VICTIM OF ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE & Intelligence, torture and the courts
Iran’s regime imprisons protesters, not perpetrators
Iran’s leaders have imprisoned students for protesting the regime’s shooting down of a passenger airplane in January, while letting the general responsible for the disaster continue launching missiles, according to human rights observers.
https://share.america.gov/iran-s-regime-imprisons-protesters-not-perpetrators/
Somali terrorism suspect secretly held by US ...
Somali terrorism suspect secretly held by US
Man appears in New York court after being held on US navy ship for two months without being advised of his rights.
A Somali man who has appeared before a US criminal court to face charges of assisting al-Qaeda and a Somali armed group was questioned secretly aboard a US Navy ship for more than two months without being advised of his rights.
Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was captured in the Gulf of Aden on April 19, where he faced questioning by US interrogators "for intelligence purposes for more than two months" before being read his Miranda rights, US prosecutors said in a statement.
Miranda rights entitle suspects to a lawyer and the right to remain silent.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2011/07/20117622742709539.html
3rd UPDATE: Ecuador Asks US Envoy To Leave As Soon As Possible Ecuador has ...
3rd UPDATE: Ecuador Asks US Envoy To Leave As Soon As Possible
Ecuador has declared the U.S. ambassador in Quito, Heather Hodges, persona non grata and asked her to leave the country immediately, over the release of diplomatic cables via WikiLeaks that discuss alleged police corruption in the Andean country.
Ecuadorian Foreign Affairs Minister Ricardo Patino said Tuesday the U.S. ambassador has been asked to leave the country as soon as possible.
"The government decided to declare Hodges as persona non grata. We have asked her to leave the country as quickly as possible," Patino said.
In Washington, the State Department said Ambassador Hodges is one of the U.S.'s most experienced and talented diplomats and that her "expulsion" is "unjustified."
Meanwhile, in the afternoon, according to Ecuador's state news agency, Andes, President Rafael Correa said his government expected the United States to take reprisal for the Hodges expulsion, and that the "intrusion" by the U.S. embassy into the internal affairs had been "very serious."
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110405-714905.html
Protests in Pakistan at Long Jail Term for Scientist in U.S. Protesters too...
Protests in Pakistan at Long Jail Term for Scientist in U.S.
Protesters took to the streets of cities across Pakistan on Friday, calling on their government to intervene in the case of Aafia Siddiqui, an American-educated Pakistani scientist who was sentenced to 86 years in jail on Thursday in New York.
As my colleague Benjamin Weiser reported, Ms. Siddiqui was convicted of trying to kill American soldiers and F.B.I. agents in Afghanistan, but is widely seen by Pakistanis as an innocent victim of American torture.
Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch releases book Natascha Kampusch, t...
Austrian kidnap victim Natascha Kampusch releases book
Natascha Kampusch, the Austrian who was kidnapped at the age of 10 and held in a cellar for more than eight years, has released her autobiography.
The 22-year-old's account describes how she was beaten, starved and abused during her incarceration by her captor, whom she describes as "sick".
Ms Kampusch's kidnapper, Wolfgang Priklopil, killed himself after she escaped in August 2006.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11228192
Intelligence, torture and the courts ...
Intelligence, torture and the courts
Letters
Intelligence, torture and the courts
We are very concerned that coverage of the Binyam Mohamed case will leave a false impression about the work and ethics, not to mention the accountability, of our security and intelligence agencies (Devious, dishonest and complicit in torture – top judge on MI5, 11 February). This is not just unfair on the staff concerned, but dangerous for the country.
The allegation that our security and intelligence agencies have licence to collude in torture is disgraceful, untrue and one that we vigorously deny. The government's clear policy is not to participate in, solicit, encourage or condone the use of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment for any purpose. If allegations of wrongdoing are made, they are always taken seriously, and referred, if necessary, to the appropriate authorities to consider whether there is a basis for inviting the police to investigate. When the ISC has completed its scrutiny of the guidance for agency officers, we will – for the first time ever – publish that guidance for the country to see.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/feb/12/intelligence-torture-and-the-courts