United States Archives | Page 29 of 45 | International Commission of Jurists

UN: Independent experts call for Guantánamo Bay to be closed

Feb 16, 2006

On 16 February, five UN independent investigators issued a joint report on the detention centre in Guantánamo Bay, urging the US to close it down and either bring all detainees before an independent and competent tribunal or release them. The UN Secretary General and...

USA: Uighurs cleared of terrorism to remain at Guantánamo detention centre

Feb 16, 2006

A federal judge declared in December 2005 that the indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay detention centre of two Chinese Muslims, determined not to be enemy combatants, was unlawful but that he could not order they be released in the US. The prisoners cannot be sent...

USA: Judge dismisses first lawsuit challenging “extraordinary rendition”

Feb 16, 2006

On 18 February, in what is believed to be the first case challenging the practice of “extraordinary rendition”, a federal judge dismissed the lawsuit brought on behalf of Maher Arar, a Syrian-born Canadian citizen. Maher Arar was deported in October 2002 by US...

USA: A compromise reached on the Patriot Act

Feb 16, 2006

Amidst debate over the impact of the Patriot Act on civil liberties, both the House of Representatives and the Senate twice agreed to one-month extensions of the 16 provisions originally due to expire at the end of 2005. On 9 February, Republican Senators and the...

USA: Increased pressure over domestic warrantless surveillance

Feb 16, 2006

Following revelations that National Security Agency (NSA) have carried out domestic surveillance of foreign telephone calls without warrant, US human rights groups have filed lawsuits challenging the legality of the program. On 16 February, a federal judge ordered the...