William Fisher

In what appears to be another stunning legal rebuke to President George W. Bush’s policies in the “global war on terrorism,” a federal judge has blocked the government from blacklisting a Muslim-oriented charity to give the group a chance to defend itself after its assets were frozen almost three years ago. In response to a … Continue reading “Muslim Charity to Get
Its Day in Court”

The administration of President George W. Bush continues to expand government secrecy across a broad array of agencies and actions – and at greatly increased cost to taxpayers, according to a coalition of groups that promote greater transparency. Dr. Patrice McDermott, director of Open the Government, a watchdog group, told IPS, "The federal government under … Continue reading “The Most Secretive Administration Ever?”

As Muslims begin one of their most important holidays – the month of Ramadan – charitable organizations serving the American Muslim community are taking what some observers believe is a desperate last step to keep the US government from shutting them down. Muslim Advocates (MA), a San Francisco-based national educational and advocacy organization established by … Continue reading “Muslim Charities Negotiate a Minefield”

After suffering a series of stinging defeats of its detention policies in four years of Supreme Court decisions, the George W. Bush administration may be in for yet more bad news. In what legal scholars describe as a highly unusual move, a federal appeals court in New York last week decided to rehear a case … Continue reading “Arar Faces Uphill Legal Battle”

As a new report forecasts that the 190,000 private contractors in Iraq and neighboring countries will cost U.S. taxpayers more than $100 billion by the end of 2008, an under-the-radar Florida court case suggests that U.S. President George W. Bush – a staunch contractor supporter – is preparing to throw security contractors such as Blackwater … Continue reading “One-Fifth of Iraq Funding Paid to Contractors”

Despite a sentence that effectively means convicted war criminal Salim Hamdan could be a free man before the end of this year, the future of Osama bin Laden’s driver is far from clear. Hamdan was found guilty Wednesday of providing "material support" for the al-Qaeda terrorist organization – but acquitted on the more serious charge … Continue reading “Hamdan’s Future Remains Unclear”

In the name of "global war on terror," the US government is waging war on non-governmental organization by applying "shortsighted, undemocratic policies" that are "constraining the critical activities of the charitable and philanthropic sectors, stifling free speech, and ultimately impeding the fight against terrorism." This is the conclusion of a new white paper prepared by … Continue reading “NGO ‘Blacklist’ Unfair and Arbitrary, Groups Say”

Civil liberties advocates have lost no time in asking a federal court to stop the government from conducting surveillance under the new wiretapping law passed by Congress and signed by President George W. Bush last week. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and a coalition of other groups declared that the new law "gives the … Continue reading “New Spying Law Quickly Challenged”

As the long-awaited trial of Guantanamo detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan opened this week at the U.S. naval base in Cuba, human rights groups filed suit demanding that the Department of Justice (DOJ) produce documents related to the U.S. government’s ghost detention, torture, and extraordinary rendition program. Attorney General Michael Mukasey also called on Congress to … Continue reading “Hamdan Case to Test Military Tribunals”

As a federal appeals court ruled that the U.S. military improperly labeled a Chinese Muslim held at Guantanamo Bay an "enemy combatant" and ordered that he be released, transferred, or granted a new hearing, an influential congressional committee delivered a scathing criticism of China’s closed trial of 15 men on terrorism charges – resulting in … Continue reading “Uyghurs Jailed From Guantanamo to Beijing”