ACLU Lawsuit Charges in Amir Meshal v. Higgenbotham et al that an American Citizen Illegally Detained and Mistreated by U.S. Officials in Kenya and Ethiopia

The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a lawsuit on behalf of a New Jersey man who was illegally detained and mistreated by U.S. officials in Kenya and Ethiopia. After fleeing hostilities in Somalia in 2006, Amir Meshal was arrested, secretly imprisoned in inhumane conditions and subjected to harsh interrogations by U.S. officials over 30 [...]

New version of DOJ letter attaching FBI analysis of Guantánamo interrogation tactics released

Read it here.

FOIA Lawsuit Yields Unclassified FBI Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide

In September 2008, the Bush administration changed domestic intelligence-gathering rules. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s interpretation of those rules was recently made public when the bureau released a redacted copy of its “Domestic Investigations and Operation Guide” in response to a Freedom of Information lawsuit. The new rules have given F.B.I. agents the most power [...]

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 [...]

Remarks by President Obama at the National Counterterrorism Center

Read the speech here. Excerpts:
But I wanted to come here today and take a few minutes just to deliver a simple message – and Idelivered it inside, and that is the message of thanks. (…)
Your professionalism is essential to protecting this country. (…)
Because of you, and all the organizations you represent, we’re making [...]

Intelligence community legal reference book

The US Office of the Director of National Intelligence has declassified its Intelligence Community Legal Reference Book from which the US intelligence community ‘draws much of its authority and guidance’. Download the 949 pages here.

CIA abuses and accountability in the war on terror

Justice Department releases Helgerson report further detailing CIA abuses and tight control over them in ACLU FOIA suit
A court ordered the long-awaited release of the 2004 report by C.I.A Inspector General John L. Helgerson on the CIA’s interrogation techniques after a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit of the ACLU. The IG’s report is the most [...]

John Brennan on the US counterterrorism policy

Remarks by John O. Brennan, Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, As Prepared for Delivery “A New Approach to Safeguarding Americans, 6 August 2009. Read the speech here.
Interview with Brennan here. Comments in the LA Times and the WSJ.

House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee – Human Rights Annual Report 2008

Dealing with renditions, allegations of UK complicity in torture, transfer of detainees, oversight of pmsc’s. Read it here.

Clinton moved to halt disclosure of CIA torture evidence, MI5 documents confirm complicity into questioning in Pakistan

(The Guardian) Lawyers for Binyam Mohamed asked the court to order the public disclosure of a seven-paragraph summary of what the CIA knew, and what it told MI5 and MI6, about the treatment of Mohamed. Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, the judges hearing the case, have said that the summary contains nothing [...]