http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/index.aspennoreply@blogger.com (JaVon)Tue, 21 Jul 2009 13:54:59 PDTBlogger http://www.blogger.com23125http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/04/save-date-hrf-panel-discussion-on-first.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 20 Apr 2009 08:43:56 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-1011679826764858209Reestablishing U.S. Leadership on Human Rights & National Security: Accomplishments of the First 100 Days and Next Steps for the Obama AdministrationPresented by Human Rights FirstTuesday, April 21, 2009, 8:30 AM – 1:00 PMThe Freedom Forum at the Newseum555 Pennsylvania Ave., 8th Floor, N.W., Washington, DC(Please use 6th street entrance) 8:30 AM: Breakfast. The Honorable Chuck Hagel, U.S. 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/04/hrf-policy-paper-makes-case-against.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:29:09 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-6223826367608850040Human Rights First has released a timely policy paper rejecting recent proposals to create systems of indefinite detention without criminal charge and special courts to try terrorism detainees, and describing the danger of such proposals to both U.S. counterinsurgency strategy and the American justice system. "The Case Against A Special Terrorism Court" recommends that terrorism detainees be 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/04/human-rights-first-hosts-panel-debate.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:39:04 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-758401467500778317On March 20, Human Rights First and the Constitution Project jointly hosted a panel discussion on national security court proposals and "Bringing Detainees to Justice and Justice To Detainees" at Georgetown Law School. Panelists included HRF International Legal Director Gabor Rona, former terrorism prosecutor David Laufman, national security expert Deborah Pearlstein, former Defense Department 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/04/moussaoui-judge-says-federal-courts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:26:00 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-3122979710435785900U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema told a University of Virginia Law School audience that federal courts are capable of handling the Guantanamo cases and have the tools to deal with classified information. She pointed to the trial and conviction of Zacarias Moussaoui, which she presided over, as an example of federal courts successfully handling terrorism cases fraught with complications and 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/03/obama-administrations-detention.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Wed, 18 Mar 2009 12:38:28 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-3431777262024691442HRF International Legal Director, Gabor Rona, comments in Jurist on the differences, or lack thereof, between the Obama Administration's new detention authority claim and the now withdrawn "enemy combatant" label created by the Bush Adminstration to detain individuals indefinitely in the "Global War on Terror", in addition to laying out the legal framework the Obama administration should follow 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/03/hrf-lauds-decision-to-indict-al-marri.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:56:47 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-4941061779067941588Human Rights First has been at the forefront of a national debate over the fitness of federal courts to handle terrorism cases. In May 2008, we released a report, In Pursuit of Justice, written by two former federal prosecutors, examining more than 120 international terrorism cases prosecuted in the federal criminal justice system. The report found that existing laws, in the vast majority of 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/02/al-marri-last-enemy-combatant-in.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Fri, 20 Feb 2009 06:27:57 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-4685409465688998058Jane Mayer has a terrific article in the New Yorker this week on Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the last “enemy combatant” being detained in America. She touches upon important questions, such as the meaning of the term “enemy combatant”, the possibility of creating a new system of indefinite detention for terrorism suspects, and the ability of the U.S. federal courts to try terrorism cases. Human 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/02/beyond-obamas-order-to-close-guantanamo.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Tue, 03 Feb 2009 06:28:03 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-6106179015332830737By signing an executive order last week directing the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, President Obama brought the Bush Administration’s policies of unjust military commissions and indefinite detention to a screeching halt. He began to right the ship—to restore America’s moral leadership and to steer this nation back towards the principles upon which it was founded: justice, 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/01/two-wrongs-dont-make-right-releasing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 26 Jan 2009 05:53:39 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-7601792925772528573A New York Times article today reports that a former Guantanamo detainee, Said Ali al-Shihri, became the deputy leader of al Qaeda in Yemen following his release to a Saudi rehabilitation program in 2007. The story broke one day after President Obama issued an Executive Order establishing a one-year deadline for closing Guantanamo and commissioning a review of all records, and sparked further 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/01/been-there-done-that-vandeveld-opposes_15.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:05:53 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-7470801674069409152Darrel Vandeveld, a former lieutenant colonel in the Army Reserve, has seen firsthand the workings of the military commission proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Beginning in June 2007, Vandeveld worked as a prosecutor for the Office of Military Commissions at Guantanamo. He resigned in September 2008, stating that the legal process at Guantanamo could not provide detainees with fair trials. His0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2009/01/advisers-say-obama-preparing-to-close.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 12 Jan 2009 15:37:28 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-2559664758484640408Today, the AP reported that according to advisers, President-elect Barack Obama is preparing to issue an executive order his first week in office, perhaps his first day, to close Guantanamo.http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/torture/2009/01/advisers-say-obama-preparing-to-close.asp0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/11/question-looms-what-role-should-federal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Fri, 14 Nov 2008 10:09:49 PSTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-534620696948556661An article in the American Lawyer this week comments that the question of what role the U.S. criminal justice system should play in handling terrorism prosecutions has been largely ignored. The author of the piece, David Bario, discusses the government’s tendency since 9/11 to be over-inclusive in arresting and charging terrorism suspects. And he raises several tough questions facing the criminal1http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/10/al-marri-amicus-cites-hrf-report-and.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Mon, 27 Oct 2008 14:39:32 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-5088165123348282717On October 23, a group of former federal judges and former senior Justice Department officials submitted an amicus brief in the case of Al-Marri v. Pucciarelli. The brief asks the Supreme Court to reconsider a ruling by the Fourth Circuit holding that the government has the power to arrest and imprison suspected terrorists inside the United States – U.S. citizens included – and hold them 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/10/hrf-responds-to-former-federal.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Wed, 22 Oct 2008 10:07:38 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-1526954842190487498The New York Times printed Senior Associate Deborah Colson’s letter to the editor online today, answering a question posed to the presidential candidates before the last debate by former U.S. Attorney, Mary Jo White:Question: When dealing with people accused of being involved in international terrorism against the United States, what is the proper balance between the use of military proceedings 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/09/ethical-qualms-and-slipshod-procedures.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Thu, 25 Sep 2008 09:46:02 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-4185233937536512289Yesterday, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, an Army Reserve officer, filed a declaration requesting to end his one-year duty with the Guantánamo military prosecutor’s office. Vandeveld isn’t the first prosecutor to resign from the office amid accusations of misconduct, and he may not be the last. Read more about Vandeveld’s resignation on HRF’s Elect to End Torture ’08 blog. 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/09/hrf-testifies-before-congress-try.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Tue, 16 Sep 2008 07:43:40 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-7224466258051832453This morning, Human Rights First CEO and Executive Director, Elisa Massimino, will be testifying before the Senate Judiciary’s Subcommittee on the Constitution in a hearing on “Restoring the Rule of Law.” The hearing is set to start at 10:15 a.m. and will be broadcast live through the committee’s website. In her testimony, Elisa will provide specific steps for ending the failed experiment at 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/09/justice-department-fact-sheet-touts.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Mon, 15 Sep 2008 09:07:12 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-1783491333478114232Last Thursday, on the seventh anniversary of the September 11 attacks, the Department of Justice (DOJ) released a fact sheet stating that, “since 9/11, federal prosecutors have had considerable success in America’s federal courtrooms identifying, prosecuting, and incarcerating terrorists and would-be terrorists.” The fact sheet emphasizes the Department’s ability to bring charges “as soon as0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/08/closing-guantanamo-hrfs-blueprint-for.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Sat, 13 Sep 2008 05:33:55 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-3724332088464990768Human Rights First has issued a blueprint [download] for the next administration outlining a step-by-step approach to closing the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within the first year of office. The recommendations are designed to minimize national security risks while moving legitimate terrorism cases forward to prosecution in U.S. federal courts—two outcomes the military commissions have 1http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/08/military-commission-jury-finds-hamdan.htmlSalim Ahmed Hamdannoreply@blogger.com (HRF)Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:32:51 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-217462574362105225This morning, a jury of six military officers found Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan, guilty of providing material support for terrorism. Mr. Hamdan was acquitted of two counts of conspiracy. Human Rights First has attended nearly every military commission hearing, including the Hamdan trial, since the proceedings began in 2004. From the inception, Human Rights First has voiced its 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/07/guantnamo-military-commissions-neither.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (JaVon)Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:08:59 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-4829749853050852744Speaking in his personal capacity at a House Armed Services Committee hearing this morning, Retired Air Force Colonel Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the Guantánamo military commissions, delivered a stinging condemnation of the military commission system: “What we are doing at Guantánamo is neither military nor is it justice.”Davis identified four main problems with the military 7http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/07/ag-mukasey-reasserts-need-for-habeas.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Wed, 23 Jul 2008 09:07:38 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-9200751123361437528In testimony before the House Judiciary Committee today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey repeated a proposal he made earlier in the week for immediate legislation outlining procedures for the habeas hearings of Guantanamo detainees. Mukasey’s proposal comes in response to the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Boumediene v. Bush, which states that Guantanamo detainees have the right to 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/07/ag-mukasey-asks-congress-to-set-new.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:55:11 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-2661996511220641527In a speech before the American Enterprise Institute this morning, Attorney General Michael Mukasey urged Congress to pass legislation governing federal courts’ consideration of habeas petitions by Guantanamo detainees. He suggested that the rules for handling classified information must be modified because federal courts have already been involved in some national security leaks. This is what 0http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/blog/pursuit/2008/07/first-guantanamo-military-commission.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Law and Security)Mon, 21 Jul 2008 07:40:48 PDTtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5781489967958777903.post-6179043063553317193HRF Staff Member Aaron Zisser is in Guantanamo this week monitoring the start of the first military commission trial in more than 60 years. Although Salim Hamdan’s trial is scheduled to begin today, the parties are still debating the ground rules, and the judge still has several important legal motions to decide. Read Aaron’s description of the ad hoc nature of the military commission process 0