Just Security – JustSecurity.org

courts

× Clear Filters
747 Articles
The main gate at the prison in Guantanamo at the US Guantanamo Naval Base on October 16, 2018, in Guantanamo Base, Cuba. A tower with an American flag is seen behind barbed wire fencing.

Biden Team Gets It Right on Inadmissibility of Torture Evidence in Al-Nashiri Case

In a much anticipated brief, the government categorically rejected the use of statements obtained through torture in military commissions and promised not to admit any statements…
Feb. 1, 2022
Redacted text on a sheet of paper.

Prepublication Review and the Quicksand Foundation of Snepp

A massive system of prior restraint hangs on an irregular Supreme Court footnote.
Jan. 31, 2022 and

2022 Update: Good Governance Paper No. 5: Prepublication Review – How to Fix a Broken System

At one-year mark of Biden administration, top experts revisit proposals to restore and promote nonpartisan principles of good government.
Jan. 26, 2022 and

Cuando la corrupción no tiene rastro de dinero: las sanciones pasan por alto casos cruciales

En Guatemala, se expulsan los últimos defensores contra la corrupción, una tendencia que debería generar tanta preoccupación como el soborno tradicional.
Jan. 21, 2022 , and 1 more

When Corruption Has No Money Trail: Sanctions Overlook Crucial Cases

Guatemala’s last anti-corruption stewards are being forced out, a trend that should raise as many alarms as traditional bribery and graft.
Jan. 19, 2022 , and 1 more
Image: Left - MONROVIA, LIBERIA – AUGUST 6, 2003: Hundreds of shell casings litter the ground in Monrovia, Liberia, as negotiators try to reach a ceasefire in the country’s brutal civil war. (Chris Hondros/Getty Images) Right - Syrian defendant Anwar R., 57, arrives at court for an unprecedented trial on state-sponsored torture in Syria, on April 23, 2020 at court in Koblenz, western Germany. Prime suspect Anwar R., an alleged former colonel in Syrian state security, stands accused of carrying out crimes against humanity while in charge of the Al-Khatib detention centre in Damascus between April 29, 2011 and September 7, 2012. (Photo by Thomas Lohnes / various sources / AFP). EDITORS NOTE: According to court's ruling, the face of the defendant must be made unrecognizable 

From Syria Torture Trial to Liberian Massacre Case – A Plea for Bolstering Witness Protections in Human Rights Litigation

Witness testimony was key in reaching today's conviction of a former Syrian intelligence official for crimes against humanity. But the testimony placed witnesses and victims at…
Jan. 13, 2022

Cutting Edge Issues in Year 20 of the Guantánamo Habeas Litigation

After 20 years of Guantánamo litigation, legal questions around detention authority and due process still remain.
Jan. 11, 2022
Two tall greyscale rectangles cast dark shadows representing the Twin Towers. Text reads, “How Perpetual War Has Changed Us: Reflections on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11”

There Is a Way to Close Guantanamo

An outline of steps to end the policy of law of war detention, close Guantanamo, and end one of the grimmest chapters of the endless war era.
Jan. 11, 2022
People in orange jumpsuits and black hoods walk in a single-file line in front of US Capitol building

Defending the Rule of Law Requires Ending Guantanamo Detention

After 20 years, continued Guantanamo detention is unjustifiable.
Jan. 11, 2022

With Subpoena to a Photojournalist, Jan. 6 Committee Runs Needless Risks to Press Freedom

Alongside the predictable lineup of plaintiffs seeking to block the committee’s subpoenas of their phone records—Michael Flynn, Mark Meadows, and others—one stands out. A…
Jan. 10, 2022 and
Razor wire tops the fence of the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay on October 23, 2016 at the U.S. Naval Station at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. An American flag waves in the background.

The Biden Administration’s Moment of Truth on Torture Evidence

US prosecutors claim the authority to use torture-derived evidence in Al-Nashiri's case, contrary to U.S. domestic and international legal obligations.
Dec. 1, 2021 , and 6 more
A letter dated October 29, 2021. It reads, “From: Panel ICO U.S. vs. Khan; To: Convening Authority; The panel members listed below recommend clemency in the case of Majid Shoukat Khan. Mr. Kahn committed serious crimes against the U.S. and partner nations. He has plead guilty to these crimes and taken responsibility for his actions. Further, he has expressed remorse for the impact of the victims and their families. Clemency is recommended with the following justification: 1) Mr. Khan has been held without the basic due process under the U.S. Constitution. Specifically, he was held without charge or legal representation for nine years until 2021, and held without final sentencing until October 2021. Although designated on ‘alien unprivileged enemy belligerent,’ and not technically afforded the rights of U.S. citizens, the complete disregard for the foundational concepts upon which the Constitution was founded is an affront to American values and concept of Justice. 2) Mr. Khan was subjected to physical and psychological abuse well beyond approved enhanced interrogation techniques, instead being closer to torture performed by the most abusive regimes in modern history. This abuse was of no practical value in terms of intelligence, or any other tangible benefit to U.S. interests. Instead, it is a stain on the moral fiber of America; the treatment of Mr. Khan in the hands of U.S. personnel should be a source of shame for the U.S. government. 3) Mr. Khan committed his crimes as a young man reeling from the loss of his mother. A vulnerable target for extremist recruiting, he fell to influences furthering Islamic radical philosophies, just as many others have in recent years. Now at the age of 41 with a daughter he has never seen, he is remorseful and not a threat for future extremism. It is the view of the penal members below that clemency be granted based on the points above, as well as Mr. Khan’s continued cooperation with us efforts in other, more critical, prosecutions. Panel #1, Panel #8, Panel #5, Panel #9, Panel #12, Panel #4, Panel #11.”

Military Officers’ Handwritten Clemency Letter at Guantanamo – What It Says About Who We Are

"A long step toward the ultimate freedom: the realization that there is no them, there is only us."
Nov. 8, 2021
1192021222363
1-12 of 747 items

Explore:

Executive Branch

International Law

Human Rights

DON'T MISS A THING. Stay up to date with Just Security curated newsletters: