Opinion of the EDPS on the access of law enforcement authorities to EURODAC

Read the opinion here.

Obama signs executive order strengthening intelligence oversight panel

[JURIST] US President Barack Obama signed an executive order Wednesday giving the Intelligence Oversight Board (IOB) the authority to report suspected violations of federal law related to intelligence gathering to the US attorney general. The order amends an executive order signed by former president George W. Bush last February, which allowed the IOB to report [...]

CSIS agent describes Khadr extradition vs rendition debate between Pakistan, US and Canada

A CSIS agent testified in the extradition case of Abdullah Khadr, brother of infamous Omar Khadr. The agent said that the Americans wanted to render Khadr to a U.S.-run foreign prison – perhaps Guantanamo Bay or one of the undisclosed “ghost sites” – but that the Canadians and Pakistanis refused to consent to his transfer. [...]

New CRS reports and congressional hearings released

Afghanistan: Post-Taliban Governance, Security, and U.S. Policy (6 Oct. 2009)
Africa Command: U.S. Strategic Interests and the Role of the U.S. Military in Africa (2 Oct 2009)
Removing Aliens from the United States: Judicial Review of Removal Orders (25 September 2009)

The records of several noteworthy congressional hearings that were held in the past two years have been [...]

PM v Khadr

Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen captured by US forces in Afghanistan at the age of 15 and imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay for 7 years, recently succeeded in convincing the Canadian Court of Appeal to order the Canadian government to request his immediate repatriation by the US  (Khadr v. Prime Minister of Canada 2009 FCA 246). Until [...]

UK High Court orders publication of torture evidence in Binyam Mohamed case

(The Guardian) David Miliband, the foreign secretary, acted in a way that was harmful to the rule of law by suppressing evidence about what the government knew of the illegal treatment of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who was held in a secret prison in Pakistan, the high court has ruled.
In a devastating judgment, two [...]

India & EU in counter-terrorism talks

In the aftermath of Mumbai attacks, the 27-nation European Union is keen on substantially raising its cooperation with India in counter-terrorism and the two sides are exploring the possibility of signing a mutual legal assistance treaty. EU’s Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Gilles de Kerchove identified the possible areas of cooperation as intelligence sharing, research and development of [...]

Council of the European Union: Joint Investigation Teams Manual and Manual on cross-border operations

Council of the European Union: Joint Investigation Teams Manual and Manual on cross-border operations.

Pakistan amends anti-terror laws

The government of Pakistan has amended its anti-terrorism laws to increase the remand period for the interrogation of terror suspects from 30 to 90 days.
Correspondents say that the move is one of the conditions of a recent bill passed by the US Congress which triples non-military aid to Pakistan. The Kerry-Lugar bill provides an annual [...]

Commander Reports on Africa Command Progress

Interesting quotes by Army Gen. William E. “Kip” Ward, who stood up Africa Command this time last year
“U.S. Africa Command’s mission calls for us to do our work in concert with other U.S. government agencies and in support of U.S. foreign policy objectives,” Ward said. “I want to emphasize that: we support — not lead [...]