• US: Fulfill Promises to Close Guantanamo
    Apr 30, 2013
    Press release
    US President Barack Obama should move swiftly to fulfill newly repeated promises to end indefinite detention without trial at the US military prison at Guantanamo Bay.
  • US: Bipartisan Study Shows Need to Investigate Torture
    Apr 16, 2013
    Press release
    A bipartisan study finding “indisputable” evidence of torture for which the highest United States officials bear responsibility should spur the US government to thoroughly investigate detainee abuse since September 11, 2001, and provide redress to victims.
  • US: NY Trial Right for Bin Laden In-Law
    Mar 8, 2013
    Press release
    The Obama administration’s decision to try an alleged al Qaeda figure in federal court rather than before a military commission at Guantanamo best serves the interests of justice. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, a son-in-law of Osama bin Laden who had been an al Qaeda spokesman, was indicted on a criminal charge of conspiracy to kill United States citizens. He appeared in US District Court in Manhattan on March 8, 2013, and pleaded not guilty.
  • US: Injustices Filling the Prisons
    Jan 31, 2013
    Press release
    The enormous prison population in the United States partly reflects harsh sentencing practices contrary to international law, Human Rights Watch said in the US chapter of its World Report 2013.
  • US: Zero Dark Thirty and the Truth About Torture
    Jan 11, 2013
    Press release
    The movie Zero Dark Thirty, which depicts the hunt for Osama bin Laden, wrongly suggests that torture was an ugly but useful tactic in the fight against terrorism.
  • US: Defense Bill Signing Backtracks on Guantanamo
    Jan 3, 2013
    Press release
    US President Barack Obama’s refusal to veto a defense spending bill restricting detainee transfers from Guantanamo undercuts his pledge to close the prison. Obama signed the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), even though his advisers had said they would recommend a veto if it contained detainee transfer restrictions.