Georgetown Security Law Brief

Suit challenges new Guantánamo mail rule

02/10/12: The Miami Herald reports that a lawyer for a Guantánamo prisoner charged in the September 11 attack has filed suit against the prison commander, arguing a new rule subjecting legal mail to a security review is unconstitutional and amounts to illegal “intelligence monitoring” of a US citizen. James Connell said Thursday that his suit filed in federal court in Washington DC is broader than a previous legal challenge to the rule brought by the lawyer for a separate defendant in the September 11 case. Connell is a civilian attorney who was appointed by the Pentagon to represent Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, also known as Ammar Al-Baluchi.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/09/2633649/suit-challenges-new-guantanamo.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/02/09/2633649/suit-challenges-new-guantanamo.html#storylink=cpy

Ex-CIA officer may be exploring guilty plea in leak case

02/09/12: POLITICO reports that former CIA officer John Kiriakou, charged last month with leaking the identities of other CIA officers involved in the interrogation of terrorism suspects, may be exploring the possibility of entering a guilty plea in the case, court records suggest. Normally, prosecutors have 30 days to obtain a grand jury indictment after filing a complaint. However, on Tuesday, the government and Kiriakou's defense attorney, Plato Cacheris, filed a joint motion seeking to extend that deadline. The motion contained no mention of plea discussions, but such extensions are often sought to accomodate plea negotiations.

Ex-Marine sentenced to death in Iran needs US intervention

02/09/12: The Washington Post reports that a former US Marine sentenced to death in Iran for allegedly spying for the CIA could be saved if the Obama administration would consider a prisoner swap, his Iranian attorney said Wednesday. Amir Mirzaei Hekmati, 28, who was sentenced in January to be hanged, could face execution immediately after an appeals court has reviewed his sentence, said lawyer Mohammad Hossein Aghassi. The court’s decision was expected January 25; the reason for the delay is unclear. Aghassi stressed that it was essential for the Obama administration to do anything within its means to reach out to Iran.

Egyptian judges say NGO workers could face 5 years in prison

02/08/12: The Washington Post reports that investigative judges in Egypt said Wednesday that the Americans and Egyptians who have been charged in the government’s crackdown on US-funded pro-democracy groups could face up to five years in prison for working at unlicensed organizations. The remarks — the most extensive description of the government’s case against the pro-democracy workers to date — did not suggest that investigators had determined that the workers were engaged in nefarious or subversive activities. 

July trial set for Iraq refugee in Kentucky terror case

02/08/12: The Miami Herald reports that an Iraqi man charged in Kentucky with trying to funnel weapons and cash to al-Qaeda in his home country is scheduled for trial July 30. US District Judge Thomas B. Russell set the Bowling Green trial date for 24-year-old Mohanad Shareef Hammadi on Wednesday. Hammadi and 30-year-old Waad Ramadan Alwan were charged in federal court in May with attempting to provide material support to terrorists and terrorists organizations and conspiracy to transfer surface-to-air missile launcher systems. They were in Kentucky as refugees.

Chicago man pleads guilty in material support case

02/07/12: The Boston Globe reports that a Pakistani-born Chicago taxi driver who prosecutors say could be heard on FBI wiretaps discussing a plan to bomb a stadium pleaded guilty Monday to attempting to send money to a Pakistani-based terrorist with alleged ties to al-Qaida. Standing before a federal judge in an orange jumpsuit and his ankles shackled, Raja Lahrasib Khan, 58, said he was pleading guilty to one count of two counts of attempting to provide material support terrorism. As part of the plea deal, prosecutors dropped the other count.

FBI cuts back on GPS surveillance after Supreme Court ruling

02/07/12: USA Today reports that the FBI has begun cutting back GPS surveillance in an array of criminal and intelligence investigations following the Supreme Court ruling in US v. Jones, which restricted its use. The bureau began implementing the change the day after the January 23 ruling in which the court found that attaching such a device to a car amounted to a search covered by the Fourth Amendment, requiring police to seek warrants in many cases. An official, who was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter, said the GPS directive was issued until further legal guidance is provided on the use of the technology.

Italy frees former Guantanamo detainee

02/07/12: The San Jose Mercury News reports that an Italian appeals court has overturned the terrorism conviction of a Tunisian man who had spent nearly eight years in the US military prison in Guantanamo, Cuba. Mohamed Ben Riadh Nasri, who had been convicted of terrorism association by a lower Italian court, was one of three Tunisian prisoners from Guantanamo that Italy accepted more than two years ago. Nasri's lawyer, Roberto Novellino, said the appeals court in Milan on Monday threw out the guilty verdict and its six-year sentence, meaning his client is a free man. The court's reasoning will be released in 30 days.

Libya's Saif Gadhafi could be tried within weeks

02/05/12: CNN reports that Saif al-Islam Gadhafi, the son of Libya's deposed leader Moammar Gadhafi, could go on trial "within weeks or months," the country's interior minister said Sunday. The investigations into the death of Moammar Gadhafi after his capture last year could also be completed soon, Fawzy Abdilal said. Saif al-Islam's case will be handed to the courts as soon as the prosecutor general completes his investigations, Abdilal told CNN in an exclusive interview. Once his father's heir apparent, Saif al-Islam was captured in November and has been held in the Libyan city of Zintan since then.

Charges dropped against soldier in Afghan deaths

02/04/12: The Miami Herald reports that the Army on Friday dropped all charges against the fifth soldier it had accused of killing Afghan civilians for sport during a 2010 deployment. Specialist Michael Wagnon, 31, of Las Vegas, had been charged with the unlawful killing of one Afghan civilian in February 2010. He was expected to go on trial in March. In a statement, Joint Base Lewis-McChord said the charges were dismissed "in the interest of justice." According to Wagnon's attorney, preparations for the impending trial "just kept developing the evidence of Michael's innocence until it just became overwhelming."

Bradley Manning to face all charges in court-martial

02/04/12: WIRED reports that WikiLeaks suspect Bradley Manning is headed for a general court-martial, according to the commander of the US Army Military District of Washington in an announcement released late Friday. Major General Michael Linnington, the general convening authority for the district, made the determination that Manning will face all 22 charges leveled against him. The most serious charge — aiding the enemy — carries a possible death penalty. Prosecutors have said they will not seek the death penalty. Instead, Manning faces life in prison if convicted of all the charges.

Military Judge denies request to delay 9/11 case at Guantanamo

02/04/12: NPR reports that a request for a delay in the September 11 case at Guantanamo has been denied. Two lawyers close to the proceedings tell NPR that a military judge denied their request to delay the arraignment of the September 11 suspects at Guantanamo until the summer. The lawyers were asking for more time to file memos on why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators should not be tried in a capital case and be eligible for the death penalty. The 9/11 suspects are expected to be arraigned before a military commission as early as April.

Uzbek refugee arrested at O'Hare denies helping terror group

02/03/12: The Chicago Tribune reports that an Uzbekistan refugee accused of helping a foreign terrorist organization is denying the allegations. Speaking through a Russian interpreter, Jamshid Muhtorov told a federal judge in Denver Thursday, “I swear to Allah I never did anything like that.” Muhtorov, who lives in the Denver suburb of Aurora, was arrested at a Chicago airport on Jan. 21. The 35-year-old is accused of providing material support and attempting to provide material support to the Islamic Jihad Union. The State Department has designated the group as a foreign terrorist organization. 

Two German men plead guilty to terror charges in UK

02/02/12: The Seattle Times reports that two German men have pleaded guilty to terrorism charges in a London court. Christian Emde, 28 years old, and Robert Baum, 24 years old, pleaded guilty to possessing information useful for terrorist acts. Emde pleaded guilty to four offenses, including possessing copies of the al-Qaida magazine, Inspire, which contained articles with headlines such as "Make A Bomb In The Kitchen Of Your Mom."

Alleged bomber's lawyer wants to question Yemeni President

02/01/12: The Miami Herald reports that Guantánamo defense lawyers for an alleged al Qaida bomber asked an Army judge on Tuesday to order Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh to undergo war court questioning at a New York hospital. Navy Lieutenant Commander Stephen Reyes wouldn’t say what he wants to ask the former Yemeni strongman on behalf of Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, who faces a death penalty trial at Guantánamo next year. He did said he believed the chief military commissions judge could issue a subpoena that “would compel the Yemeni president to be deposed” — despite a US State Department declaration that the 69-year-old Yemeni would receive diplomatic immunity as head of state.

US Muslims seek clemency for condemned US-Iranian

02/01/12: The Helena Independent Record reports that an American Muslim group appealed Tuesday to Iran's supreme leader to show clemency for an ex-US military translator with dual citizenship condemned to death on accusations of being a CIA spy. A letter Tuesday from the Council on American-Islamic Relations asks Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to spare the life of Amir Hekmati.

Militants admit to plan to bomb London Stock Exchange

02/01/12: The New York Times reports that a group of four Islamic militants, all of them British citizens, admitted involvement on Wednesday in a conspiracy inspired by Al Qaeda to place a bomb in the toilets of the London Stock Exchange, part of a plot that, prosecutors said, was foiled after undercover counterterrorism officers tailed them as they surveyed London tourist attractions. The four were among a group of nine men who had been set to plead not guilty to terrorism charges but changed their plea to guilty when they learned of the likely sentences, Britain’s Press Association news agency reported.

Libyan detainees sue former MI6 chief over their rendition

01/31/12: The Huffington Post reports that two former Libyan detainees, Sami Al Saadi and Abdel Hakim Belhadj, at the center of claims that British spies were involved in rendition and torture, are launching legal proceedings against the former director of counter-terrorism at MI6. The two men claim that evidence of the UK's role in the couple's rendition is detailed in a number of documents held by the Libyan security services, which came to light after the fall of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi's regime.

UK Court upholds extradition in Iran missle case

01/31/12: ABC News reports that Britain's High Court says a retired businessman who allegedly plotted to sell missile components to Iran cannot appeal against his extradition to the United States. Two judges said Tuesday that Christopher Tappin could not take his fight against extradition to Britain's Supreme Court. US authorities allege Tappin offered in 2006 to sell Iranians specialized batteries for Hawk missiles for $25,000, not knowing that his contacts were undercover US agents.

Norway court convicts men in al Qaeda-linked bomb plot

01/30/12: Reuters reports that a Norwegian of Chinese Muslim origin with alleged links to al Qaeda was convicted on Monday of plotting to blow up a Danish newspaper that had printed cartoons of Islam's Prophet Mohammad, and was sentenced to seven years in prison. Mikael Davud, who was accused of leading a bomb plot, had admitted he intended some day to attack Chinese interests like the Chinese embassy in Oslo but he was charged only with plotting to bomb the Danish newspaper. Prosecutors had earlier recommended an 11-year prison sentence for Davud.

Opinion: Privacy, technology and law

01/29/12: The New York Times features an opinion piece by Barry Friedman. Everyday, Friedman contends, those of us who live in the digital world give little bits of ourselves away. On Facebook and LinkedIn. To servers that store our e-mail, Google searches, online banking and shopping records. Does the fact that so many of us live our lives online mean we have given the government wide-open access to all that information? Friedman argues that the Supreme Court’s decision last week in United States v. Jones presents the disturbing possibility that the answer is yes.

Private snoops find GPS legal trail to follow

01/29/12: The New York Times reports that tens of thousands of Americans are tracking cars with little oversight, for purposes as seemingly benign as tracking an elderly parent with dementia or a risky teenage driver, or as legally and ethically charged as spying on a spouse or an employee — or for outright criminal stalking. Last Monday’s Supreme Court decision held that law enforcement placement of a GPS tracker on a vehicle constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment. But sales of GPS trackers to employers and individuals, for a multitude of largely unregulated uses, are growing fast, raising new questions about privacy and a legal system that has not kept pace with technology.

Maryland man pleads guilty to plotting attack on military recruiting center

01/27/12: The Investigative Project on Terrorism reports that a Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to attempting to blow up an Army recruiting center near Baltimore. Antonio Martinez, a Muslim convert who also goes by Muhammad Hussain, was arrested on December 8, 2010, in an FBI sting after he tried to detonate a car bomb at the Armed Forces recruiting station in Catonsville, Maryland. The bomb, supplied by federal agents, was inert.

DOJ defends keeping Bin Laden death photos secret

01/27/12: The Blog of Legal Times reports that the US Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States. The department filed court papers this week in a FOIA suit in Washington asking US District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain. The DOJ asserts the photos reveal specific military and intelligence activities, methods and techniques.

Accused Pentagon shooter Melaku pleads guilty

01/27/12: The San Francisco Chronicle reports that an ex-Marine from Virginia pleaded guilty Thursday and has agreed to serve a 25-year prison sentence on charges that he fired a series of overnight pot shots in 2010 at the Pentagon, the Marine Corps museum in Quantico and other military targets as part of what prosecutors called a campaign to strike fear throughout the region. Prosecutors revealed that Yonathan Melaku’s intended next target was Arlington National Cemetery, where he was arrested before he was able to carry out a plan to deface gravestones there.

Mubarak’s lawyer contends US and Israel plotted shooting of protesters

01/26/12: The Centre Daily Times reports that the United States and Israel plotted the killing of Egyptian protesters during last year's 18-day uprising that toppled longtime leader Hosni Mubarak, a lawyer for his former interior minister claimed Thursday. Lawyer Mohammed el-Gendi also accused security guards at the American University in Cairo of opening fire on protesters. The university's historical main building borders Tahrir Square, which was the focus of the anti-Mubarak revolt.

Khmer Rouge tribunal halts salaries for Cambodians

01/26/12: The Seattle Post Intelligencer reports that about 300 Cambodians working at the UN-backed Khmer Rouge tribunal will not be paid this month — and some have worked without pay since October — because funds from donor countries have dried up. International staff are paid by the United Nations and will continue to receive salaries. The salaries of local staff, however, are funded by contributions from donor countries, said Huy Vannak, a tribunal spokesman.

Prosecution argues Reagan’s would-be assassin should not get more freedom

01/26/12: The Washington Post reports that prosecutors contend presidential assailant John W. Hinckley should not get more freedom from his psychiatric hospital, because of his pattern of deception, isolation and problematic relationships with women. Hinckley’s family and St. Elizabeths Hospital staff members say his mental health has improved and are asking a federal judge to expand his privileges.

Prosecutors ordered to identify NYC terror witness

01/26/12: The Albany Times Union reports that judge gave federal prosecutors until a week from Wednesday to give up the name of a witness they say was recruited for a chilling, al-Qaida-sanctioned plot for suicide bombers to attack the New York City subways with explosives made from beauty supplies. Lawyers for alleged plotter Adis Madunjanin had demanded to know the identity of the man, referred to only as John Doe in court papers, before Madunjanin goes to trial later this year.

War crimes witness alleges intimidation

01/25/12: The Muscatine Journal reports that a witness in a key war crimes trial against Serbian paramilitaries charged with atrocities in Kosovo said Wednesday that he and his family are facing threats and intimidation. Zoran Raskovic told Serbia's war crimes court that he does not have the necessary protection. Raskovic alleged that the threats are coming from unidentified "powerful centers" within the security system.

4th Circuit denies damages suit for alleged torture suffered by ‘enemy combatant’ Jose Padilla

01/24/12: The ABA Journal reports that in a move decried by the American Civil Liberties Union as a sad day for the rule of law, a federal appeals court upheld a lower court's ruling that an American citizen who claimed he was illegally detained and tortured at a US military jail in South Carolina cannot turn to the legal system for redress. Because he was designated an "enemy combatant" by the military, Jose Padilla's treatment falls outside the scope of government conduct that tort litigation is intended to address, held the 4th US Circuit Court of Appeals as it affirmed a trial court's dismissal of the case.

Court says review of security clearance dispute is “prohibited”

01/23/12: Secrecy News reports that a government agency’s decision to revoke an employee’s security clearance cannot be reviewed by a federal court even if the decision is based on ethnic discrimination or religious prejudice or other unconstitutional grounds, a court said last week. Judge James C. Cacheris of the Eastern District of Virginia dismissed a lawsuit brought by Mahmoud M. Hegab, a budget analyst at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA).  Mr. Hegab alleged that his security clearance had been revoked by NGA “based solely on [his] wife’s religion, Islam, her constitutionally protected speech, and her association with, and employment by, an Islamic faith-based organization.”

US judge orders release of more IRA recordings

01/23/12: The Boston Globe reports that a federal judge has ordered Boston College to turn over more interview transcripts and recordings of former IRA members. In a five-page ruling, Judge William Young ordered the college to turn over transcripts of seven interview subjects in an oral history project to US prosecutors, who had subpoenaed them on behalf of British investigators. British police requested the information for their investigation into the 1972 slaying of a Belfast woman.

Guatemala's ex-dictator must appear in genocide case

01/22/12: The Bellingham Herald reports that former dictator Efrain Rios Montt must appear in criminal court in a genocide case involving crimes against indigenous Guatemalans during his de-facto government in the 1980s, a federal prosecutor said Saturday. The retired general must declare on Thursday before Judge Carol Flores, who will decide whether to go forward with genocide charges, prosecutor Manuel Vasquez said."We have sufficient evidence for charges of genocide and crimes against humanity," Vasquez said.

Chilean generals convicted over 1991 Croatian arms deal

01/21/12: The BBC reports that Chile's Supreme Court has convicted two retired generals of selling weapons to Croatia 20 years ago, in breach of a UN arms embargo. The former generals Hector Letelier and Vicente Rodriguez were sentenced to three years house arrest. The shipment of weapons and ammunition - disguised as humanitarian aid - was intercepted in Hungary in 1991 during the war in the former Yugoslavia. Former ruler Augusto Pinochet was also implicated in the deal.

Three acquitted of murder plot against Swedish artist

01/21/12: ABC News reports that a Swedish court has acquitted three men accused of plotting to murder an artist who depicted the Prophet Muhammad as a dog. In Friday's ruling, the Goteborg district court said the defendants lied about why they visited an art gallery where Lars Vilks was expected to make an appearance, and were armed with knives, but it hadn't been proved that they intended to kill him. The ruling was expected as the three men — of Somali and Iraqi origin — had been released pending the decision.

Split verdict in landmark Haiti prison riot trial

01/20/12: The Tuscaloosa News reports that a judge convicted eight police officers Thursday in a landmark trial for their role in a prison riot that saw at least 10 prisoners shot to death in the chaotic aftermath of the January 2010 earthquake. The successful prosecution, concluding two years to the day after the uprising, was considered at least a small victory for the court system of an impoverished Caribbean nation where criminal cases seldom reach trial and law-breaking officials walk with impunity. Judge Ezekiel Vaval said six other police officers were innocent as he ended a three-month trial in the southwestern town of Les Cayes.

Somali ambassador contends accused pirate should be tried in Somalia

01/19/12: The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that the Somali ambassador to the United Nations said Wednesday that a man from his country charged with piracy should be tried in Somalia instead of the Virginia courtroom where he's being prosecuted. Ambassador Elmi Ahmed Duale had been subpoenaed to testify at an evidentiary hearing in the case, but invoked diplomatic immunity to avoid attending. He told The Associated Press in a phone interview that there's a system in place in his country for trying pirates, and dozens have been imprisoned.

Verdict postponed in Frankfurt airport shooting

01/19/12: The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that a German court says the verdict in the case of an alleged Islamic extremist who has admitted killing two US airmen at Frankfurt Airport last year is again being delayed to hear more evidence. At issue are allegations that suspect Arid Uka, a 21-year-old ethnic Albanian from Kosovo, was seen in 2010 in an Islamic fundamentalist prayer room in the Bosnian city of Zenica. A federal investigator cast doubt on that claim, however, testifying there was no evidence that he had crossed the border into Bosnia.

Pentagon, CIA sued over alleged meetings with filmmaker

01/19/12: Reuters reports that Judicial Watch, a government watchdog group, filed a Freedom of Information Act complain against the Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency, claiming the agencies are refusing to release details of their alleged meetings and communications with director Kathryn Bigelow and writer Mark Boal. It has been alleged that Bigelow and Boal -- in preparation for the script to their Annapurna Pictures movie about the killing of Osama Bin Laden -- received classified information regarding his death.

Scooter Libby case invoked at Guantánamo terror trial

01/19/12: The Miami Herald reports that prosecutors working out procedures for handling secret evidence in the trial of an alleged Al Qaida chieftain invoked a surprising precedent Wednesday — the 2007 felony trial of Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former Vice President Dick Cheney’s aide. At issue here was how, if at all, defense lawyers could challenge substitutions for secret evidence that’s to be shielded from them in the death penalty trial of alleged USS Cole bomber Abd al Rahim al Nashiri. Pentagon prosecutors are seeking his military execution as the alleged mastermind of the October 2000 Cole attack that killed 17 US sailors. HT to Neal R. Sonnett.

Rwanda genocide tribunal transfers prosecution materials to national government

01/18/12: JURIST reports that the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) transferred prosecution materials to the Rwandan government on Monday for the first time with respect to a case stemming from the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The transfer was announced at a press conference by the ICTR's prosecutor Hassan Bubacar Jallow and Rwanda's Prosecutor-General Martin Ngoga. The decision to transfer the prosecution materials demonstrates the ICTR's recognition of Rwanda's capability to provide genocide defendants a fair and effective justice system, according to Ngoga.

European Court rules UK cannot deport radical cleric

01/17/12: CNN reports that the United Kingdom cannot deport a radical cleric linked to al Qaeda to Jordan because evidence obtained by torture could be used against him there, the European Court of Human Rights ruled in a landmark case Tuesday. Abu Qatada has been fighting to remain in the United Kingdom since he was first arrested under anti-terrorism legislation nearly a decade ago. He would be "at real risk of ill-treatment or a grossly unfair trial if deported to Jordan, where he is wanted on terrorism charges," the court said in a statement announcing the ruling.

Immigration courtrooms silent during ICE review

01/16/12: The Washington Times reports that in a trial of a politically divisive program, US prosecutors in Denver and Baltimore are reviewing thousands of deportation cases to determine which illegal immigrants might stay in the country — perhaps indefinitely — so officials can reduce an overwhelming backlog by focusing mainly on detainees with criminal backgrounds or who are deemed threats to national security. Federal deportation hearings for non-criminal defendants released from custody were suspended December 5 for the review and resume this week.

Rwanda trial against opposition politician delayed

01/16/12: The Boston Globe reports that the trial against Rwanda's top opposition leader Victoire Ingabire has been postponed again, until February 13. Ingabire's lawyer, Iain Edwards, described the delay as frustrating. The court case began last September. The prosecution says that piles of documents retrieved from Holland that serve as state's evidence still need to be translated. Rwanda accuses Ingabire of supporting rebel activities in Rwanda and Congo. Ingabire has maintained her innocence against charges of genocide denial and ethnic divisionism.

FBI agent admits deleting emails amid terror probe

01/13/12: The Miami Herald reports that an FBI agent testified Thursday that she deleted potentially sensitive emails covering several months when she was helping spearhead an investigation of a terror suspect. Defense attorneys have sought to examine FBI emails to see if they reveal agents skirted interrogation rules in the case of Mohamed Ibrahim Ahmed, an Eritrean man charged in Manhattan federal court with supporting terrorism. Ahmed's lawyers have asked US District Judge P. Kevin Castel to bar statements made by Ahmed while he was detained in Nigeria in 2009 before being turned over to US authorities.

Privacy group seeks to lift veil on domestic drones

01/13/12: The Washington Post reports that the Federal Aviation Administration has authorized the use of hundreds of drones in US airspace in recent years but offered few details on who is operating them. This week, a privacy advocacy group filed suit to force the Department of Transportation to release its records publicly. “As the government begins to make policy decisions about the use of these aircraft, the public needs to know more about how and why these drones are being used to surveil United States citizens," said Jennifer Lynch, attorney for the San Francisco-based Electronic Frontier Foundation, which filed the suit. 

Muslim who claims harassment sues Connecticut university

01/12/12: The Boston Globe reports that a Muslim woman is suing the University of Bridgeport, alleging that the school failed to investigate her claims that a fellow student sexually harassed her and instead retaliated by reporting her to the FBI based on a false claim that she was a terrorist. Balayla Ahmad filed the federal lawsuit Tuesday saying that she was sexually harassed by a male student for months in 2009 and that university officials showed "deliberate indifference" to her repeated complaints.

Ex-congressman gets year over links to defunct Islamic charity

01/12/12: The Chicago Tribune reports that a former US congressman from Michigan was sentenced to a year in prison on Wednesday for accepting secret payments to try to help an Islamic charity get removed from a congressional watch list of relief agencies suspected of supporting terrorism. Mark Deli Siljander, 60, a former three-term Republican member of the US House of Representatives, pleaded guilty in 2010 to obstruction of justice and acting as an unregistered foreign agent on behalf of the now-defunct Islamic American Relief Agency.

NY judge drops Binladen Group as 9/11 defendant

01/11/12: The Miami Herald reports that a federal judge says there isn't enough evidence to support a claim that money from a construction company founded by Osama Bin Laden's father supported terrorists. Judge George Daniels in Manhattan dismissed the Saudi Binladen Group on Wednesday as a defendant in September 11 lawsuits brought by families of terrorism victims and others. The lawsuits were brought by more than 3,000 survivors of the September 11 attacks, relatives, victims' representatives and insurance carriers. They allege that more than 200 defendants provided material support to terrorists.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/11/2584568/ny-judge-drops-binladen-group.html#storylink=cpy