AFGHANISTAN: Mixed reactions to rights watchdog report

KABUL, 11 July (IRIN) - The United Nations and human rights activists in the Afghan capital, Kabul, on Monday welcomed a recent report of Human Rights Watch (HRW), which called on the Afghan government to 'bring war criminals to justice.'

The New York based rights watchdog, in a 133-page report released on Friday, accused some high-ranking officials in the Afghan government of violating human rights and demanded their trial.

While some are dead or in hiding, many of those linked to the carnage that erupted between April 1992 and March 1993 following the collapse of the Soviet-backed Najibullah government, are now defense or interior ministry officials, or advisors to President Hamid Karzai, the report said.

"It is a report that has to be taken very seriously. It raises very important concerns and points a crucial and difficult question to any country emerging from conflict, that is, how to deal with major violations of human rights from the past?" Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the United Nations special envoy in Afghanistan, said.

Edwards maintained the government of Afghanistan was working on a transitional justice plan and the UN had been in contact as to how to develop that plan.

The report entitled "Blood-Stained Hands: Past Atrocities in Kabul and Afghanistan's Legacy of Impunity" is based on two years of research, including interviews with witnesses, survivors, officials and combatants.

During the time covered by the report whole sections of Kabul were left in ruins, tens of thousands of civilians were killed and wounded and at least half a million people were displaced, the rights group said.

"This report isn't just a history lesson," said Brad Adams, executive director of HRW's Asia Division. "These atrocities were among some of the gravest in Afghanistan's history, yet today many of the perpetrators still wield power."

The HRW report follows a survey by the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC's) on transitional justice entitled "A Call for Justice" released in February. AIHRC's report was based on interviews and focus groups with more than 6,000 Afghans in 32 of 34 provinces. According to the Afghan rights body, all those interviewed wanted those who had committed past criminal acts to be brought to justice.

But transitional justice is a very controversial issue in post-war Afghanistan where there is still much work to do on the issue of legal reform. Analysts in Kabul believe there has not been any criminal justice structure for years and there has been no rule of law in the country for decades, resulting in no prosecutions for war crimes in the past 30 years.

There is no official charge from any court against anyone accused of war crimes, which is another element, hampering the trial of any criminal.

"Every time before the elections such reports or concerns are raised but neither the government nor the UN and international organisations have so far taken any step to open the debate of past criminals prosecutions," said Mohammad Qasi Akhgar, a local political analyst.

Akhgar said the war crimes did not take place only during the 1990s, "but when we say past criminals all the regimes in the last three decades must be included, not just the civil war. The HRW report has only underlined and mentioned the war criminals of the civil war. It has completely ignored the atrocities of communists," Akhgar noted.

Various groups were fighting for control of the country in the power vacuum that followed the bloody Soviet occupation and the fall of President Najibullah.

Among those mentioned in the report are several former chiefs of the Northern Alliance, which later helped the US-led coalition topple the hardline Taliban regime at the end of 2001, following the 11 September attacks on the United States.

HRW cites the example of notorious warlord Abdul Rashid Dostum, who now holds a senior post in the ministry of defense and exercises political control of several provinces in the north of Afghanistan.

It also mentions Karim Khalili, a former militia commander and now one of Karzai's two vice-presidents and Abdul Rabb al-Rasul Sayyaf, a radical Islamist commander who currently advises President Karzai and exercises major political power over the Afghan judiciary.

But the Afghan government has termed the report as incomplete and imperfect.

"The report is based on a specific period of Afghan history while in the last three years a lot has been done to respect human rights in Afghanistan," presidential spokesman Mohammad Karim Rahimi said on Sunday.

Ruling out the possible trial of the accused Afghan dignitaries, the spokesman said the people named had significantly contributed to peace and stability in post-war Afghanistan.

In the last three years Karzai's government has avoided pursuing suspected war criminals in the interest of national stability. Indeed, many suspects were co-opted into his interim government. Others accused of war crimes remain powerful in the provinces, with their own private armies and links with the flourishing opium trade. It is the failure to take any action against such alleged perpetrators that has strengthened the culture of impunity in the country, observers say.

"If Afghanistan doesn't begin a process of addressing its history now, the past may repeat itself," the rights group warned, urging the government to accelerate efforts to reform the judicial system and set up special courts to try alleged rights abusers.

"In Afghanistan today, alleged war criminals - Taliban, Mujahideen, Communist - enjoy total impunity in the name of national reconciliation," Adams said. "This is an insult to victims and an affront to justice."

By UN 11 July 05

Related:

III. The Battle for Kabul: April 1992-March 1993

[Washington Post, May 3, 1992] Kabul today is anything but a city basking in triumph. . . . [R]ockets and shells continue to crash into residential neighborhoods, fired by the forces of fundamentalist guerrilla leader Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. . . . Hundreds of civilians lie in hospitals lacking electricity, water, and basic sterilization equipment. More arrive each day. . . . Heavily armed, ethnically divided guerrillas and militiamen prowl the city streets, defending patchwork blocks from their rivals, speaking in heated tones about their various enemies and sometimes looting homes and shops. . . .22

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Stop all the terror! Troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan
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US confirms civilian deaths in Afghan air strike!
American-led forces have mistakenly killed scores of Afghan civilians since engineering the fall of the Taliban regime in late 2001, including 48 who died when a wedding party came under attack three years ago.

Labor, 'Showroom Dummies'
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Crush, Kill, Destroy, Labor Wants War on Afghanistan
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Searching for resistance in Afghanistan
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Battlelines drawn on Security Council
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Annan calls for human rights agency revamp!
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Unknown News Update - 2009
More than 103 times as many people have been killed in these wars and occupations than in all terrorist attacks in the world from 1993-2004. About 241 times as many people have been killed in Afghanistan and Iraq than in the ghastly attacks of September 11, 2001.

UN Dialogue among Civilizations

This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war. [The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear.]

Final invite program UN Dialogue

Final Program and invitation to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations (UNDAC) Roundtable Dialogue 2005

Co-operating to Create a Global Culture of Peace and Non-Violence and to Move On from a Culture of Fear

Leura, Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia, June 4th to 5th 2005

9.00 Main speakers -
Stepan Kerkyasharian: Chairperson, Community Relations Commission
- Creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Wendy Sargent - Director of the UN Dialogue among Civilizations Forums Australia:
- Dialogue and DAC and how dialogue works
9.45 Dialogue One - Global Culture of Peace and Non-Violence and moving on from a culture of fear - identifying common interests and concerns

Saturday morning Discussion Stream One 11.45 - 1.00 in the tea room

The role of religion in creating a culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Moderator: Robyn Horton

Speakers
Dr Marie Clugston: NSW convenor of Amnesty International Religious Network
Sally Segal: Head of the Interfaith Activities in Sydney: Brahma Kumaris Australia
Ian Fry: Pax Christi: Honorary Secretary Jewish-Christian-Muslim Conference of Australia
How to move on from a global culture of fear

Saturday morning Discussion Stream Two 11.45 - 1.00 in the main hall

Moving on from a culture of fear and starting to dialogue between civilizations
Moderator: Ruth Thompson

Speakers
NSW Council for Civil Liberties Representative
Natalie Doyle: Lecturer: Arts, Monash University: Civilizational Dialogue
John Mandalios: Lecturer: Griffith University

Saturday afternoon program 2.30 - 6.30

2.30 Interview with Dr Stella Cornelius OBE, Director Conflict Resolution Network by Ruth Thompson: Creating a Culture of Peace

3.00 Open Space - Moving on from a Culture of Fear - Identifying Issues - break off into issue groups
Feedback from issue groups: What are the issues?
3.30 - 4.30: Dialogue Two: Core Question: With all these common values and concerns :

Why isn't a global culture of peace happening? What are the obstacles to moving on from a culture of fear?

Saturday afternoon Discussion Stream One 5.00 - 6.30 in the tea room
Building a culture of peace in the community
Moderator: Sally Segal

Speakers
Susan Biggs: Former Deputy Chair NSW Premier's Council for Women
Women's role in encouraging dialogue in the community
Tim B. Cox : Involvement Volunteers Association Inc
Doreen Wainer: Director of Oplus - Strategy and Innovation consultant. And completing PhD in Social Ethics at UTS

Saturday afternoon Discussion Stream Two 5.00 - 6.30 in the main hall Human rights and creating a global culture of peace and moving on from a culture of fear
Moderator: Ruth Thompson

Speakers
Noel Winterburn: Director of Conversations for Futures
Melissa Conley Tyler: Senior Fellow, Faculty of Law, University of Melbourne
Greens speaker c/- Lee Rhianon MLC: globalisation based on "sharing" resources

Sunday

9.00 Main speakers: Global issues of culture of peace and culture of fear

Dr Richard Braddock: Director of APRIM Macquarie University
Dorothy Buckland Fuller: WILPF NSW
Different types of globalisation based on "sharing" resources.

10.20 - 11.30 Dialogue Three: Issue groups: Looking at solutions and strategies for the future

An Invitation

Knowing that in your activities you have peace building and community development as major concerns, it is our pleasure to invite you as a participant in the Fourth Dialogue among Civilizations Roundtable Dialogue.

The aim of this dialogue in 2005 will be examine contributions to furthering the development of a global culture of peace and non-violence and clarifying the methods that could prevent the further development of a culture of fear..

The inspiration is to create a firm foundation for the development of inter-communal and international co-operation.

This roundtable is a contribution to the UN Dialogue among Civilizations project that began in September 2000. At the first round table debate on Dialogue among Civilizations, Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the UN stated that, cultural diversity - in his opinion - is not only the basis for the Dialogue among Civilizations, but also the reality that makes dialogue necessary, since the perception of diversity as a threat is the very seed of war.

The roundtable will explore the meanings and outcomes of diverse civilizational understandings with the aim to create a better foundation for co-operation and relationship on an international and national level. Also explored is the presently evolving new global civilization founded on fundamental principles of the celebration of cultural diversity, tolerance of dissent, and universal human rights.

The roundtable dialogue will look at the following themes:

* The meaning of a culture of peace and non-violence: Diverse understandings and practices in different civilizations.
* How to move on from a global culture of fear.
* Future commitments: making the culture of peace and non-violence an international and intercommunal priority.

Those invited to the UN roundtable 2005 are representatives of religious, cultural and political institutions and communities, academics, politicians, and national and international agencies located in Australia and abroad.

Dialogue participants will come with some expertise or influence in a relevant area or come with special concerns about these issues.

The program is a participative event consisting of a few keynote speakers with the majority of the process run as a dialogue. For exact details of location, transport and accommodation and bookings please visit our web site or contact us and we will fax or email further details.

Looking forward to hearing from you

Regards Wendy Sargent
(co-ordinator of UNDAC Roundtable Dialogue)

Other information

The Organizers

This forum is being organized by Brahma Kumaris Australia. We are supporting the 'Dialogue amongst Civilizations' as a year declared by the UN General Assembly presently run by UNESCO. Visit UNESCO web site: The Brahma Kumaris is a non-governmental organization with general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.
Brahma Kumaris Australia, 78 Alt St, Ashfield 2031, Sydney NSW, Australia

Ethics Permission

Research aims and methods of documentation of UNDAC 2005: ethics permission conducted in accordance with university human research ethics community guidelines.

The roundtables and presentations are taped. We request permission from the relevant organization or participants for any quotes used for relevant university research () or the UNDAC web site or media use, if associated with the name of the individual or the name of the organization. A permission form will be handed on registration for the event.

Enquiries

For enquiries about the forum: Overseas and Australia contact:
Wendy Sargent, Mobile: 0417-241450, Email: soscnet@attglobal.net
ACT co-ordinator - Robin Horton - Ph: (02) 62315513
Bookings only: Ph: (02) 4784-2500, Email: leura@brahmakumaris.com.au

Web site for the event:

By Wendy Sargent posted 29 May 05

Related:

THE DEATH PENALTY - WORLDWIDE
During 2004, at least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries. At least 7,395 people were sentenced to death in 64 countries. These figures are only reported cases - the true figures were certainly much higher - many countries continue to execute people in secret.

Association for the Prevention of Torture
What needs to be done now? The Optional Protocol requires 20 ratifications to enter into force. All States Parties to the UN Convention against Torture should seriously consider ratifying the OPCAT as soon as possible. National Institutions and others promoting the human rights of people deprived of their liberty need to be informed of their potential role as national preventive mechanisms under the OPCAT.

BUSH ON TRIAL
Tuesday May 17, 2005, Brussels - Today, representatives of the World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) delivered a law summon and invitation letter addressed to President Bush at the US Embassy in Brussels.

[PRISONACT] FOR THE MILLIONS WHO CARE!
Too many citizens have been cruelly touched by the flawed system of justice in our country - because 'justice' apparently no longer means truth and equality and basic human rights for all.

WHY IS THE HOWARD GOVERNMENT PLAYING 'DEATH' WITH AUSTRALIANS: There has been much controversy recently on whether the Australian Federal Police should have tipped-off the Indonesians over the arrest of the Bali Nine. Due to the fact that Indonesia executes convicted drug-traffickers, ACADP believes that any evidence collected by AFP should have been withheld from Indonesian authorities until they have a written guarantee not to pursue the death penalty for the Bali Nine.

DECLARATION OF ABORIGINAL SOVEREIGNTY
We the members of the Aboriginal Nations and Peoples, do hereby give notice of invoking our claim to all the land of the territories of our ancestors. Accordingly, we invoke the Rule of International Law that we have never surrendered nor acquiesced in our claim to these lands and territories.

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CUBA: A letter to Amnesty USA
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UN relief boss warns Sudanese rebels
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Australia owes Habib nothing: Beazley?
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Pressure remains on Australia as Kyoto takes effect
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QLD INDEFINITE DETENTION 'IN A NUTSHELL'
In Queensland prison sentences have become step-by-step more lengthy over the last decade according to prisoner Mr David Minty who has been in jail for 20 years.

Children of Imprisoned Mothers
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Goulburn Jail breaches UN standards
NSW: Greens MP Lee Rhiannon has called on Justice Minister John Hatzistergos to bring Goulburn Jail's Maximum Security Wing into line with United Nations standards, after a prison inmate's covert survey of his fellow inmates revealed problems with rehabilitation programs and basic amenities.

E Timor threatens campaign against Aust over oil deal
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UN panel proposes criteria for legitimate military action
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Afghan children lose High Court battle against detention
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War on terror should tackle child abuse says UN...
A United Nations official has told a Brisbane conference tackling child abuse must be part of the war on terror.

Kenya faces hunger crisis
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Drawing the line for trade
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World to fall short of child health targets
Fewer than one-in-five developing countries are on track to meet UN targets for sharply reducing child and maternal mortality by 2015, the World Health Organisation and the World Bank warn.

Mentally ill kept in padlocked, caged beds
Cental Europe: Patients are sometimes locked in cages like the ones above for months or years, says the Budapest based Mental Disability Advocacy Centre Credit: MDAC.

Solitary Confinement: Our very own Alcatraz
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Solitary Confinement: Mental illness in prisons
It is well established that sensory deprivation can produce major psychological effects on humans including perceptual distortions, visual, auditory, and olfactory illusions, vivid fantasies often accompanied by striking hallucinations, derealization experiences, and hyper- responsivity to external stimuli.

PM eases stance on his embarrassment?

Fascist Prime Minister JOHN HoWARd tried to ease his embarrassment of the governments hardline mandatory detention policy, agreeing to release up to 100 asylum-seekers from behind razor wire after relentless campaigning by human rights activists.

In the latest victory for human rights activists, cabinet agreed yesterday to allow stateless detainees to live in the community, rather than detention centres, until they could be deported to their country of origin.

Fascist Immigration Minister Amanda Vanitystone is today expected to announce that the holders of the new visas will also be eligible for welfare entitlements, allowing them a better standard of living while in Australia.

The Government's latest shift on refugee policy came after human rights activists raised concerns about conditions in detention centres, with cabinet agreeing to relax strict controls on who can be released into the community. Announcing the shift, HoWARd insisted his fascist Government's hardline policy on border protection and commitment to offshore processing had not been compromised.

"What we have been looking at is a situation where a person has been judged not to be a refugee. In other words, all of the avenues of examination and adjudication have been exhausted, yet for practical purposes that person can't be sent back to the country from whence he came," he said.

"While that situation continues, it's not reasonable that he or she continues to be in detention and the desire is that that person be let out into the community on the understanding that when the impracticability about the person's return has been removed, then that person will be returned to the country from whence he came. Of course, at no stage has it been judged that that person is a refugee."

Senator Vanitystone will have the discretion to determine when to send stateless visa holders back to their country of origin. The new visa category will incorporate those who have exhausted their legal claims against the commonwealth.

The case of long-term stateless detainee Peter Qasim, who is in his seventh year in immigration detention, has been the focus of intense lobbying by Coalition backbenchers and advocates.

Mr Qasim, who claims to be from Kashmir, has dropped all appeals for protection and asked to be deported from Australia, but no country will accept his bid for residency.

The fascist HoWARd Government has and still does take a draconian approach to migration law, fighting hundreds of court battles to cement its right to detain a person living in Australia without a visa, following the arrival of the Tampa boatload of Afghan refugees in August 2001.

HoWARd exploited community angst over refugees at the so-called Tampa election of 2001 by campaigning on the memorable slogan: "We will decide who comes to this country, and the circumstances in which they come".

Human Rights activists have raised the issue of children in detention and stateless detainees with the Immigration Minister. And have been instrumental in changing policy on asylum-seeker issues such as temporary protection visas and regional workers.

Government MP Mr Barresi said last night that he had spoken to Senator Vanstone and Mr Howard of his concerns about the "mental decay" of indefinite detainees.

Mr Barresi said. "(The decision) doesn't undermine the border protection policy the Government has, but it does demonstrate a great deal of compassion."?

The policy change has come as activists from the NSW Refugee Action Coalition plan to rally in the hundreds outside Senator Vanstone's house in Adelaide and then move to Baxter on Good Friday?

By Elizabeth Colman, Steve Lewis and Just Us 23 March 05

Related:

2nd Renaissance -10- Voices Raised In Dissent [155]

"The next thing that came to mind was when you actually get on a river boat and cross that ocean and the river boat disintegrates, crikeys, what they must have been feeling must be pretty bad. I would not have the courage and determination to do that. You know. to cross the ocean in a river boat, I think, takes enormous courage and determination. And those are a couple of qualities that Australians really admire. And so I thought to myself, Anybody who's gone through that and survived and gets to Australia, there's a fair chance they're going to be a worthwhile citizen."

"Well, I'm on the road today. We're coming to Baxter Detention Centre to have a bit of a look. I mean the main reason for me having a look at Baxter is basically for my education, to try and find out a bit more about how refugees have to live, what they've got to put up with. Driving up into Baxter and looking around, the first thing I thought to myself, This looks awfully like a jail to me. So I'm going to be interested to see what its like on the inside."

"Well, having been inside, I guess the two words that sort of come to me are depressing and frustrating. You'd like to be able to do more about it and you sort of feel like you're handcuffed. You're born here and pretty proud of a lot of things that Australia does, but to hear them talk about, you know, some of the things that Australia has done to them was embarrassing. You wanted to say to them, "Look, not all Australians feel that way." And, you know, it's pretty bad. I feel horrible about having to apologise for my own country. That's a horrible position. I don't like being put in that position."

... Ian Chappell, former Test Captain and Australian Cricketing Great, recorded in an Australian Story documentary, shown of national TV, July, 2003.

Note:

The Baxter Detention Centre houses refugees and asylum seekers from Afghanistan, Iraq and other world trouble spots.

The policies and practices of the Australian government in detaining refugees, and the conditions under which they are held, sometimes for years, have been strongly criticised by both the Australian Human Rights Commissioner, Dr Sev Ozdowski, and by Justice P.N. Bhagwati, Former Chief Justice of India, who undertook a review on behalf of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in mid 2002.

In response to the critical content of the latter report, produced on behalf of Mrs Mary Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the Australian government issued a terse statement, to the effect that, "Nothing in Justice Bhagwati's report is cause to change the view that Australia's system of immigration detention is effective and not inconsistent with our international obligations."

Obviously, Ian Chappell does not feel that to be the case, and he has spoken out in disgust and anger.

Predictably, one of the three Federal Ministers that issued the joint rebuttal above was the Australian Attorney-General. It was legislation framed by his department, to censor the Internet and legalise Big Brother style surveillance, that prompted Ian Clarke to write Freenet in the first place.

Once elected officials have control over the rule of law, they often come to rely on the fact that everything their regime does within the letter of their own legislation is legal. They overlook the necessity for the both the laws of the land, and their interpretation, to also be fair, humane, and moral. Australia's rule of law is increasingly failing to meet the latter standards.

In reality, the treatment of asylum seekers and refugees by the Australian government, involves crimes against humanity. The participation of Australian forces in unjustified invasions of countries such as Afghanistan and Iraq, falls within any reasonable definition of a war crime. So do the attacks on civilian populations and the use, and support of the use, of WMDs such as DU and NDU weaponry.

* When it comes to criticising breaches of human rights and the perpetration of illegal acts of war, the average Australian is blunter than representatives of the UN. On the streets one finds a waggish humour incorporated in Australian's description of the (OWO) Old World Order cabal in Canberra. Some ordinary Australians now refer to the above Ministers, their Cabinet colleagues and their departmental officials, as "The SMELLY Gang".

Note:

For the benefit of non-Australian readers, the KELLY Gang is the nation's most famous group of historical outlaws, who, together with their leader, Ned Kelly (1855-80), fought a final battle with troopers, while wearing protective iron armour on their heads and torsos. Outlaws of that period were termed BUSHRANGERS.

If there is a bunch of outlaws in office in Canberra, supporting immoral US policies and the War on Terror, then, by inference, there are gangsters in the White House. At least, that's how many Australians are coming to see things. They might not yet be demonstrating outside the Parliament, but their wry humour reflects their resentment of evil actions carried out in their name.

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Rau ordeal a raw deal
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Detainees urged to abandon rooftop protest!
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Advocates warn of detention centre riot risk
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Villawood detainees go on hunger strike
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Afghan children lose High Court battle against detention
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Australia's "GITMO" System
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Senior cleric damns Baxter as 'disgraceful'
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Detention centre media ban criticised
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Baxter detainee continues hunger strike
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Democrats to keep up pressure over asylum seekers
The Australian Democrats will maintain their pressure on the next federal government over Australia's treatment of asylum seekers, if the party can retain its strength in the Senate.

Lawyers hail 'unlawful' ruling in Guantanamo trial

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

The US Justice Department has criticised the ruling, which is seen as a major setback for the, war criminal, Bush administration, and vowed to appeal immediately.

Human rights group Amnesty International USA said, "This ruling rightly demolishes the Bush administration's argument that the Geneva Conventions did not universally apply to prisoners detained in Afghanistan".

Michael Ratner of the New York-based Centre for Constitutional Rights, which represents a number of Guantanamo prisoners, said, "We are thrilled by this ruling".

"Military commissions were a bad idea and an embarrassment."

More than 500 people are being held at the Guantanamo prison, detained during the 2001 invasion of Afghanistan and in other operations in the US resource wars.

The military commission has already started proceedings against Adelaide man Mr David Hicks.

Mr Mamdouh Habib from Sydney is also expected to face trial.

US District Judge James Robertson rejected the Bush administration's request to dismiss the lawsuit by Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen.

The judge ruled the trial could not proceed until a decision has been made on whether the accused is a prisoner-of-war under the Geneva Conventions, and until the rules are changed so he can see the evidence against him and be present at all proceedings.

The ruling led to an immediate halt in the proceedings by the tribunal at Guantanamo Bay.

The tribunals, formally called a military commission, at the US Navy base in Cuba, were authorised by war criminal, President George W Bush after the CIA false flag, September 11, 2001 Reichstag, but have been criticised by human rights groups and some military lawyers as being fundamentally unfair to defendants.

Judge Robertson ruled that until a competent tribunal determines that Hamdan is not entitled to prisoner-of-war status, he may be tried for the offences only by court-martial under the US military system.

The US government has taken the position that Guantanamo detainees, [prisoners], are "enemy combatants" and are not entitled to the protections normally given to prisoners of war.

"No proper determination has been made that Hamdan is an offender triable by military tribunal under the law of war," Judge Robertson wrote.

Hamdan's trial would be unlawful until the tribunal's rule permitting his exclusion from proceedings and the withholding of evidence from him is amended to be consistent with the military system, Judge Robertson ruled.

"Hamdan's right to be present at every phase of his trial and to see all the evidence admitted against him is of immediate ... concern," Judge Robertson said.

"For example, testimony may be received from a confidential informant, and Hamdan will not be permitted to hear the testimony, see the witness's face or learn his name," he said.

The presiding officer of the military commissions at Guantanamo Bay, war criminal militant, Colonel Peter Brownback, suspended the hearings indefinitely after the ruling, a spokesman for the commissions said.

"Colonel Brownback called an indefinite recess," said Major Lee Reynolds in a telephone interview from the US Naval Base at Guantanamo.

"We are going through the ruling now to determine what it means."

Judge Reynolds said lawyers were taking up motions for Hamdan when Col Brownback got word of the ruling and called a halt to proceedings.

Hamdan was in the courtroom at the time.

"Right now the ruling just applies to him (Hamdan) but it will probably have greater implications," Militant Reynolds said.

Justice Department spokesman Mark Corallo said, "We vigorously disagree with the court's decision, and will seek an emergency stay of the ruling and immediately appeal."

"By conferring protected legal status under the Geneva Conventions on members of Al Qaeda, the judge has put terrorism on the same legal footing as legitimate methods of waging war," said Mr Corallo.

[Because the alleged members of US fictional demon Al Qaeda are not the terrorists. The terrorists are the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East. Those war criminals with pre-war plans, who committed the 911 false flag Reichstag, subsequent pre-emptive war crimes on the Sovereign Nations of Afghanistan and Iraq, occupations, genocide, maiming, rendition to secret prisons and torture.]

"The Constitution entrusts to the President the responsibility to safeguard the nation's security," said the Justice department spokesman. [? How about the nations greed!]

"The Department of Justice will continue to defend the President's ability and authority under the Constitution to fulfill that duty. [War crimes against all of humanity!]

"The process struck down by the district court today was carefully crafted to protect America from terrorists while affording those charged with violations of the laws of war with fair process, and the department will make every effort to have this process restored through appeal."

[Just plain rubbish and propaganda.]

By Just Us 9 November 04

Related:

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.

US accused of breaching international law
The United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror, [The Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

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, [war criminal], Donald Rumsfeld, the defence, [war], 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.

US accused of breaching international law

The United States is violating international law by holding prisoners in its war on terror, [The Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East], incommunicado and in secret hiding places, Human Rights Watch said in a report to be published on Tuesday calling for an end to such practices.

The New York-based rights organisation profiles 11 Al Qaeda, [US fictional demon], suspects, [scapegoats and patsies for the Coalition of the Killing], being detained, [imprisoned and tortured], without concern for their rights under international law in a 46-page report.

They include Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the suspected architect, [scapegoat and patsy], of the, [USA, CIA, Reichstag, call to arms], September 11 attacks; Abu Zubaydah, reputedly a close aide of Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden;, [scapegoat and patsy], Ramzi bin al-Shaibah, [scapegoat and patsy], who might have been a, [USA, CIA, Reichstag ?], September 11 hijacker if he had not failed to get a US visa, and Hambali, an alleged Al Qaeda ally in South East Asia, [another scapegoat and patsy for the Coalition of the Killing's resource war's in the Middle East.]

[In other words this article appears to be associated with human rights issues but in reality just reported for propaganda purposes from the CIA.]

"Those guilty of serious crimes must be brought to justice before fair trials," Reed Brody, special counsel with Human Rights Watch, said in a statement. [?]

[All accept the Bush administrations war criminals and the Coalition of the Killing I suppose?]

It added that if the United States ignores international law, "it abandons its ideals and international obligations and becomes a lesser nation".

[Let me see, Then what about the USA's pre-determined war plans prior 9-11, pre-emptive strikes on Sovereign Nation States, subsequent installation of puppet governments in Afghanistan and Iraq, subsequent occupations, genocides, maiming, rendition, secret prisons and torture of citizens.]

The rights group said international treaties ratified by the United States prohibit holding prisoners incommunicado and in secret locations.

The Geneva Conventions require that the International Committee of the Red Cross have access to all detainees and that information on them be provided to their relatives.

Under international human rights law, detainees must be held in recognised places of detention and be able to communicate with lawyers and family members, it said.

US officials, [war criminals], say the detentions, [prisoners], are essential to confronting terrorism, [resource wars in the Middle East], and that many of those held have provided valuable intelligence that has foiled planned attacks.

Human Rights Watch called on the United States to grant unrestricted access to the International Committee of the Red Cross to all detainees, [prisoners], held in anti-terrorist, [? resource war], operations.

By Just Us 12 October 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, [war criminal], Donald Rumsfeld, the defence, [war], 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.