct when they wrote so-called "torture memos" that gave legal blessing to aggressive interrogations of torture suspects.

North Korea says it holds second American

01/30/10: CNN reports that the North Korean government informed the State Department on Friday that it is holding a second American citizen who the North Koreans say entered the country from China, a State Department spokesman said.

Courts, Congress shun addressing legality of warrantless eavesdroppings

01/30/10: Wired reports that although four years ago AT&T was accused of funneling every one of its customers’ electronic communications to the National Security Agency without warrants, the legal system has never addressed the merits of the allegations and many — including the former AT&T technician who produced the documents in the case — believe the alleged dragnet surveillance program continues unabated today.

A glance at some venues suggested for 9/11 trial

01/30/10: The Miami Herald has a review of some of the places that community activists and business groups have proposed as alternative locations for terrorism trials now planned for Manhattan federal court. None have received a blessing from federal officials.

New teams connect dots of terror plots

01/30/10: The New York Times reports that the nation’s main counterterrorism center is creating new teams of specialists to pursue clues of emerging terrorist plots as part of a rapid buildup that will sharply increase its analyst corps, perhaps by hundreds of people over the next year, intelligence officials said Friday.

Court finds Canada violated Guantánamo inmate’s rights

01/29/10: The New York Times reports that the Supreme Court of Canada ruled on Thursday that the interrogation of the only Canadian citizen held at the Guantánamo Bay detention center in Cuba by that government’s agents violated his rights. But the ruling, the second concerning the man’s politically sensitive case, does not order the government to demand his return to Canada, as he has long requested.

'Homegrown terrorist' Mohammed Atif Siddique in 'miscarriage of justice'

01/29/10: The Times (UK) reports that the student branded Scotland’s “first homegrown terrorist” was the victim of a miscarriage of justice, according to senior judges who say that they are now “minded” to overturn his most serious conviction. Mohammed Atif Siddique must wait until next month to learn if he will be retried for the offense under the Terrorism Act 2000. Judges at the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh ruled that he must remain in custody until then.

Bulgaria to send more troops to Afghanistan

01/29/10: Balkan Insight reports that Bulgaria has a continuing commitment to help stabilise Afghanistan, and will contribute 70 more troops to the peacekeeping effort, Foreign Minister Nikolai Mladenov has confirmed. In addition to a troop increase, Mladenov added that Bulgaria is ready to expand its contribution through its participation in the EU police force and its help training Afghanistan’s security forces.

US war crimes ambassador says US unlikely to join ICC in 'foreseeable future'

01/29/10: JURIST reports that US Ambassador-at-Large for War Crimes Issues Stephen Rapp said Thursday that no US president is likely to present the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to the US Senate for ratification in the "foreseeable future." Rapp said that while the US has an important role in international criminal justice, it is unlikely to join the ICC anytime soon. Rapp cited fears that US officials would be unfairly prosecuted and the US's strong national court system as reasons it would be difficult to overcome opposition to ratification.

Afghan president plans meeting on reintegrating, reconciling with insurgents

01/29/10: The Washington Post reports that Afghan President Hamid Karzai said Thursday that he will convene a nationwide meeting of tribal, religious and political leaders in the next few weeks to discuss reintegrating and reconciling with insurgents. Afghan government officials said Taliban members would also be welcome to attend. US officials, who strongly support reintegration of low-level Taliban fighters but have drawn a bright red line against dealings with insurgents who have not forsworn violence or who have ties to al-Qaeda, appeared unsure of what Karzai had in mind.

USAID program for Pakistani tribal areas making 'little headway,' audit finds

01/29/10: The Washington Post reports that a $45 million USAID program aimed at improving the ability of Pakistani tribal leaders to govern a politically sensitive stretch of territory along the Afghan border has failed to achieve its primary mission of improving the delivery of basic services, according to an audit by the agency's inspector general.

Islamic singer agrees to remain jailed in Michigan

01/29/10: The Miami Herald reports that a prominent Islamic singer accused of concealing ties to a terrorist group was duped into believing the Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development worked only for needy people, his lawyer said Thursday. Mohamad Masfaka, also known as the singer Abu Ratib, agreed to remain jailed in Detroit while his case moves through federal court. Masfaka, 47, is charged with making false statements to the FBI, perjury and attempted fraud in naturalization proceedings. The government alleges he was the Holy Land Foundation's Detroit-area representative in 1997 and 1998.

Bloomberg balks at 9/11 trial

01/28/10: The New York Times reports that the Obama administration on Wednesday lost its most prominent backer of the plan to try the self-described mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks in Lower Manhattan when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg said the trial should not be held in New York City. Mr. Bloomberg said that a more secure location, like a military base, would be less disruptive and less costly. His remarks echoed growing opposition from Wall Street executives, the real estate industry and neighborhood groups, who have questioned the burdens that such a trial would bring to a heavily trafficked area of the city.

Navy sued to halt training near endangered whales

01/28/10: The Miami Herald reports that environmental groups are suing the Navy in an effort to halt plans for an offshore training range that they say would threaten endangered right whales. The Southern Environmental Law Center says in the lawsuit filed Thursday that the Navy did not properly assess how the range would affect whales off the coasts of Georgia and Florida.

Afghanistan conference agrees on exit timetable

01/28/10: The Washington Times reports that world leaders meeting in London on Thursday agreed on a timetable for the handover of security duties in Afghan provinces starting in late 2010 or early 2011. In their final communique, the leaders also pledged funds for a plan aimed at persuading Taliban fighters to renounce violence, but offered no specific figures.

Senator Specter files Supreme Court brief in torture case

01/28/10: The BLT reports that Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) is filing a brief on behalf of himself and two other members of Congress in a closely-watched human rights case testing whether foreign torture victims can seek damages in US courts. The case, which will be argued March 3, is Samantar v. Yousuf, a dispute over the meaning of the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991, which Specter sponsored. In passing the law, Specter asserted in the brief, Congress intended "to provide redress for egregious acts that infringe human rights and are an affront to human dignity." Joining Specter on the brief were Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) and Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas.)

NATO contractor is sentenced to death in Afghanistan

01/28/10: The New York Times reports that an Australian security contractor working for an American company has been sentenced to death by an Afghan court for murdering a colleague and then trying to cover up the crime by staging a Taliban ambush. The contractor, Robert Langdon, a 38-year-old who worked for a security company called Four Horsemen International, was convicted of murder last October and sentenced to death, but the authorities kept quiet about the case. It became public on Wednesday after an appeals court upheld the sentence and, in response, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia said his government would ask for clemency.

Northern Ireland talks near collapse

01/28/10: The New York Times reports that talks aimed at preventing the collapse of the power-sharing government in Northern Ireland appeared to be on the brink of failure on Wednesday when the British and Irish prime ministers withdrew after three days of talks and flew back to their respective capitals.

NY federal prosecutors pursue foreign cases aggressively

01/28/10: The Washington Post reports that federal prosecutors in New York are ratcheting up an aggressive strategy to pursue terrorists, drug traffickers and corrupt public officials who operate on foreign soil. The expansion of traditional crime-fighting boundaries, which has its roots in an approach begun by the office in the 1990s, has been controversial among experts, with some questioning whether the effort is the best use of the US government's limited resources. But advocates say that using the long arm of American law to apprehend international figures whose crimes involve the United States might be the only way to attack an increasingly sophisticated global criminal threat.

UN rights chief urges improvement in treatment of Haitians

01/28/10: JURIST reports that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Wednesday that strengthening human rights is an integral part of the rebuilding process in Haiti. In her remarks, Pillay mentioned the role that the inhumane living conditions may have had in the high casualty numbers resulting from the January 12 earthquake, placing blame on the Duvalier regime for those conditions.

Chicago man pleads not guilty to terrorism charges

01/27/10: The Miami Herald reports that a Chicago man accused of helping scout out the Indian city of Mumbai before the 2008 terrorist attack that left 166 people dead and plotting to attack a Danish newspaper pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges that could result in a death sentence.

Afghanistan set to push a new reconciliation plan

01/27/10: The New York Times reports that the Afghan government is set to unveil an ambitious, far-reaching plan to persuade the Taliban's foot soldiers to abandon their fight and to offer an opening for the movement’s leaders to return to politics in the country they once ruled.

Russia agrees not to block removal of former Taliban members from UN terrorism list

01/27/10: The Washington Post reports that a UN Security Council committee announced Tuesday that it has lifted sanctions against five former Taliban officials, bolstering Afghan and UN efforts to pursue peace talks with the group, Security Council diplomats said. The decision came after Russia agreed to stop blocking a US-backed proposal to delist the men.

British Supreme Court quashes 'draconian' powers that allowed freezing of terror assets

01/27/10: The Times (UK) reports that British ministers’ efforts to combat terrorism were dealt a fresh blow today when the UK’s highest court quashed measures to freeze the assets of terror suspects imposed without the approval of Parliament. In a landmark ruling, seven justices of the Supreme Court ruled that ministers had acted without Parliamentary authority in making two orders that placed sweeping financial restrictions on the five suspects.

US named in UN report on secret detentions

01/27/10: The New York Times reports that the United States is among dozens of countries that have kidnapped and held terrorism suspects in secret detention over the past nine years, violating their basic human rights, a United Nations report charged Tuesday. It said that Algeria, China, Egypt, India, Iran, Russia, Sudan and Zimbabwe were also detaining security suspects or opposition members in unknown places.

NATO and Kazakhstan agree on Afghan supply route

01/2710: The New York Times reports that NATO says it has reached agreement with Kazakhstan to open a key new supply route for the international force in Afghanistan. Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen says the link from Europe to Afghanistan, via Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, will offer an alternative to the alliance's main logistics chain through Pakistan.

Germany to add troops to Afghan war

01/26/10: The New York Times reports that Germany will send up to 850 additional troops to Afghanistan as part of the war effort there, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. Mrs. Merkel said the government would also raise the number of police and increase development aid toward the goal of supporting the Afghan government and security forces in preparation for an eventual withdrawal of foreign troops.

Grenade launcher, maps seized after man's arrest

01/26/10: The Miami Herald reports that authorities in central New Jersey have seized a cache of weapons and ammunition including rifles, a grenade launcher and a night vision scope from the motel room of a Virginia man. Somerset County Prosecutor Wayne Forrest says Lloyd R. Woodson, a 43-year-old from Reston, Va., also had maps of a US military facility and a town in another state.

Report says US still unprepared for major biological terrorist attack

01/26/10: The Washington Times reports that a congressionally appointed commission said the United States is still unprepared to respond to a major biological terror attack. The report, which measured government's performance in 17 areas, gave the White House and Congress "F" grades for failing to build a rapid-response capability for dealing with bioterror threats, or providing adequate oversight over security and intelligence agencies.

Four more Guantánamo detainees sent to Europe

01/26/10: The Miami Herald reports that the United States sent four Guantánamo detainees to European countries for resettlement over the weekend, three to Slovakia and another to Switzerland, US officials said Monday. The secret transfers, amid a hustle of air activity bound for relief operations in Haiti, left the prison camp census at 192 foreign captives.

Europe to help train Somali forces

01/26/10: The New York Times reports that the European Union agreed Monday to set up a military mission in Uganda to train Somali government forces who are fighting an Islamist insurgency. The mission, expected to be led by Spain and involve around 100 troops, should begin in the second quarter of this year

Foreign Office lawyer says Iraq war was illegal

01/26/10: The Times (UK) reports that the most senior Foreign Office lawyer at the time of the invasion of Iraq said today that he had considered the Iraq war to be illegal because it had not been authorized by the United Nations.

Charged contractors had checkered military pasts

01/26/10: The Miami Herald reports that a pair of former Blackwater contractors charged with murdering two people in Afghanistan had checkered pasts with the military before getting hired to work overseas, according to service records disclosed in recent US court hearings. The troubled backgrounds of the two men - including instances of violence, drug use and disregard for authority - are a first sign that Xe, the company formerly known as Blackwater, was staffing its war-zone work force with contractors who might not be suited for the job.

Cutting a deal with the Taliban

01/26/10: The New York Times reports that in separate interviews published on Monday, both Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, and his boss, Gen. David Petraeus, suggested that peace talks with the Taliban may be on the horizon.

Two more Tamil Tiger backers sentenced in NY

01/26/10: The Miami Herald reports that two more supporters of the now-defeated Tamil Tiger insurgents in Sri Lanka have been sentenced in New York to prison. Sahilal Sabaratnam and Thiruthanikan Thanigasalam had pleaded guilty last year to providing material support to terrorists. Both were sentenced to 25 years behind bars Monday in a Brooklyn federal court. Two other co-defendants were sentenced last week.

Chemical Ali executed for Halabja massacre

01/25/10: The Times (UK) reports that Ali Hassan al-Majid, Saddam Hussein’s henchman who was better known by his nickname of Chemical Ali, was executed today according to an Iraqi government spokesman. The hanging was carried out eight days after Majid was sentenced by an Iraqi court for crimes against humanity for ordering a gas attack that killed about 5,000 of his Kurdish fellow countrymen in the town of Halabja.

Indictment for war rape in Srebrenica

01/25/10: Balkan Insight reports that Bosnia’s state court has indicted three individuals under one indictment for genocide committed in Srebrenica, July 1995. The court also indicted the three for rape during war, the first time that a court has included rape in a genocide indictment for Srebrenica.

US man charged in Mumbai terror case pleads not guilty

01/25/10: The Miami Herald reports that a Chicago businessman accused of leading a double life as an international terrorist has pleaded not guilty to playing a role in the 2008 terrorist attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai. Tahawwur Rana also pleaded not guilty Monday to charges that accuse him of helping to lay the groundwork for a terrorist attack on a Danish newspaper. The paper's cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad had sparked outrage in the Muslim world.

Suu Kyi to be freed in November

01/25/10: CNN reports that Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi will be released in November when her house arrest term ends, a government minister said. Suu Kyi was sentenced to 18 additional months of house arrest in May after American John Yettaw sneaked uninvited into her house, prompting her to be tried on charges of government subversion.

Iraqi panel chief firm on purged candidates

01/25/10: The Washington Times reports that the head of the Iraqi commission that initially disqualified about 500 candidates from running for office because of ties to the Ba'ath Party of dictator Saddam Hussein is rejecting a proposal he attributes to US Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. that would allow the purged politicians to run for office.

Supplier accused of bribes for UN contracts

01/25/10: The New York Times reports that a Florida business executive was accused by prosecutors of paying bribes from 2001 to 2006 to get contracts to supply helmets, armored vests, pepper spray and other protective gear to United Nations peacekeeping forces and a Dutch law enforcement agency. The accusations in the new case were made in documents filed by the Justice Department in Federal District Court in Washington. The defendant is Richard T. Bistrong, identified in the court record as a former vice president for international sales at a military and law enforcement equipment manufacturer in Jacksonville, Fla.

Former Uruguayan officer extradited to Argentina

01/25/10: CNN reports that a former Uruguayan military officer suspected of participating in Argentina's "Dirty War" was extradited from Brazil to Argentina to face charges. Maj. Juan Cordeiro Piacentini was extradited Saturday and handed over to Argentine police. Piacentini is accused of participating in Operation Condor, a plan to oppress opposition during Argentina's dictatorship in the 1970s.

UN seeks to drop some Taliban from terror list

01/25/10: The New York Times reports that the leader of the United Nations mission in Afghanistan called on Afghan officials to seek the removal of at least some senior Taliban leaders from the United Nations’ list of terrorists, as a first step toward opening direct negotiations with the insurgent group. Kai Eide, the United Nations special representative, also implored the American military to speed its review of the roughly 750 detainees in its military prisons here, another principal grievance of Taliban leaders.

Scholarship: African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law

01/24/10: The latest volume of the African Yearbook on International Humanitarian Law is being released. Contents include:

• Chris Oxtoby, Guantanamo — A New Legal Regime?
• Jamil Ddamulira Mujuzi, From Nuremberg to Tokyo through Africa to The Hague: Punishing Torturers before International Criminal Tribunals
• François Bugnion, Customary international humanitarian law
• Dan Kuwali, The Architecture of AU Intervention: Institutions for Implementation of Article 4(h) of the AU Act
• Phebe Mavungu Clément, The "African World War’" and Challenges to the Enforcement of Redress for Victims of Violations of Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law

HT to International Law Reporter.

TSA employee pranks college student

01/24/10: The Washington Times reports that a college student returning to school after the winter break fell victim to a prank at Philadelphia's airport by a Transportation Security Administration worker who pretended to plant a plastic bag of white powder in her carry-on luggage. The worker is no longer employed by the TSA after the incident this month, a spokeswoman said.

'Bin Laden' claims Christmas Day bomb plot

01/24/10: The Times (UK) reports that a new audio tape said to be from Osama Bin Laden that claims responsibility for the Christmas Day airline bombing attempt in Detroit has warned of further attacks against America.

US, UN sign accord on their formal roles in Haiti

01/23/10: The Miami Herald reports that US officials say a new accord with the United Nations formally gives the American military a supporting role in international relief efforts in Haiti, but keeps them in charge of the Caribbean nation's airspace, ports and roads.