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US: Rice Should Press Algeria on Fate of Returned Guantanamo Detainees US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should press the Algerian government on the well-being and status of Guantanamo detainees returned to Algeria when she travels to Algiers on September 6. Four Guantanamo detainees from Algeria have been returned in the last two months, and Rice is expected to discuss future Guantanamo returns during her visit. September 5, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version Tunisia: Rice Should Press for Rights Improvements End Harassment, Detentions of Rights Defenders US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should urge the Tunisian government to end its harassment and imprisonment of human rights activists when she visits the country on Saturday, September 6, Human Rights Watch said today. She is scheduled to meet with President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, who has held office since 1987. September 5, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version US: Press Tripoli to Improve Rights Letter to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Human Rights Watch writes on the occasion of Secretary Rice's forthcoming visit to Tripoli, hoping that she will take the opportunity of this historic trip to raise specific human rights concerns at the highest levels. In particular, we urge the US to condition further improvements in the US-Libya relationship on steps by Libyan authorities to end the incarceration of political prisoners, promote freedom of expression and assembly, and stop the use of torture. September 2, 2008 Letter Also available in
Printer friendly version US/Libya: Rice Should Press Tripoli to Improve Rights Torture and Political Prisoners Deep Concerns During her historic visit to Libya this week, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice should press the Libyan government and leader Mu`ammar al-Qadhafi to release political prisoners, abolish laws that imprison peaceful critics, and end the use of torture, Human Rights Watch said today. September 2, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version Afghanistan: Free Aafia Siddiqui’s 11-Year-Old Son Child Is Too Young to Be Treated as Criminal Suspect The Afghan government should immediately relinquish 11-year-old Ahmed Siddiqui to the custody of his family, Human Rights Watch said today. Siddiqui, a US citizen, is believed to be the son of Aafia Siddiqui, a Pakistani woman held on US federal charges in New York. August 27, 2008 Press Release Printer friendly version Corporal punishment proves to be discriminatory, ineffective By Alice Farmer and Nsombi Lambright Published in The Clarion-Ledger (Jackson, Mississippi) All parents want their children to attend safe schools where the focus is on learning and students of all races are treated fairly. Unfortunately, after months of investigation into the use of corporal punishment in Mississippi, including interviews with dozens of parents, children and educators, we have discovered that neither is true in many of Mississippi's public schools. August 23, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version UK: Disclose Information on Treatment and Interrogations of Guantanamo Detainee Binyan Mohamed Letter to UK Foreign Secretary David Miliband On August 21, 2008, Binyam Mohamed, a former UK resident detained at Guantanamo who is slated for trial before the military commissions, won the first stage in a battle for access to evidence showing he was tortured. The British government, which previously refused to turn over evidence that may back up Mohamed’s claims, was given one week by a UK court to reconsider its refusal, concluding that the information is essential for Mohamed to adequately defend himself. In a letter sent today, Human Rights Watch urges the British government to disclose to Mohamed’s lawyers any and all evidence it has about his interrogation and detention. August 22, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version US: End Beating of Children in Public Schools Abusive, Discriminatory Punishment Undermines Education More than 200,000 US public school students were punished by beatings during the 2006-2007 school year, Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint report released today. In the 13 states that corporally punished more than 1,000 students per year, African-American girls were twice as likely to be beaten as their white counterparts. August 20, 2008 Press Release Also available in 
Printer friendly version American credibility on trial Was one of the youngest prisoners at Guantánamo rushed to court by the Bush administration for political reasons? By Jo Becker, children's rights advocacy director Published in Salon.com One of the youngest detainees at Guantánamo Bay, a 23-year-old Afghan named Mohammed Jawad, spent two days in a courtroom here last week as his defense lawyer argued that his case should never go to trial. The attorney, Maj. David Frakt, claimed that his client was repeatedly tortured and abused in U.S. custody, charges that were supported by the testimony of a senior U.S. Army criminal investigator. August 20, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version A Violent Education Corporal Punishment of Children in US Public Schools
HRW Index No.: 1-56432-369-2 August 20, 2008 Report Download PDF, 940 KB, 132 pgs Purchase online Read Press Release Eight Days in Guantanamo A Buffalonian observes the trial of Salim Hamdan and the degradation of American justice By Julia Hall, senior counsel, Terrorism and Counterterrorism Program Published in Artvoice (Buffalo, NY) Osama bin Laden’s driver, Salim Hamdan, had been detained at Guantánamo Bay for six and a half years when his trial by military commission commenced on July 21, 2008. It would be the first military commission convened by the US government since the Nuremberg trials of 1945-1949 – and, as such, a historic event. Along with a handful of other organizations, Human Rights Watch, was granted permission by the Department of Defense to monitor the trial. August 18, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version The Big Guantánamo Embarassment Why the conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver did nothing to undo the damage caused by Bush's policies in the war on terror. By Carol Chodroff, advocacy director, US Program Published in Salon The US military prison in Cuba has long been perceived as undermining America's image as a champion of human rights and the rule of law, and Salim Hamdan's trial did nothing to undo the damage. Regardless of the jury's determinations, the US may well seek to continue detaining Hamdan indefinitely, beyond the termination of his sentence. The Bush administration asserts that it can hold Hamdan as an "enemy combatant" until the end of the "war on terror" even if he were cleared of all charges. August 12, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version A failed 'experiment' Commissions’ unfair rules deliver a shaky verdict rather than justice. By Kenneth Roth, executive director Published in USA Today Salim Ahmed Hamdan's prosecution highlights yet again the foolishness of the Bush administration's experiment with military commissions. Rather than pursue terrorist suspects through the regular civilian or military courts, the administration stubbornly insisted on building a system from scratch. Predictably, the commissions attract more attention to their unfairness than to the alleged crimes of the suspects before them. August 11, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version America's Iraqi prisoners By Joseph Logan, Researcher, Middle East & North Africa Division Published in New Statesman Online Detainees – all Iraqis, save for a small number of foreigners – are denied their basic right not to be held indefinitely without charge or trial. Many are young men rounded up in mass, arbitrary arrests August 8, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Ending Lapse into Lawlessness By Kenneth Roth, executive director Published in The World Today What must the next United States president do to reclaim Washington's standing to promote human rights around the globe? Many aspects of President George Bush's administration's human rights policy have caused American moral authority to plummet, including its penchant for cosying-up to favoured dictators, equating democracy promotion with regime change, and undermining international standards such as the new treaty banning cluster munitions. But probably nothing has done more to tarnish Washington's reputation in this area than the administration's decision to combat terrorism without regard to US obligations under international human rights law. August 7, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Guilty in Guantánamo Osama bin Laden's driver has been tried and convicted. But what's the verdict for the Bush administration's tactics in the war on terror? By Stacy Sullivan, counterterrorism advisor Published in Salon When the verdict in the first US military commission trial since World War II came down Wednesday, no one who had been following the proceedings was surprised to hear that Osama bin Laden's former driver and bodyguard was found guilty. The six-person jury of military officers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines convicted Salim Ahmed Hamdan of providing material support for terrorism, but acquitted him of charges of conspiracy to support terrorism. They will determine his sentence in separate proceedings later this week. August 7, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version US: Hamdan Trial Exposes Flaws in Military Commissions Tribunal Handicaps the Defense The trial of Salim Hamdan, a Yemeni who has admitted to serving as Osama bin Laden’s driver and mechanic, exposed fundamental flaws of the US military commissions at Guantanamo Bay. The six-member panel of military officers today found Hamdan guilty of providing material support to terrorism, but acquitted him of a conspiracy charge after two days of deliberations. August 6, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version US: Migrant Detainees Suffer From Inadequate Medical Care Improve Treatment of HIV-Positive Immigrants in Detention Inferior medical care for HIV-positive immigrant detainees threatens their health, and ultimately their lives, Human Rights Watch said today at the 2008 International AIDS Conference in Mexico City. The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) – the agency charged with providing health care services to detainees – fails to ensure timely HIV prevention and treatment services, putting many at risk of infection, resistance to treatment, and even death. August 5, 2008 Press Release Also available in
Printer friendly version The bizarre trial of bin Laden's bodyguard The "capture videos" the Pentagon aims to bury, late-night brutality pointing to the CIA – and even a surreal viewing of "The Dark Knight" here in Guantánamo. By Julia Hall, senior counsel Published in Salon Given all the information about abusive interrogations that has made its way out of Guantánamo, the "surprises" over the past week in Salim Hamdan's war-crimes trial – the first military commission convened by the US government since Nuremberg – weren't exactly earth-shattering. But that didn't stop the defense, dubbed Team Hamdan, from doing what it could here to surprise the six-member jury of military officers (plus one sub) tasked with determining Hamdan's guilt or innocence. August 1, 2008 Commentary Printer friendly version Arkansas: Grant Clemency for Mentally Retarded Man Sentenced to Death Letter to the Arkansas Parole Board and Arkansas Governor Mike Beebe Human Rights Watch opposes capital punishment because of its inherent cruelty and finality. The death penalty is inevitably carried out in an arbitrary manner, inflicted primarily on the most vulnerable – the poor, the mentally ill, and persons of color. In the case of Frank Williams, Jr., whose execution is scheduled for September 9, 2008, the death penalty is particularly inappropriate because of the clear evidence that Mr. Williams is mentally retarded and received ineffective assistance of counsel at his trial and in post-conviction proceedings. August 1, 2008 Letter Printer friendly version |
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