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| Padilla
Case: President Cannot Detain U.S. Citizen Seized on U.S. Soil as
Enemy Combatant |
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| The U.S.
Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled 2-1 that the U.S. government
must release Jose Padilla, an American citizen who was seized
on U.S. soil as an enemy combatant, from military custody within 30
days. LCHR coordinated three amicus briefs in the case. The court’s
majority opinion, issued December 18, echoed the basic arguments of
a Lawyers Committee’s
brief - co-signed by the Cato Institute and others -
on the President’s lack of authority to detain U.S. citizens
without charge. More» Support our work to protect and ensure the rule of law Background on the Padilla case |
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| Prosecuting
Hussein LCHR letter to Iraqi Governing Council recommends process to ensure fairness |
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The arrest
of Saddam Hussein gives new urgency to a proposal by the Iraqi Governing
Council to create a special tribunal to try those responsible for
gross human rights violations. The
Lawyers Committee supports the creation of a tribunal to prosecute
these crimes. But in order for the tribunal to be successful
it must address several key challenges. More» Read LCHR letter to Iraqi Governing Council Read Fiona Mckay's commentary "Give Hussein Due Process" published in the Miami Herald |
| Court TV Film,
Inspired by Lawyers Committee Case, Shines a Light on U.S. Detention
of Asylum Seekers |
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Chasing
Freedom, an original Court TV movie to air next month, tells
the story of an Afghan woman who flees the Taliban only to find
herself detained upon her arrival in the U.S. in search of refuge.
The movie, which stars Juliette Lewis, was inspired
by a real Lawyers Committee case and our pro bono representation
program. Chasing Freedom highlights a number of significant
flaws in U.S. detention procedures for asylum seekers. |
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| Zimbabwe Suspended
from Commonwealth Indefinitely |
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The suspension of Zimbabwe from the British Commonwealth, originally put in place in March 2002, was extended indefinitely by Commonwealth heads of state and government at a meeting in Abuja, Nigeria on Dec. 7. The suspension came after Commonwealth observers concluded that the 2002 Zimbabwe Presidential elections were marred by a high level of political violence and intimidation. Since the elections, conditions in Zimbabwe have detioriorated rapidly as the government has moved to crush dissent. More» |
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