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Contacts:
Ryan Hancock, Co-Chair, Pakistan Justice Coalition, +1 (215) 913-1749, r.a.hancock@gmail.com
Marjorie Cohn, President of the National Lawyers Guild, +1 (858) 204-3565, libertad48@san.rr.com
www.ruleoflawproject.org
Along with the Pakistani people, the National Lawyers Guild and Pakistan Justice Coalition welcome the resignation of Pervez Musharraf as a victory in the struggle for democracy, rule of law and human rights. Musharraf's rapid fall from power demonstrates the bankruptcy of the Bush administration's policy of advocating liberty while supporting autocracy. As the Coalition has previously stated, the real tension today is not between democracy and terror, but between those who support expansion of democratic and human rights and those who seek to infringe upon them. The Bush administration supported the Musharraf regime on the grounds that it was an ally in the so-called war on terrorism and overlooked its violations of the most fundamental democratic rights. Both administrations also refused to respect judicial independence, accepting the removal and incarceration of over half of Pakistan's legitimate judges.
In the face of popular opposition that even potentially rigged elections could not conceal, the Musharraf presidency was finally—and fortunately—doomed to failure. President Bush often claims liberty is the birthright and natural desire of all people. Had he really believed his rhetoric, however, he would have supported the heroic lawyers of Pakistan in their demands, rather than the now-deposed and discredited Musharraf. The Lawyers Movement has represented the legal profession at its best. We stand with it and share the joy of its triumph. While Pakistan's future remains far from certain, it has taken an enormous step forward.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York, and it has chapters in every state.
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National Lawyers Guild President and Past Presidents Urge Texas Governor Rick Perry to Stay Execution of Jose Medellin
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, August 4, 2008Contact:
President Marjorie Cohn, NLG president, marjorie@tjsl.edu, 619-374-6923
Jeanne Mirer, NLG International Committee, mirerfam@earthlink.net, 313-515-2046
National Lawyers Guild President and Past Presidents Urge Texas Governor Rick Perry to Stay Execution of Jose Medellin
Urges Congress to Act on Avena Case Implementation Act, Which Impacts Medellin
New York. The National Lawyers Guild’s president and past presidents have written to Governor Rick Perry of Texas asking him to stay the execution of Jose Medellin, scheduled for tomorrow, until Congress acts on the Avena Case Implementation Act. This legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 6481 with similar legislation to be introduced in the Senate. The Guild has also called on each individual Senator and Representative to ask that they request immediate action the Avena Act.
If passed, the Act will address the concerns raised in the Supreme Court ruling in Medellin v. Texas and will require the State of Texas to comply with federal legislation directly on point to Mr. Medellin’s situation. The Avena case was filed by Mexico against the United States on behalf of various Mexican nationals (including Mr. Medellin) alleging that the United States had violated its obligation under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to notify foreign nationals arrested in the United States of their right to consult with people at their country’s consulate before talking to the authorities. The ICJ ruled that the Convention had been violated and called for review of the convictions of individuals obtained in the absence of this notice.
The importance of this legislation is enormous, as failure to implement the Avena decision in the Medellin case has serious implications for Americans traveling, working, and volunteering abroad. The security of Americans volunteering abroad—as missionaries, aid volunteers, and private citizen ambassadors—has been placed at risk by U.S. noncompliance with Vienna Convention on Consular Relations obligations. American citizens working abroad are at times detained by oppressive or undemocratic regimes, and access to the American consulate is critical to their safety, and to the United States’ ability to support them and provide for their needs.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
To read the letter to Governor Perry, please click here.
To read the letter to members of Congress, please click here.
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National Lawyers Guild Applauds Inter-American Court Decision Upholding the Human Rights of Former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune; Urges Rapid Compliance With Judgment
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 14, 2008 Contacts:
Marjorie Cohn, President, NLG: libertad48@san.rr.com, (619) 374-6923
Moira Feeney, NLG Haiti Subcommittee, (415) 595-4549, moira_feeney@yahoo.com
National Lawyers Guild Applauds Inter-American Court Decision Upholding the Human Rights of Former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune; Urges Rapid Compliance With Judgment
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) welcomes the recent decision from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) finding that the State of Haiti has violated 11 provisions of the American Convention on Human Rights by illegally imprisoning former Haitian Prime Minister Yvon Neptune for two years and by continuing to deny him basic due process rights.
“This decision demonstrates how the U.S.-supported Interim Government of Haiti abused the judicial process to lock a political opponent away in horrid conditions, without proof that he committed any crime,” said NLG President Marjorie Cohn. “Unfortunately, it also shows that Haiti’s current constitutional government is willing to keep Mr. Neptune in legal limbo. We hope this judgment will encourage Haiti to stop Mr. Neptune’s persecution and free the remaining political prisoners.”
Yvon Neptune was Prime Minister of Haiti from 2002-2004. After Haiti’s February 29, 2004 coup d’état, the U.S.-supported Interim Government of Haiti (IGH) imprisoned hundreds of political opponents, especially officials and supporters of the Lavalas party. Mr. Neptune was arrested on June 27, 2004, and spent two years in prison, surviving assassination attempts, prison riots and a hunger strike. The Haitian Appeals Court prosecutor found in June 2006 that there was no credible evidence of Mr. Neptune’s involvement in any crime. In April 2007, the Court of Appeals dismissed the case for lack of jurisdiction. But the Haitian government has refused to serve that order for 15 months. Mr. Neptune has been free on provisional release since July 27, 2006, but that status can be revoked and he risks being returned to prison at any time.
“This important opinion goes far beyond Mr. Neptune’s case,” said Moira Feeney of the NLG’s Haiti Subcommittee. “The IACHR found the daily conditions in Haiti’s prisons to be ‘inhuman’, and gave Haiti two years to start bringing prison conditions up to minimum standards. The Court also sharply criticized the routine, but inexcusable delays in Haiti’s criminal procedure. One of Mr. Neptune’s co-defendants has spent four years in jail, with no trial in sight.”
Founded in 1937 as the first racially integrated national bar association, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States, with more than 200 chapters. The Guild has a long history of representing individuals whose rights have been violated by governments in the U.S. and abroad. The Guild prepared the first two major human rights reports following Haiti’s 2004 coup d’état. Professor Cohn has written on the international law implications of the coup; Attorney Feeney has represented Haitian victims of severe human rights violations in U.S. courts.
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NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD TEAMS WITH JAPANESE LEGAL NETWORK TO MONITOR POLICE MISCONDUCT IN COUNTER G8 PROTESTS IN JAPAN
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, July 8, 2008Contact: Marjorie Cohn, NLG President, marjorie@tjsl.edu; 619-374-6923
Heidi Boghosian, NLG Executive Director, director@nlg.org; 212-679-5100, ext. 11
NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD TEAMS WITH JAPANESE LEGAL NETWORK TO MONITOR POLICE MISCONDUCT IN COUNTER G8 PROTESTS IN JAPAN
Extraordinary Force Used to Silence Protesters Critical of G8 and United States Policies
The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is monitoring an escalation of repression by Japanese police against protestors of the Group of 8 Summit (G8 Summit) in the Japanese island of Hokkaido, as well as in Sapporo, Tokyo and other parts of Japan.
The Lawyers Guild, a network of lawyers, legal workers and law students advocating for social change in the US, has teamed up with WATCH, a Japanese legal network created to document police and government misconduct during the anti G8 protests. Both organizations are deeply disturbed at the level of police harassment against G8 protestors.
“What we have witnessed in the streets of Sapporo, Tokyo and in Hokkaido Toyako is part of an ongoing and escalating campaign to suppress the movement for social change and real democracy in Japan,” said Marina Sitrin, professor and member of the National Lawyers Guild.
As G8 leaders meet at their Summit in Hokkaido Toyako, the Japanese police and government manifest their anti-democratic policies with regard to demonstrators and people who oppose the group’s policies "The G8, which claims to oppose poverty and global warming, actually promotes aid to poor countries that forces them into debt and policies that create climate change. The National Lawyers Guild supports the global justice movement against these policies, in Japan and worldwide," said NLG President Marjorie Cohn.
The G8 leaders have publicly cited Iran's nuclear energy program as a military threat, fueling fears of the possibility that the US will attack Iran. After the G8's 2003 declaration on non-proliferation, which specifically targeted Iran, last year's G8 communiqué listed Iran as one of three countries (with Libya and North Korea) posing 'proliferation challenges' to world security, despite the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency's conclusion that there is no evidence Iran has a nuclear weapons program.
“We were surprised by the excessive force used by police in the counter G8 demonstrations," said Ko Watari, of WATCH. “This was a non-violent demonstration where no acts against property or people took place, or even appeared likely to take place.” Three people have been arrested, one Reuter’s cameraman was standing on a public sidewalk when arrested by police; and his video camera was confiscated. The arrest of a sound truck driver followed immediately thereafter. Footage of the driver’s arrest shows him screaming in pain as the police attempted to pull him out of the truck, after smashing the truck window. A later inspection of the confiscated truck by the legal team revealed quantities of dried blood on the steering wheel and dashboard.
“Labor and peace movement leaders are concerned that the police will arrest them for organizing these protests, search their homes and interrogate their family members,” said Dan Spalding, Legal Worker Vice President of the National Lawyers Guild. Japanese law permits police to hold and interrogate suspects for 23 days without formal charges. They are often interrogated for 12 hours in a row, and often forced to sit on their knees all day while in detention, not being allowed to move without permission, even to use the bathroom. It is these sorts of conditions and punitive arrests that the National Lawyers Guild opposes. We call on the Japanese government to respect human rights in Japan.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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JOHN YOO, DAVID ADDINGTON STONEWALL CONGRESS; NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD URGES SPECIAL PROSECUTOR, CONGRESSIONAL WAR CRIMES COMMISSION
JOHN YOO, DAVID ADDINGTON STONEWALL CONGRESS; NATIONAL LAWYERS GUILD URGES SPECIAL PROSECUTOR, CONGRESSIONAL WAR CRIMES COMMISSIONFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, June 26, 2008
Contacts:
Marjorie Cohn, NLG president, marjorie@tjsl.edu, 619-374-6923
Jeanne Mirer, NLG International Committee, mirerfam@earthlink.net, 313-515-2046
Dan Mayfield, NLG Military Law Task Force, dan@carpenterandmayfield.com, 408-287-1916
Today the House Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties continued its investigation into the role played by key administration lawyers in the development of aggressive interrogation techniques. This was the third hearing of this subcommittee on this topic. The witnesses who testified were former Department of Justice lawyer John Yoo; Cheney's former legal counsel and now chief of staff, David Addington; and Christopher Schroeder, professor at Duke Law School.
NLG President Marjorie Cohn had testified at the first subcommittee hearing on May 6, articulating the law of torture, and stating that torture is never allowed under U.S. law. Today’s hearing was attended by Jeanne Mirer, co-chair of the NLG’s International Committee.
Yoo's testimony revealed that the guiding principle of his work at the Justice Department was his belief in the overriding power of the President to order anything he thinks necessary in the "war on terror." When specifically asked, "Is there anything that the President cannot order?" Yoo answered "I believe there are things an American President WOULD not order." He was asked again, "Are there things the President COULD not order?" Yoo replied that he would "have to know the context." Dan Mayfield from the NLG Military Law Task Force stated, "This is consistent with Yoo's previous statement that the President could order torture of a person up to and including the crushing of the testicles of a person's son in order to make the person talk." When asked whether a President could order that someone be buried alive, Yoo's answer was non-responsive: "No American president would ever have to order that," he said.
While Yoo claimed there was little in the law which helped to define torture, Shroeder pointed out the wealth of guidance that exists in the areas of asylum and immigration law. Yoo admitted that the Convention Against Torture and the U.S. Torture Statute both define torture. Yet he wrote his memos to re-define torture so that those following his re-definition could state, "We do not torture." Marjorie Cohn said, "Yoo's memos so vastly narrowed the definition of torture, the interrogator would nearly have to kill someone for it to constitute torture."
Yoo and Addington were evasive, repeatedly stonewalling members of the subcommittee. The Justice Department evidently placed limitations on what Yoo was allowed to discuss, but he invoked privileges where it did not appear privilege was authorized. This led to Yoo's refusal to answer several direct questions. Jeanne Mirer stated, “The evasiveness of Yoo and Addington did not earn them credibility with the subcommittee, and frustrated many of the questioners. These tactics prevented the subcommittee from getting answers to the many important questions about the source of legal authority for the positions espoused in the 'torture memos' regarding aggressive interrogation techniques.”
The NLG has decried the use of torture techniques as well as efforts by lawyers to try to justify them. The NLG has called for holding accountable those who violated the law. While these hearings have helped to establish the record, there is a need for a full blown investigation which could lead to a call for criminal prosecution. The NLG calls for the appointment of an independent special prosecutor, and the establishment of a congressionally appointed commission to investigate potential wrongdoing, including the commission of war crimes, by high officials and lawyers of the Bush administration.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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