ACLU Report: U.S. Drug Laws Harm Women

NEW YORK - America's war on drugs is inflicting deep and disproportionate harm on women - most of them mothers - who are filling prisons in ever-rising numbers despite their typically minor roles in drug rings, the American Civil Liberties Union and two other groups contend in a major new report.

The report, " Caught in the Net,'' is being released Thursday as the focus of a two-day national conference in New York, bringing together criminal justice officials, sentence-reform activists and other experts to consider its package of proposed legislative and policy changes. The report recommends expansion of treatment programs geared toward women, says incarceration should be a last resort, and urges more vigorous efforts to maintain ties between imprisoned mothers and their children.

" Drug convictions have caused the number of women behind bars to explode, leaving in the rubble displaced children and overburdened families,'' the document says.

The number of imprisoned women is increasing at a much faster rate than the number of men, mostly because of tougher drug laws. There were 101,000 women in state and federal prisons in 2003, an eight-fold increase since 1980; roughly one-third were drug offenders, compared to about one-fifth of male inmates.

" Many of the drug conspiracy and accomplice laws were created to go after the kingpins,'' said the ACLU women's rights project director, Lenora Lapidus, a lead author of the report. " But women who may simply be a girlfriend or wife are getting caught in the web as well, and sent to prison for very long times when all they may have done is answer the telephone.''

Lapidus acknowledged that legislation addressing the situation would probably need to be gender-neutral. But she and her fellow authors - from New York University Law School's Brennan Center for Justice and the advocacy group Break the Chains - make a detailed case that existing drug laws " have had specific, devastating and disparate effects on women.''

Among their contentions:

-Many women are ensnared in drug investigations despite peripheral involvement, sometimes solely because they failed to turn in their partners to police. Sentencing laws fail to consider factors such as physical abuse or economic dependence that may draw women into drug abuse or deter them from notifying authorities of a partner's drug activity.

-Treatment programs, to the extent they exist, often are tailored for men and prove relatively ineffective for women.

-Black and Hispanic women are imprisoned for drug offenses at higher rates than white women even though their rates of illegal drug use are comparable. Factors include prosecutors' decisions, policing tactics and selective testing of pregnant minority women for drug use.

-Most imprisoned women, and relatively few imprisoned men, leave behind children for whom they were the sole primary caretaker. The separation can be shattering for mothers, who may lose parental rights, and for children, thousands of whom are placed in foster care at state expense.

The report makes an economic case for change, contending that the combined annual cost of imprisoning a mother and placing a child in foster care is seven times the cost of an intensive one-year drug treatment program.

Several mothers jailed for drug offenses are attending the conference, including Dorothy Gaines, whose 19-year prison sentence for cocaine conspiracy was commuted by President Clinton in 2000 after she served six years. Gaines says her son, Phillip, now 20, was devastated by the separation.

" He was an honor roll student, but when I went to prison, he just lost it,'' Gaines said in a telephone interview from Alabama. " Even when I finally came home, he tried to kill himself. He's still bearing the scars.''

The issues raised in the report are difficult ones for criminal justice officials as their states debate building new prisons or diverting more nonviolent drug offenders into treatment.

" When there's a woman defendant with children, we generally try everything we can to put her into rehab rather than prison,'' said Michael Arcuri, district attorney in New York's Oneida County and former president of the state DA's association.

" On the other hand, we're supposed to treat everyone the same,'' he said. " You see more women in prison because you see more women selling drugs. Some of them feel that, because we were softer on women in the past, they'll get some sort of easier treatment.''

Bruce Bullington, a Florida State University criminologist, said drug-offending mothers may win sympathy from some activists but often are viewed harshly by lawmakers.

" It's not just an issue of drugs, but of embedded moral values,'' he said. " We demonize these women, and it comes back to haunt us in a variety of ways.''

Fair Laws For Families

By David Crary 18 March 05

Related:

Most women 'should not be jailed'
The number of women being sent to jail - many on short sentences - increased to 13,380 in 2002, a leap of about a third compared with just three years earlier.

War on drugs? Losing that too
THE US War on Drugs that is run from Washington DC is a "tragic failure" and should be wrested away from the feds and devolved to state level.

Children of Imprisoned Mothers
United Nations lobbying body reports on women in prison and their children. I thought that two recent publications from the Quaker group that lobbies the UN might be of interest to you.

Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO)
On-line Resources on Women in Prison

Prison System Fails Women, Study Says
State policies designed for violent men make female offenders' rehabilitation difficult, an oversight panel finds. "If we fail to intervene effectively in the lives of these women and their children now, California will pay the cost for generations to come," said Commissioner Teddie Ray, chairwoman of the subcommittee that produced the report.

People: 'Prisoners' of Drugs'
According to an Australian Medical Association report, 83% of prisoners behind bars are there as a result of drug-related offences. In a NSW study it showed the frequent amount of burglaries depended on the rate of spending money on drugs. Neil Comrie, Victorian Police estimates 70% of all criminal activity is drug related. Inadequate treatment services as well as treatment of drug addiction as a crime, rather than a health issue has criminalised a huge number of people.

Report slams 'unjust' jailing of women on remand
UK: Six out of 10 women sent to jail while they await trial are acquitted or given a non-custodial sentence, a report published today reveals. Introducing the report, Lady Kennedy QC calls for a complete review of the use of remand and bail for women saying it is "inhumane and unjust".

Parents on the inside leave children on the edge
Life in jail is an ordeal but it's a much harsher sentence for the child of a prisoner, writes Paola Totaro. 30 July 03.

2nd Renaissance -36 Let The Girls Go! [263]
During 2003 an Australian woman, Kathleen Folbigg, was sentenced to 40 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 30 years. Her crime, which she continues to deny, was to consecutively smother her four children when they were aged between 8 and 19 months. She was largely convicted on the basis of entries in her private diary, although these did not specifically refer to her having killed her two sons and two daughters; only that she was her father's daughter. Her lawyers are appealing her conviction.

US judge orders CIA release Guantanamo records

Guantanamo Prison Flight

A US federal judge has ordered the CIA to release records regarding the treatment of prisoners detained in Guantanamo Bay and other facilities in the "war on terror" to a civil rights groups.

District Judge Alvin Hellerstein's ruling rejected a CIA request that he suspend a similar order made in September for the documents to be handed over to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

The CIA had challenged the original ruling by citing a provision in the Freedom of Information Act, allowing the spy agency to hold on to files still considered "operational".

Judge Hellerstein ruled that the CIA did not meet the statute's requirement that its director must explicitly claim an exemption for specifically categorised files.

"To date, defendant CIA has submitted no evidence that the director declared such an exemption. I decline to find that its operational files warrant any protection from the requirements of FOIA," Judge Hellerstein said.

The ACLU had requested the records in October 2003 but was turned down by the intelligence agency.

Subsequent requests were also denied, and the ACLU eventually decided to sue for the documents' release in court. The ACLU argued that the records would shed light on the interrogation policies that authorised or allowed abuse or torture of prisoners in Iraq, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.

There was no immediate word from government lawyers on whether the CIA would appeal.

By Just Us 3 February 05

Related:

Hicks lawyer welcomes Guantanamo ruling
Stephen Kenny, the lawyer representing the family of Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, has welcomed a US court ruling that military commissions set up to try detainees at Guantanamo Bay are unconstitutional.

Australia: a presumption of guilt......
KAREN PERCY: Two of Australia's leading barristers have seized on the return of Guantanamo Bay detainee, Mamdouh Habib, to launch an unprecedented attack on the Federal Attorney General, Philip Ruddock.

Aust Community criticises Govt for 'crimes'!
Australia: The Law Council of Australia is warning that the Federal Government must learn from its mistakes over Guantanamo Bay? Now that's a mistake!

Australian Govt Guilty of Crimes: Community
Australia: The community says federal fascists who allowed the torture of its citizenry including Mamdouh Habib may be arrested when the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal address the War Crimes Indictment set out by the community.

US judge dismisses? Guantanamo legal challenge
A US federal judge has dismissed the cases of seven Guantanamo Bay prisoners who sought to challenge the lawfulness of their continued detention?

US 'landlord' slams! Guantanamo 'law violations'
Cuba has demanded that the United States cease its "criminal conduct" in abusing prisoners held at the base it illegally occupies on Cuba's south-eastern tip, saying procedures at Guantanamo violate international law.

Concern over ramifications of Hicks FOI failure
There are claims that a decision by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal will give some countries the opportunity to refuse diplomatic aid to detained Australians.

FBI emails reveal Guantanamo abuse
In memos over a two year period FBI agents said they witnessed the use of torture techniques, which included the use of dogs, prisoners being shackled to the floor in foetal positions for up to 24 hours, left without food and water, left to defecate upon themselves.

Hicks alleges Guantanamo abuse: report
Guantanamo Bay prisoner David Hicks has reportedly claimed that prisoners at the US run prison camp have been beaten while blindfolded and handcuffed, terrorised by attack dogs, and forced to take drugs.

US lawyer wants inquiry into Hicks trial process
The lawyer defending Australian terror suspect [scapegoat for resource wars] David Hicks has called for an inquiry into whether the military commission hearing the case meets legal standards.

Australia Sells Its Citizens Short
Australian citizens, Mamdouth Habib and David Hicks have been illegally incarcerated in the Guantanamo Bay facility established by the US military as part of the War on Terror.

Downer won't press US for 'torture' report?
The Australian Government says it has tried and failed so far to get a copy of a report by the International Red Cross which claims psychological and physical coercion of detainees at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba?

UK minister criticises US over Guantanamo!
UK: Washington's policy on the legal status of detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba is unacceptable, a senior British minister said.

Lawyers hail 'unlawful' ruling in Guantanamo trial
Human rights groups and lawyers for Guantanamo detainees have welcomed a US federal judge's ruling which halted as unlawful the military tribunal trial of a Guantanamo prisoner accused of being Osama bin Laden's bodyguard and driver.

Hicks's lawyers seek panel decision
Lawyers for Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks will make another attempt to dismiss charges against their client in a series of motions hearings starting in Cuba today.

Torture, the British way
Great to be British, isn't it? Time was, we were really uptight, but now we can talk about anything - sex, religion, politics. No matter how personal and complex the subject, we'll discuss it with Richard and Judy, or slap our private Polaroids of it on our websites. Which leaves me puzzled about our silence, even shyness, over this whole torture thing.

US secretly moved prisoners out of Iraq for questioning: report
The CIA has secretly transferred detainees out of Iraq for interrogation after asking the US Justice Department to write a memo justifying the practice, which violates the Geneva Conventions.

Pentagon dumps Guantanamo tribunal officers
The Pentagon has dumped three members of a military tribunal that will hear the trials of Guantanamo prisoners, including Australian David Hicks, but kept the presiding officer despite challenges to his impartiality.

Guantanamo detainees win right for private meetings
In a defeat for the US Government, a federal judge has ruled that three prisoners held at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba can meet with their attorneys in private. In a defeat.

Lawyers complain about Guantanamo trials
US: Lawyers for 63 detainees at the US detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba have complained before a US federal court at the slow pace their cases are being handled by authorities.

Judge orders US to release Guantanamo records
The United States Government must release documents within 30 days relating to the treatment of prisoners held at American overseas detention centres, including Guantanamo Bay and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, a US federal judge ordered.

Bush team 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

Hicks, Habib denied a fair go: Amnesty
The secretary-general of Amnesty International has criticised the Federal Government's treatment of the two Australians detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Govt's Hicks concerns an 'election stunt', says Brown
Greens Senator Bob Brown has accused the Federal Government of an election stunt with its questions to the United States authorities about the trial of "Australian Citizen" David Hicks.

Abu Ghraib inquiry slams Aust Government
A US inquiry into the Iraqi prison abuse scandal has been highly critical of Australian, Major George O'Kane, for glossing over early warnings about the treatment of detainees.

Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes
Complaint to Australian law officers about Australian Federal Government complicity in war crimes.

Hicks family arrives at Kangaroo Caught
Terry Hicks says he feels very emotional about seeing his son for the first time in five years.

Hicks defence team likely to gain more time
The head of the military trials planned for two Australians held at Guantanamo Bay says he believes their defence teams will be given whatever additional time they need to prepare for trial.

Hicks, Habib denied natural justice: Liberal MP
A federal Liberal MP has accused the Government of not doing enough to secure a fair trial for Guantanamo Bay detainees, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

Guantanamo abuse claims prompt new inquiry calls
New claims of abuse at Guantanamo Bay Cuba have prompted fresh calls for an Australian inquiry into the treatment of detainees David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

Hicks movie to premiere in Adelaide
A movie about Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks, President versus David Hicks, by award winning filmmaker Curtis Levy will be screened in Adelaide tomorrow.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
The US authorities may move hundreds of prisoners from their controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to the United States following new Supreme Court rulings, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
The Pentagon has named the officers who will decide the fate of David Hicks and two other Guantanamo prisoners charged by the United States in the first US military tribunals since World War II.

US terror suspects can challenge detention
The US Supreme Court has ruled that US courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
The lawyer for an Australian man detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling permitting judicial appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants.

Hicks and Habib in the Melting Pot
Australia: The United States has brought three criminal charges against Australian David Hicks, accusing him of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon has said.

Rumsfeld had approved abuse
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld authorised hoods, the stripping of prisoners and the use of dogs to terrify inmates at Guantanamo Bay almost two years ago, documents released yesterday revealed.

How much is that doggy in the prison? Woof woof!
Did the Iraqi prisoner's get their rations while they were treated like chums?

Failure to condemn prison abuse risks lives: Kenny
The Prime Minister is morally bankrupt stay "alert and alarmed"

Prisoner's identity concealed to prevent Red Cross access
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, acting at the request of the CIA, ordered that a suspected Iraqi insurgent leader be detained off the books to conceal his identity from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Pentagon has confirmed.

US has secret prisons: rights group
The United States is holding terrorism suspects in more than two dozen detention centres worldwide, about half of which operate in total secrecy, according to a new human rights report.

This won't hurt much
For some time now, I've been trying to find out where my son goes after choir practice. He simply refuses to tell me. He says it's no business of mine where he goes after choir practice and it's a free country.

Judge orders US to release prison records

The United States Government must release documents within 30 days relating to the treatment of prisoners held at American overseas prisons, including Guantanamo Bay and Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison, a US federal judge ordered. 

Two Australians, Mr David Hicks and Mr Mamdouh Habib, are being held and tortured in Guantanamo Bay. 

More than 17,000 pages of documents have been requested by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and other groups, which argued that the Government must release the records under the Freedom of Information Act.

Manhattan Federal Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein says the Bush administration has responded at a "glacial pace" to requests for the documents, first made in October 2003.

"If the documents are more of an embarrassment than a secret, the public should know of our Government's treatment of individuals captured and held abroad," he said.

A spokeswoman for the US Attorney General's office could not be contacted for comment.

Judge Hellerstein said in his written court order that no documents requested had yet been produced by the Government, which has cited national security issues for holding back information.

"Merely raising national security concerns cannot justify unlimited delays," he said.

The ACLU and the other groups sued the US Government in June, charging that the Department of Defence, [War], and other federal agencies ignored requests for records they claimed would detail US military abuse of prisoners since the, [USA, CIA, reichstag, false flag operation], September 11, 2001, attacks.

By Just Us 16 September 04

Related:

Bush criminals 'knew of abuse' at Guantanamo
Evidence of prisoner abuse and possible war crimes at Guantanamo Bay reached the highest levels of the Bush administration as early as autumn 2002, but Donald Rumsfeld, the defence secretary, chose to do nothing about it, according to a new investigation.

BREAKTHROUGH AS DFAT TAKES STEPS FOR GUANTANAMO BAY POSTAL VOTE As the electoral rolls closed, the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirmed that they have faxed, [tortured prisoners], David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], postal vote application forms, Australian Greens Member for Cunningham Michael Organ said.

Hicks, Habib denied a fair go: Amnesty
The secretary-general of Amnesty International has criticised the Federal Government's treatment of the two Australians detained at Guantanamo Bay.

Govt's Hicks concerns an 'election stunt', says Brown
Greens Senator Bob Brown has accused the Federal Government of an election stunt with its questions to the United States authorities about the trial of "Australian Citizen" David Hicks.

Abu Ghraib inquiry slams Aust Government
A US inquiry into the Iraqi prison abuse scandal has been highly critical of Australian, Major George O'Kane, for glossing over early warnings about the treatment of detainees.

US Tortured Iraqi Resistance: Report
A US army general has acknowledged for the first time that US forces tortured Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib jail and his report said a colonel, who headed the military, [and alleged], intelligence unit at the prison, could face criminal charges. "It's a harsh word, and in some instances, unfortunately, I think it was appropriate here. There were a few instances where torture was being used". [? a few?]

Hicks family arrives at Kangaroo Caught
Terry Hicks, father of prisoner David Hicks, used as a scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing' Resource war's in the Middle East.

Habib's call renews welfare concerns
Waiting: Maha Habib has spoken to her husband for the first time in two-and-a-half years.

Hicks defence team likely to gain more time
The head of the military trials planned for two Australians held at Guantanamo Bay says he believes their defence teams will be given whatever additional time they need to prepare for trial.

Hicks, Habib denied natural justice: Liberal MP
A federal Liberal MP has accused the Government of not doing enough to secure a fair trial for Guantanamo Bay detainees, David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib.

Iraqi Women in the Occupation Prisons As Material and Means of Violations It is important to say at the beginning that there are many psychological, social and cultural obstacles for Iraqi women to talk openly about what they actually went through inside the occupation prisons.

Mamdouh Habib: Taunted and Tortured!
Habib came to ASIO's notice when he fell out with the ADF obviously someone had it in for Mamdouh and the ADF tipped off ASIO and the AFP to taunt him. By the sounds of it he was declared a wog. That's Aussie slang for get the bastard he's not one of ours and we can discriminate against him he is an easy target. Aussie race hate!

A blow for freedom
The supreme court ruling that Guantanamo Bay prisoners can challenge their detention, [imprisonment], in the US is almost certain to lead to hundreds being released, says Conor Gearty,

Mossad agents Killing Oz Tourists Steal their Identity to use in terror opps The fugitive Israeli Mossad intelligence agent Zev Barkan has been dealing with Asian criminal gangs to obtain Australian and other passports stolen from Australians Killed in Asia, a New Zealand security official has said.

Mr Habib to face US military trial
The, [despotic], United States Government has given the go-ahead for the Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate, [prisoner], Mr Mamdouh Habib, to go to trial for being innocent. Mr Habib could now be granted access to a military and civilian legal team.

US tortured Habib in Egypt: report
Australian terror suspect Mamdoub Habib was allegedly tortured in Egypt before being sent to Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, according to the Pakistani Government.

Hicks movie to premiere in Adelaide
A movie about Guantanamo Bay detainee, [prisoner], David Hicks, President versus David Hicks, by award winning filmmaker Curtis Levy will be screened in Adelaide tomorrow.

There is no justification for torture
In the weeks since the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison were revealed, evidence continues to seep out of similar mistreatment of prisoners in other US military detention, [torture], centers in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay.

US lawyers demand access to Habib
Lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainees, including Mamdouh Habib, have written to United States Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld demanding access to the men.

Guantanamo prisoners may be moved to US soil
The US authorities may move hundreds of prisoners from their controversial Guantanamo Bay detention camp in Cuba to the United States following new Supreme Court rulings, the Los Angeles Times has reported.

Blair's comments reflect badly on Australia says Hicks lawyer
The Adelaide-based lawyer representing accused Taliban fighter, [scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], Mr David Hicks says the latest comments by the British Prime Minister Tony Blair on United States military tribunals reflect badly on Australia.

Govt urged to seek civil lawyer for Habib
The Law Council of Australia has called for the Federal Government to ensure Guantanamo Bay inmate, [prisoner], Mamdouh Habib has access to a civil lawyer.

Pentagon names tribunal for Hicks trial
The Pentagon has named the militants who will decide the fate of Mr David Hicks and two other Guantanamo prisoners charged by the United States in the first US military tribunals since World War II.

US scapegoats can challenge detention
The US Supreme Court has ruled that US courts have jurisdiction to hear appeals from foreign detainees, [prisoners], held as enemy combatants, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], in the US military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Hicks lawyer praises Guantanamo decision
The lawyer for an Australian man detained at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base has welcomed a US Supreme Court ruling permitting judicial appeals from foreign detainees held as enemy combatants.

'No compromise' on Guantanamo trials
UK: The transatlantic rift over Guantanamo Bay deepened, as UK last Friday politicians and human rights activists seized on the attorney general's admission that, [war criminal], George Bush's plans for military tribunals were "unacceptable".

War criminal Rumsfeld had approved abuse
On December 2, 2002, Rumsfeld approved the removal of clothing, 20-hour interrogations, the use of dogs to induce stress, 30-day isolations and deprivation of light and sensory stimuli (hooding).

Failure to condemn prison abuse risks lives: Kenny
The Australian lawyer representing Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks has joined calls for the, [war crimial], Prime Minister to condemn interrogation techniques being used at the prison camp.

Prisoner's identity concealed to prevent Red Cross access
US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, acting at the request of the CIA, ordered that a suspected Iraqi insurgent leader be detained off the books to conceal his identity from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the Pentagon has confirmed.

US has secret prisons: rights group
The United States is holding terrorism suspects, [? scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], in more than two dozen detention centres worldwide, about half of which operate in total secrecy, according to a new human rights report.

Occupation Torture: This won't hurt much
I hesitated to gravitate to harsher interrogation methods because, after all, he is my son. Then, [war criminal], Donald Rumsfeld came to my rescue.

How much is that doggy in the prison? Woof, woof!
Did the Iraqi prisoners' get their rations while they were treated like chums? The Australian Government was confident United States authorities in charge of Iraqi prisoners of war complied with the Geneva Convention, the Senate was told yesterday.

British militants face Iraq abuse charges
London: Four British, [militants], will be court-martialled on charges of abusing Iraqi, detainees. The four Royal Fusiliers members are accused of assault, indecent assault and prejudicing good order.

I'm a scapegoat: Abu Ghraib general
The United States general in charge of Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq was told by a military intelligence commander that detainees, [prisoners], should be treated like dogs.

Hicks and Habib in the Melting Pot
Australia: The United States has brought three, [alleged], criminal charges against Australian David Hicks, accusing him of conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder and aiding the enemy, the Pentagon has said.

Pentagon finds Bush not bound by torture laws: report?
A Pentagon report has concluded, [war criminal], President George W Bush was not bound by laws prohibiting torture and United States agents who might torture prisoners at his direction could not be prosecuted by the Justice Department, The Wall Street Journal has reported.

By the fact...in & of itself...just the facts..?
[War criminal], Alexander Downer: "Actually, if an Australian - if the Government is involved in a cover-up, then the Government therefore ipso facto must have known about the atrocities.

Looming Hicks charges no surprise, father says
The father of Australian Guantanamo Bay detainee, [prisoner], David Hicks says it would be wrong for, [war criminal], Prime Minister John Howard to take any credit for speeding up the legal processing of his son.

Howard double standard on prisoners
The [war criminal], Prime Minister's claim in Los Angeles overnight that "if an American commits a crime in Australia, that person is tried in Australia' falls flat in light of his decision to let the US try two marines alleged to be involved in attempted murder in Townsville, Greens Senator Bob Brown said today.

Labor, Greens criticise prisoner abuse probe
The Federal Opposition and the Greens have little confidence in an internal Defence Department investigation into the Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal.

Hicks, Habib detail abuse to Aust officials
A federal government department has revealed both Australians being held at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba have raised allegations of abuse with Australian officials.

I was misled on abuse: Howard?
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard says he did not mislead the public about when Australian officials became aware of allegations about the serious abuse of Iraqi prisoners.

Amnesty report criticises Aust, US
Amnesty International has accused Australia of using national security to justify the erosion of human rights and says the United States has proved "bankrupt of vision and bereft of principle" in its fight against terrorism and invasion of Iraq.

Australian officer visited Abu Ghraib
An Australian Army legal officer who served at the coalition's military headquarters in Baghdad visited the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on a number of occasions, a Senate committee has heard.

Family worried about son in Iraqi prison
The South Australian family of a man detained in Iraq says it is becoming increasingly concerned about his welfare. Ahmed Aziz Rafiq, 26, was born in Iraq, but has been living in Adelaide, Sydney and Melbourne.

Hicks interrogator features in CBS broadcast
An American television program has broadcast an interview with a man who interrogated Australian terror suspect, [scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

HRMU: Harm-U for Hicks, Habib?
[War criminal], Prime Minister John Howard, NSW Premier Bob Carr, Justice Minister John Hatzistergos and other State and Territory prison ministers have set out a grim blueprint of life in an Australian jail.

Hicks's lawyer welcomes prison decision
Guantanamo Bay detainee, [prisoner and scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], David Hicks's lawyer has welcomed federal Parliament's decision to allow any prison sentence he may receive to be served in Australia. Mr Hicks and fellow Australian Mamdouh Habib have been held in Cuba without charge for more than two years.

Hicks trial won't be fair: US lawyer
The military lawyer assigned to Australian Guantanamo Bay inmate, [prisoner and scapegoat for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], David Hicks has launched one of the most serious attacks yet on the legal process surrounding his client.

US military criticises legal process for Guantanamo prisoners
Military lawyers assigned by the Pentagon to detainees, [prisoners], at Guantanamo Bay are planning to present a brief to the US Supreme Court tomorrow, criticising the fairness of the legal process.

Guantanamo detentions slammed
A leading human rights group has denounced the United States Government for continuing to hold prisoners without charge two years after it set up the detention, [prison], camp at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Vigil: Season's Greetings for David and Mamdouh
The objective is to continue to inform the public; and maintain the issue alive. There will be information on both David and Mamdouh to hand out to the general public. There will also be two Season's Greetings cards for the public to sign which will be presented to Alexander Downer - as Parliament will be on recess by then, I will ask the Fair Go for David Group in South Australia to present these to Downer.

US court delivers blow to Guantanamo policy
In a stinging rebuke of the Bush Government, a United States appeals court has ruled the US cannot imprison "enemy combatants," [scapegoats and patsy's for the Coaltion of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], captured in Afghanistan, [held], indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay and deny them access to lawyers.

Hicks's lawyer hopeful of meeting before Christmas
Adelaide lawyer Stephen Kenny says he hopes to meet with United States military captive David Hicks at Guantanamo Bay before Christmas.

Red Cross warns resource wars in the Middle East are eroding human rights The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has warned that the worldwide campaign against terrorism [the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East], must not be used to breach peoples right under international law.

Lawyers differ on Guantanamo deal
The lawyers for the two Australian men being held, [tortured in solitary confinement], at Guantanamo Bay have had different reactions to the, [war criminal], Federal Government's agreement with the, [war criminal], United States over procedures for any 'military trials'.

US 'political prisoners' demand rule of US law
FOREIGN prisoners, [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], held in Cuba, including Australians David Hicks and Mamdouh Habib, will never have played their legal card until they're freed!

Government should fund 'free Hicks' doco
TAXPAYERS have forked out $185,000 for a documentary promoting the release of David Hicks - because the Coalition of the Killing used him as a scapegoat for their illegal and degrading resource war's in the Middle East.

A STRUGGLE ON TWO FRONTS: PRISONS & IMPERIALIST WAR
After a war waged by the U.S. military against Vietnam which took the lives of more than 3 million Vietnamese people and more than 58,000 GIs, the U.S. finally withdrew in 1975. It had suffered its first official major military defeat by a united people struggle led by the Vietnamese, along with a mass U.S. anti-war movement.

Supporters doubt PM's efforts to release Habib, Hicks
The supporters of two Australian detainees [prisoners] being held [tortured] by the United States at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba say they draw no comfort from [war criminal], Prime Minister John Howard raising the men's plight with [war criminal], US President George W Bush.

Greens For Freedom of Political Prisoners
The Greens politicians refused to be ejected and attempted to deliver a letter and photograph to the president. But Kerry was literally dragged away and that behaviour in Parliament was worrying.

Habib's wife to join Greens Protest during Bush Visit
The wife of an Australian man imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay has urged the Prime Minister to seek her husband's release when the United States President visits Australia this week.

Red Cross Criticizes Indefinite Detention in Guantanamo Bay
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Oct. 9 A senior official of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Thursday that the holding of more than 600 detainees [prisoners] here was unacceptable because they were being held for open-ended terms without proper legal process.

Australia: Crean backs war criminals
The Federal Labor leader, Simon Crean, has tried to head off planned protests by some opposition MPs when the US President addresses Parliament next week.

Bush's Vanished Prisoner
He Wonders Whether He Will See the Light of Day Again October 10th, 2003 6:00 PM

Guantanamo Bay treatment: Limbo
Former federal judges, diplomats, military officials and human rights advocates in the United States have urged the Supreme Court to review the cases of detainees [scapegoats for the Coalition of the Killing's resource wars in the Middle East], being held without charge at Guantanamo Bay in the name of terrorism.

Australia: Justice for Hicks & Habib
The public forum Justice for Hicks & Habib was quite a success. Approximately 130 people attended the event, a big number for a Saturday eve!

Pilger said White House knew Saddam was no threat
Australian investigative journalist John Pilger says he has evidence the war against Iraq was based on a lie which could cost George W Bush and Tony Blair their jobs and bring Prime Minister John Howard down with them.

Illegal and degrading war crimes: Society on the New World Order (OWN)! While Australia and the US are very distinctive societies war criminal, Prime Minister John Howard and war criminal, President George Bush share core values.

Civil Liabilities: Howard's diversity? I had a dream?
The war criminal, Prime Minister, John Howard, who only yesterday was claiming he was showing diversity has stepped up pressure on the states to support plans to increase the war criminal, Federal Attorney-General's powers to ban terrorist organisations, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing's illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.]

Terry Hicks Odyssey for Justice for his Imprisoned Son
Terry Hicks, David Hicks father, one of two Australian [scapegoats] held imprisoned [and tortured] at Guantanamo Bay, arrives tomorrow Saturday 20 September in Sydney. He will hold a Press Conference at 2pm at Breakout, 65 Bellevue St. Glebe.

Evidence that Howard was complicit in CIA, false flag, call to arms, Bali bombings War criminal John Howard was complicit in the call to arms - false flag operation - Bali bombings - instigated by the CIA - and the Coalition of the Killing - to bolster support - and quell dissent for their illegal and degrading resource wars in the Middle East.

State terror units caused the terror!
The level of suspicion and surveillance created by the [US false flag operation and call to arms] Bali bombings, created by [ the Coalition of the Killing and Australian's complicity to go to war on Iraq] means that all Australian's suffer the loss of their human rights, civil rights and their democratic rights, as well as those Australian's who lost their life in Bali.

Australia backs CIA Reichstag, Downer's propaganda
The Foreign Affairs Minister says the latest message from Osama bin Laden is worrying. [Just plain rubbish!]

Bin Laden calls? CIA blind man's bluff!
A [US propaganda, fear-mongering] taped message purportedly from Osama bin Laden has warned Arab nations against supporting a war against Iraq but has branded Saddam Hussein an infidel.