Report of UN Special Rapporteur on Counterterrorism on his mission to Egypt

An advanced edited version of the UN Special Rapporteur’s report on Egypt is out now. (A/HRC/13/37/Add.2, 14 October 2009). It will be discussed at the Human RIghts Council’s Thirteenth Session in March 2010.

In this report the Special Rapporteur examines the emergency law, criminal law provisions on terrorist crimes, and amended article 179 of the Constitution [...]

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. [...]

Abdelrazik sues Canada for its alleged role in his arrest and torture

Abdelrazik’s suit seeks 24 million Canadian dollars (22 million US) from Ottawa alleging the government’s involvement in his detention and torture, and three million dollars (2.76 million US) from Foreign Minister Lawrence Cannon for “misfeasance in public office.”
It claims the foreign minister “deliberately and flagrantly violated (Abdelrazik’s) constitutional right to enter Canada, and his legal [...]

Interesting articles

Beth van Schaack – International Criminal Law & its Enforcement
This chapter, to appear in the 2nd edition of Beth Van Schaack & Ron Slye’s International Criminal Law & Its Enforcement (Foundation Press 2010), covers the crime of torture under international criminal law. It begins with a doctrinal discussion of the elements of torture as elucidated [...]

3 Top UN Torture Experts call for proactive measures taken by United Nations treaty bodies to prevent torture

In an exchange of views with Claudio Grossman, Chairperson of the Committee against Torture; Victor Manuel Rodriguez Rescia, Chairperson of the Subcommittee on Prevention of Torture; and Manfred Nowak, Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, speakers in the Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) expressed support for proactive [...]

Council of Europe’s anti-torture Committee publishes its 19th General Report

The general report provides information on the 19 visits carried out by the CPT between August 2008 and July 2009. In particular, it explains the main objectives of the nine ad hoc visits deemed to have been “required in the circumstances”. The report also includes highlights from recently published visit reports and government responses; they [...]

CCR challenges constitutionality of military commissions provisions that bar judicial review of detainee treatment at Guantanamo

The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed papers with the D.C. District Court early October challenging the government’s claim that no federal court has the power to hear claims of abuse at Guantánamo. The challenge came in response to the government’s effort to dismiss claims on behalf of two men found dead at the base [...]

Bybee Avoids Judicial Complaint

(Scott Horton) The Ninth Circuit’s Judicial Council has turned back a complaint directed against Judge Bybee based on his key role in crafting torture policy. The decision, issued by Judge Alex Kozinski, did not deal with the merits of the accusations leveled against Bybee, or the claim that Bybee never would have been confirmed by [...]

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 [...]

Louisiana Court Battle Over Guantanamo Psychologist

Attorneys filed an appeal before the Louisiana First Circuit Court of Appeal, in the case Dr. Trudy Bond v. Louisiana State Board of Examiners of Psychologists this week. Toledo-based psychologist Dr. Trudy Bond is calling on the Louisiana State Board of Examiners to investigate Louisiana psychologist and retired U.S. Army colonel Dr. Larry C. James, [...]