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 LCHR has written a series of reports on the erosion of civil liberties in the U.S. since 9/11. The three reports, and the dates they cover, are: Assessing the New Normal 3/03 to 9/03 Imbalance of Powers 9/02 to 3/03 A Year of Loss 9/01 to 9/02  'Specia Registration' Requirement Suspended (12/02/03) Afghanistan: Deaths of Prisoners Held In US Custody Amplify Torture (11/2103) LCHR Rebuts Attorney General’s USA PATRIOT Speech Padilla v. Rumsfeld: Three Legal Briefs Challenging President's Ability to Detain U.S. Citizen Without Charge (July 2003) Appeals Court Authorizes Secret Arrests (6/17/03) LCHR Letter to Ashcroft Re. Detention Without Charge (6/4/03) Justice Department Report Confirms Abuses Against 9-11 Detainees Supreme Court Allows Secret Deportation Hearings To Stand (5/27/03) Military Commission Rules Fail to Include Fair Trial Guarantees (5/23/03) LCHR Urges Attorney General to Release Report on Treatment of Post 9-11 Detainees (5/20/03) Attorney General Ashcroft Calls for Blanket Detention of Haitian Asylum Seekers (4/25/03) Lawyers Committee Condemns Arrests and Detention of Dissidents in Cuba (4/9/03) Egypt: Torture of Anti-War Demonstrators Continues (3/26/03) Recent Victory for Haitian Refugees Thwarted by Department of Homeland Security (3/21/03) “Operation Liberty Shield” Turns Liberty on its Head (3/18/03) Developments in the Cases of Security Detainees Held by the U.S. Government (3/11/03) LCHR U.S. Law and Security Work from 9/01 to 12/02  US Law & Security |
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Security
Detainees and the Criminal Prosecution of the war against terrorism in Afghanistan and elsewhere has resulted in the detention by the United States of citizens of at least 43 other countries. Approximately 650 of these people continue to be held at military detention facilities on the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At the same time U.S. law enforcement operations have led to the arrest and detention of others, including several American citizens. At least two Americans, José Padilla and Yaser Hamdi, are being held indefinitely, without charge or trial, as “enemy combatants.”
In a few cases, these security detainees have been taken before the ordinary criminal courts to face prosecution for criminal offenses. Federal prosecutors and courts generally have dealt effectively with the challenges posed by these prosecutions, balancing the requirements of security and justice. Yet administration officials have suggested that the fair trial standards of U.S. federal courts are too demanding for some high profile prosecutions to proceed without endangering security. While the law contemplates further measures to safeguard witnesses and evidence in sensitive trials to meet the needs of both security and justice, these options have not been vigorously pursued. To the contrary, administration sources have suggested that in these cases, they may be “forced” to transfer these cases to special military commissions outside both the civil and the ordinary military justice systems.
On a parallel track, the Bush Administration continues to refine the structure of a proposed emergency military court system now being established pursuant to a “military order” issued by President Bush in November 2001. These special courts could try non-United States citizens currently being held without charge or trial. At the same time, as noted, administration spokesmen have suggested that detainees now being prosecuted before the federal criminal courts may be removed from these courts’ jurisdiction — and given new trials before military commissions under procedures that would severely curtail fair trial guarantees.
 Detention of Non-Citizens: Grading the DOJ Office of Inspector General Report U.S. Citizens with Alleged Links to Al Qaeda: Jose Padilla and Yasser Hamdi - Background
Guantanamo Detainees - Background LCHR Recommendations on Security Detainees and the Criminal Justice System |
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