William Fisher

As U.S. President George W. Bush’s poll numbers plummet, questions about how his administration "sold" the invasion of Iraq to the public and its treatment of prisoners seized in the "war on terror" continue to dog the beleaguered president, stalling his second-term agenda. In the Senate, Democrats have mounted a spirited campaign to insist that … Continue reading “Congress Sends Mixed Signals on Detainee Rights”

New allegations of prisoner torture in Iraq are likely to add urgency to pending legislation that would create a 9/11-type commission to investigate detainee treatment and ensure that the U.S. operates within the law on interrogations. The charges are the subject of a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW), which claims that U.S. Army … Continue reading “Calls Mount for Prisoner Abuse Commission”

A hunger strike started in June by terror suspects imprisoned by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba (Gitmo) – and reportedly settled – has been restarted and is growing, with 15 detainees hospitalized and 13 being fed through tubes. The number of hunger strikers varies. The military has said at various times the number … Continue reading “Hunger Strike Spreads at Guantanamo Camp”

Media coverage of Hurricane Katrina has all but drowned out what may well be two of the most consequential human rights court decisions in recent U.S. history. Last week, a three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled unanimously that President George W. Bush has the authority to indefinitely detain a U.S. citizen, José Padilla, arrested in … Continue reading “Gitmo Cases May Go to Civilian Courts”

During 2004, the George W. Bush administration issued more secret court orders, spent 148 dollars creating new classified documents for every dollar spent releasing old ones, invoked the "state secrets" privilege in court cases more frequently than ever before, and received 25 percent more requests for documents under the Freedom of Information Act. These are … Continue reading “Govt Secrecy Carries a Hefty Price”

As the U.S. Congress prepares to vote on the final version of a reauthorized USA PATRIOT Act, a major civil rights group claims to have proof that the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has used the law to snoop into people’s library records – a charge the FBI has vigorously denied since the Act was … Continue reading “Secrecy Shrouds PATRIOT Act Powers”

Countries that rely on "diplomatic assurances" that other countries will not torture transferred prisoners "are either engaging in wishful thinking or using the assurances as a figleaf to cover their complicity," charges a new report from Human Rights Watch (HRW). "There is substantial evidence that in the course of the global ‘war on terrorism,’ an … Continue reading “The Ugly Truth About Prisoner ‘Rendition’”

Civil libertarians and the Pentagon appear headed for yet another trainwreck in the ongoing dispute over the so-called second batch of photos from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. In response to a lawsuit by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and a number of medical and veterans groups demanding … Continue reading “New Abuse Photos Could Spark Riots, US General Warns”

As whistleblower Sibel Edmonds asks the U.S. Supreme Court to review her dismissed case against the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the mainstream media continues to refer to the government’s defense – the so-called state secrets privilege – as "rarely used." In fact, it has been used over 60 times since its creation in the … Continue reading “‘State Secrets Privilege’ Not So Rare”

As the U.S. Congress left town for its August vacation, the George W. Bush administration was congratulating itself on its legislative victories. But when Congress returns in September – aside from the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts to be the next associate justice of the Supreme Court – it will be facing multiple political … Continue reading “It’s That Pesky Prisoner Abuse Scandal Again…”