McCall suppressed the confessions of defendant Ammar al Baluchi because of his torture by the CIA, despite that fact that his confessions were made later to an FBI “clean team.” The suppression issue has been central to the 9/11 legal proceedings from their beginning, because all the 9/11 defendants, indeed all the Muslim men charged in the Guantanamo military commissions were tortured in CIA “black sites.”

No legal effort has ever been made by the U.S. government to pursue accountability for the gross violations of human rights and humane treatment—rights explicitly guaranteed under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention Against Torture, both of which the U.S. signed.

Following President Obama’s decision to “look forward not backward,” and his refusal to investigate let alone prosecute those who ordered and carried out torture, it seemed there would be no reckoning. Yet in an odd twist, the legal arguments, motions, and rulings over suppression in the 9/11 case (and the USS Cole Bombing case, another of the Guantanamo cases in pre-trial hearings) have become the only legal venue in which the details of post-9/11 torture and what it cost our nation’s prospects for truth, justice, and accountability are publicly argued.

Judge McCall’s ruling suppressing confessions to the FBI applies to only one 9/11 defendant, Ammar al Baluchi, as three other defendants had signed pre-trial agreements (PTAs) last year, pleading guilty to all charges against them in exchange for a promise they will not facing a death penalty conviction. As a result, they and their lawyers have been observing, but no longer participating in the legal proceedings at Guantanamo.

The three who signed PTAs include the alleged “9/11 Mastermind,” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed (known as KSM), Walid bin Attash, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. A decision on the legality of their PTAs has been long awaited from the DC Circuit Court, which heard oral arguments on the issue in January of this year.

The fifth defendant in the 9/11 case, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, was declared mentally incompetent to participate in his own defense, as a result of the long-lasting effects of his torture. His case has been severed from that of the other four defendants. While the prosecution maintains that Mr. bin al-Shibh can be restored to mental competency and will again be able to stand trial, his defense team sees no potential for that.

So, what now are the prospects for justice and accountability for the crimes of 9/11?

UFPJ founding member organization September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows has long advocated for PTAs. The organization filed an amicus brief with the DC Circuit Court that was joined by 9/11 victim family members who are not members of Peaceful Tomorrows, stating clearly its long-held convictions that PTAs are the only path to judicial finality. Whichever way the DC Circuit Court rules on the legality of the existing PTAs, the decision will almost certainly be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, the prosecution in the 9/11 case is appealing Judge McCall’s suppression ruling through the military commission appeals process. That issue too could end up in the DC Circuit Court and go on to the Supreme Court.

But, back at Guantanamo there does not appear to be a qualified military judge who is willing to take over the 9/11 case. So, for the foreseeable future, 9/11 pre-trial hearings are cancelled one week at a time as an “administrative judge” handles day-to-day legal minutia. With the 24th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks rapidly approaching, victim family members and the American nation just wait and wonder if there will ever be judicial finality. Or will the alleged perpetrators of the 9/11 attacks simply die “legally innocent”?

The post 9/11 Case at Guantanamo is Again Without a Presiding Judge—but the Judge who Retired Issued a Momentous Ruling Before His Departure appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

The case has garnered significant attention from Iraqi and international human rights, civil rights, and freedom of the press organizations, all of which emphasize its many legal irregularities.

 ADD YOUR VOICE TO THE INTERNATIONAL OUTCRY EMAIL:

Dr. Dindar Zebari, KRG Coordinator for International Advocacy, Kurdistan Regional Government

Email:  dindar.zebari@gov.krd

Fareed Yasseen, Iraqi Ambassador to the U.S. in Washington, D.C.

Email:  ambassadoroffice@iraqiembassy.us

Demand the immediate and unconditional release of Sherwan Sherwani, Guhdar Zebari, Hariwan Issa, Ayaz Karan, and Shvan Saeed. 

The men were accused and found guilty of “espionage” and “destabilizing the security and stability of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.” However, the evidence the prosecution presented in court was that they had spoken with representatives of the United Nations, International NGOs, and the United States Consulate General about violations of human rights in their country.

All the defendants made allegations of torture and other abusive treatment that the court failed to investigate. “Confessions” by the accused were submitted in court. All five defendants said the confessions were made under duress and were not accurate.

The prosecution presented written testimony from Sherwani’s friend who claimed Sherwani disclosed plans to organize violent actions. The witness did not appear in court and the judge refused the defense lawyers’ request to cross-examine the witness. The prosecution also played a phone call recording, in which they alleged Guhdar Zebari asked civil activist, Maki Amedi to hack and deactivate Sherwan Sherwani’s Facebook account after he was arrested. The defendant, Zebari denied making the phone call. The judge agreed to the defense lawyers’ request to have the recording inspected by experts, but the inspection was never carried out.

In advance of the trial, the Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani made prejudicial statements asserting that journalists and activists were “spies” and “saboteurs” working for other countries. This has led to widespread belief that the trial was politically motivate and based on trumped up charges. The judges considered the case for less than nine hours and deliberated for only fifteen minutes before issuing a verdict and a sentence, which legal experts agree is an inordinately brief duration for a trial involving matters of national security.

The five journalists are now on hunger strike as they await an appeal verdict. They are detained in overcrowded cells with no room to sleep, stand or walk, together with over 100 prisoners. In such conditions, the journalists and other detainees are particularly vulnerable to the spread of COVID-19.

The post Press Freedom Sharply Curtailed in Iraqi Kurdistan appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Mohammed Kinani, an Iraqi-U.S. dual citizen whose nine-year-old son Ali was killed in Nisour Square said, “That day destroyed me completely.” Kinani assailed Trump’s pardons, saying they “broke my life again. He [Trump] broke the law. He broke the court.” Iraq’s foreign ministry said the pardons were inconsistent with the U.S. administration’s “declared commitment to the values of human rights, justice and the rule of law,” and urged the U.S. government to reconsider the decision. The UN strongly criticized the pardons, warning that they could encourage others to commit similar crimes. A spokeswoman for the UN Human Rights Office, called on the U.S. to “renew its commitment to fighting impunity for gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law, as well as to uphold its obligations to ensure accountability for such crimes”.

The former Blackwater guards who had been convicted are Nicholas Slatten, who was accused of opening fire on the civilians in Nisour and was found guilty of murder; he was serving a life sentence. The other three men, Paul Slough, Evan Liberty and Dustin Heard, were charged in the deaths of 14 of the 17 Iraqis killed, which the F.B.I. determined violated rules for deadly use of force; they were serving 15-year sentences.

Erik Prince, who founded Blackwater, has been a strong Trump supporter; his sister, Betsy DeVos, was serving in Trump’s cabinet as Secretary of Education when the pardons were granted. Blackwater changed its name to Xe after the convictions and then again to Academi after Erik Prince sold the company.

In a letter published in the New York Times, John M. Patarini wrote, “I was the F.B.I. case agent who led the investigation of the Blackwater massacre in Baghdad. We originally went to Iraq thinking this shooting was some form of innocent civilians caught in the crossfire between Blackwater guards and insurgents. After only one week, we determined that this incident was not as presented by Blackwater personnel and their State Department lackeys, but it was a massacre….” Patarini denounced the concerted political effort to push for the pardons, and concluded, “Having spent many hours with the innocent Iraqi victims who are permanently maimed and crippled because of the actions of these Blackwater guards, and the heartbroken family members of those killed, I am embarrassed for our country.”

Hina Shamsi, director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s National Security Project, said President Trump had “hit a disgraceful new low with the Blackwater pardons.” Former U.S. Department of Justice officials who worked on the case, said that the trial that led to the convictions was one of the most logistically and legally complex ones in recent U.S. history. “We had to send teams of F.B.I. agents and prosecutors over there to build the case from the ground up — they had to risk their lives to collect the evidence. We had to persuade Iraqis who lost loved ones to come over to testify,” said Ronald C. Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia who oversaw the case. Dozens of Iraqis agreed to come to the U.S. and give evidence in court in 2014. At the trial, which lasted for more than three months, a federal jury convicted the men in the deaths of 14 civilians and injury of many more. The judge called the shootings a “wild thing” that cannot be condoned. “And to think it all gets thrown away,” U.S. attorney Machen said with regret.

U.S. presidential pardons, before Trump’s, were given for nonviolent crimes, not manslaughter or murder. Those who received pardons would accept responsibility and express remorse for their crimes. Trump’s pardons have been influenced by personal appeals from his political allies and supporters. The four Blackwater guards who were pardoned, and their supporters who lobbied for their pardons have not accepted responsibility. Evan Liberty has expressed little remorse for his actions. In his first interview following his release, he said of his conduct in 2007, “I feel like I acted correctly”.

The 14 victims killed by the Blackwater employees were Ahmed Haithem Ahmed Al Rubia’y, Mahassin Mohssen Kadhum Al-Khazali, Osama Fadhil Abbas, Ali Mohammed Hafedh Abdul Razzaq, Mohamed Abbas Mahmoud, Qasim Mohamed Abbas Mahmoud, Sa’adi Ali Abbas Alkarkh, Mushtaq Karim Abd Al-Razzaq, Ghaniyah Hassan Ali, Ibrahim Abid Ayash, Hamoud Sa’eed Abttan, Uday Ismail Ibrahiem, Mahdi Sahib Nasir and Ali Khalil Abdul Hussein.

The post Trump’s pardon of Blackwater guards convicted for killing Iraqi civilians provokes outrage appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Throughout the KRI, more than 1.25 million people employed by the Kurdistan Regional Government have been paid nothing since October and earlier in 2020 received only four partial monthly salary payments. The failure to pay government workers is the most blatant symptom of years of fiscal mismanagement and corruption by the ruling political parties in the KRI and Baghdad. The economic crisis has been severely exacerbated by COVID-19 and plummeting oil sales, the mainstay of Iraq’s economy. Iraq continues to borrow money to address the crisis, but it may be paving the way for years of recession and austerity.

As people grew desperate, demonstrations radiated out for the larger cities of Sulaymaniyah and Duhok into the small surrounding cities and towns of the KRI. In some places, protesters burned and looted government offices and party headquarters. In response, government authorities shut down the Internet, blocked all movement in and out of Sulaymaniyah, and detained scores of journalists and protesters, adding to the numbers of activists and journalists who have been in prison for months, many of whose whereabouts remain unknown. Supporters of the protests in the KRI have just launched a new, multi-lingual website that aims to get news of developments out to a larger public outside of Iraq.

In a potentially devastating further assault on freedom of expression and the right to peaceful protest, the Iraqi parliament in Baghdad is attempting to pass a “Law of Information Technology Crimes” that Iraqi human rights defenders have labeled the “Law to Silence Expression.” The legislation has been severely criticized by Human Rights Watch for being vague and allowing authorities to harshly punish any actions they decide constitute a threat to government, social or religious interests.

Meanwhile in the south of Iraq, especially in the cities of Baghdad and Nasiriyah, anti-government protesters who have been in the streets since October of 2019 are now clashing with supporters of the Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. At least eight people were killed and dozens were injured in the fighting. Jassim Al-Halfi, a leading member of the Iraqi Communist Party, criticized the killings that followed the storming of al-Haboubi square in Nasiriya, “No to blood dialogue! No to all human killing!” he pleaded. “Who will be the firewood of this violence? No one but the common people, or youth mired in unemployment, and poor people!”

Muqtada al-Sadr, who initially supported the anti-government demonstrations and urged government reform, has recently been positioning himself to run for parliament with hopes of becoming the next prime minister. The idea is completely antithetical to everything the October Revolution stood for:  an independent, civil and non-sectarian state free from ties to the U.S. government or to the clerical state in Iran.

A new election law, recently enacted by the Iraqi parliament, changed the basis for voting from a national poll by political party to tallying results for individuals within smaller, local constituencies. This could favor al-Sadr in an election, since he has numerous followers throughout southern Iraq and could win many local elections where other candidates would likely be known in only one or two districts. Elections have been scheduled for early June of 2021, although there is considerable doubt about arranging all the logistics on schedule and delays are expected.

Further unsettling Iraq is another looming human rights crisis caused by government closures of the camps for internally displaced persons (IDPs) who fled their towns and cities when Daesh (or ISIS) invaded in 2014. The overwhelming majority of these people have no homes to return to; many are stigmatized as having perceived ties to Daesh, and they are hindered in accessing the civil documentation essential for employment, education, access to state benefits and free movement. Amnesty International has documented thousands of families across Iraq do not know the fate or whereabouts of their loved ones and who now face an uncertain future themselves.

The post Less Than Six Months From National Parliamentary Elections Protests, Violent Government Repression, and Economic Crisis Engulf Iraq appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

But no sooner had the demonstrators’ tents been removed than protests resumed in Tahrir Square, as activists gathered under the Freedom Monument shouting criticisms of Iran and the United States of America. They pledged to continue their movement until all their demands are met, most notably holding the “murderers” accountable, but also provision of basic government services (water and electricity), a state freed from U.S. and Iranian interference, an end government corruption, reform of the electoral system, and the holding free and fair elections.

Clashes between Iraqi security forces and protesters erupted almost simultaneously in the southern province of Basra, where security forces had also ejected demonstrators from Bahria Square. Across southern Iraq, demonstrations in one city after another took place in solidarity with activists in Basra who faced sticks, batons and live bullets shot directly at them by the security forces.

Simultaneously Iraqi government employees staged their own protests over non-payment of their salaries, which were delayed for more than 50 days. It was the second time in six months that salaries were not paid as a severe lack of liquidity threatened to overwhelm to state. There were demonstrations in at least seven cities where people’s suffering and inability to buy food or pay their own bills now poses a major threat to security and community peace.

Iraq’s deep financial crisis is rooted in multiple causes— plummeting oil prices, a bloated public payroll, government corruption and mismanagement, the expenses of the war against ISIS, and the impacts of COVID-19. More than 6 million of Iraq’s 39 million citizens either work in the public sector or are retired government employees. The monthly cost of salaries and benefits adds up to $ 5.5 billion. Recently, however the extremely high payments some senior officials receive has been come to light; for example, former Iraqi President Ghazi Ajil Al Yawer currently gets a monthly pension $51,000.

Income from crude oil sales once covered about 90% of the government budget, but with Iraq’s sales at a six-year low and the global price per barrel also severely depressed, the government in Baghdad has experienced one fiscal crisis after another in 2020. This has become the leading challenge for the country’s newest Prime Minister, Mustafa al Kadhimi.

For the second time this year, Cabinet members have had request an emergency financing law to cover deficit spending through the end of 2020. They sought and received parliamentary approval for emergency loan of $10 billion. This stopgap solution will cover monthly expenses for government salaries and operating expenses, but does nothing to address the underlying reasons for the fiscal crisis. One possibly hopeful development is the formation of an international financial alliance to help Iraq retrieve $150 billion in funds stolen from the country since 2003.

Leaders of the trade union movement in Iraq, however, paint a dire picture of the years ahead, predicting a five-year recession. In activities coordinated through the Solidarity Center in Baghdad the unions are attempting to make increasing Iraqis’ economic and social rights central to reform of government. Wesam Chaseb, who has managed the Center’s work with unions since 2011, insists that unions must fight for programs to reduce the social shock of the impending recession. In Basra, center of the oil industry, unemployment already exceeds 40% and will likely climb higher. Iraq is now engaged in discussions with the World Bank to seek financial relief in 2021. Chaseb is deeply concerned about the price that Iraqi citizens will pay if austerity and structural readjustment policies are forced on Iraq without concern for their human costs.

The post Iraqi Update: Government in Baghdad Attempts to Forcibly Shut Down Protests As Looming Fiscal Crisis Worsens appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Last year’s demonstrations were organized largely on social media via the Arabic hashtag #WeWantAHomeland. The protests rapidly spread from Baghdad to Basra in far southern Iraq, ultimately having centers of activity in ten Iraqi governorates, including the influential Shiite city of Nasiriyah. The leaders of the movement were overwhelming young women and men. The protests were supported by teachers’ and professors’ unions, which endorsed a national student strike. As the movement gathered momentum, top Shiite cleric Ayatollah Ali Sistani expressed full support for the protesters’ demands that the government resign and conduct early elections.

Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi was forced to resign in November of 2019 and Iraq struggled without a government until Al-Kadhimi assumed power in May of 2020, however, the protesters’ substantive demands remain unaddressed. While a date for early elections has been set for June of 2021, the government has not approved a revised electoral law that would create an independent elections commission and a federal court to oversee the vote. Iraq’s entrenched sectarian political factions are attempting to rewrite the law to allow them to retain control of the parliament.

No one has been held accountable for the death, injury, and abduction of thousands of protesters. Sectarian Shia militias, which the government is largely unable to control, are widely believed to have been responsible for the majority of these violations. In recent months security in Iraq has deteriorated as the militias attacked foreign troops and installations, and carried out a string of brutal assaults on leaders of the protest movement in Basra. The new round of protests now sweeping Iraq is being organized largely in secrecy to avoid infiltration by the militias.

Now Al-Kadhimi’s government faces an economic crisis caused by plummeting oil prices and magnified by the financial impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Nearing bankruptcy, the government has been unable to pay the salaries of millions of employees on time, and retirees have experienced delayed benefits and threats of pension cuts. In the Iraqi Kurdistan Region, government workers have gone without pay for many months. The government’s monthly expenses for public sector salaries and operating expenses is about 8 trillion Iraqi dinars, or $6.8 billion, while oil revenues have been less than $3 billion a month. It remains unclear if the government in the face of this unprecedented liquidity crisis can arrange loans for deficit spending or if the Iraqis dependent on government incomes will face poverty that sends the Iraqi economy spiraling into an ever-deepening emergency.

The post Iraqi Protesters Return to the Squares and Streets appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Nearly 2000 people around the country took part in the September 21 premiere, which also featured six music performances, including contributions from Michael Franti, Tom Morello and the Resistance Revival Chorus, and a Q&A discussion, moderated by journalist and author Stephen Kinzer, with director Amir Amirani, and key contributors to the film, Medea Benjamin, Colleen Kelly, Bill Fletcher Jr. and Phyllis Bennis.

Now we’re excited to report that the film team has decided to launch a virtual 8 week run of the film, starting on October 2. Tickets for this will include the film only. Like the premiere, tickets for the extended run will benefit United for Peace & Justice and other hosting groups. UFPJ will continue to benefit from 40% of net profits from ticket sales throughout the run if purchased at the following link.

Click here to watch the film trailer.  And click here to purchase tickets that benefit UFPJ.

The post “We Are Many” September 21 north American Film Premiere – Extended Virtual Run! appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

September 11^th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, one of the founding organizations of UFPJ, joined in drafting the reports and is deeply engaged with issues raised in the report on the detention facilities and military commission system at Guantanamo. As the report details, these abhorrent and extralegal policies and practices have gone on too long; we can and must close Guantanamo and end indefinite detention. Moreover, it is the result of the torture carried out by the military and the CIA that has thwarted process to obtain justice for the victims of the 9/11 attacks; nineteen years after 9/11, a trial of the five men accused of plotting the attacks has not even begun. It is time to reckon with this state-sanctioned American torture. It is time for full transparency and accountability. We can and must take all the steps necessary to ensure prohibitions on torture are fully upheld.

A further stain on the rule of law is the U.S. policy of secretive and unaccountable killings of suspected terrorists and the pursuit of endless war. Over the last two decades, in the name of “prevention,” the U.S. has established a nearly worldwide government-sponsored project of killing based on “suspicion, alleged association, or affiliation—all without any judicial process. It is time to end this secret and unlawful use of lethal force. The tragic result of having adopted a strategy of an unbounded “war on terror,” is that for nearly two decades, successive U.S. administrations have pursued a “costly war-based approach to national security and counterterrorism policy that has no clear endgame in sight.” It is time to end endless war.

Whoever is elected president on November 3 will occupy the White House on the 20^th anniversary of 9/11. He should work in advance to see that there is some justice for the attacks and equally important oversee the dismantling of the violations of the rule of law and international human rights standards that made true justice impossible while causing great harm to people at home and abroad.

The post 19 Years After 9/11: A Legacy of Illegal Actions and No Justice Forthcoming appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi made it clear to President Trump that the U.S. military mission in Iraq must be redefined. The prime minister stressed he thought U.S. forces should exit Iraq, although he held out some need for U.S. support to fully defeat ISIS. Trump reiterated promises he has been making since May to withdraw U.S. troops, but the two leaders made no significant progress on agreeing upon a plan or a timetable, so for the foreseeable future about 5,200 U.S. troops will remain on Iraqi soil.

At the same time, U.S. energy companies announced expanding their activities in the oil-rich nation and signed new agreements estimated to be worth $8 billion. Led by the Chevron Corp and GE, the U.S. firms were portrayed by the Trump administration as working to secure Iraq’s “energy independence” from Iran.

As these deals were announced, conflict in Basra intensified. The killing of local activist, Tahseen Oussama, provoked three days of street demonstrations during which protesters bombarded the governor’s house with rocks and petrol bombs and blocked major city streets. Police responded by firing live bullets into the crowds. Then Reham Yacoub, known for leading women’s marches in the city was gunned down in her car by unidentified gunmen firing assault rifles from the back of a motorcycle; three of her associates in the car were wounded at the same time.

The assassinations of Oussama and Yacoub came only two weeks after a national umbrella group of activists, of which they were both members, announced it was organizing to challenge to power of the militias over members of parliament and would form a new political party to stand in the next elections.

The post Iraq’s New Prime Minister and President Trump Discuss U.S. Troop Withdrawal as Deadly Crackdown on Iraqi Protests Grows appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.

This showing also is a benefit for peace organizations; if you buy your ticket through the link below, United for Peace and Justice will receive a percentage of the purchase price.  

Click here to see the We are Many film trailer.

Click here to purchase your ticket and benefit UFPJ!

On February 15th, 2003, up to 30 million people, many of whom had never demonstrated before, came out in nearly 800 cities around the world to protest against the impending Iraq War.  WE ARE MANY is the never-before-told story of the largest demonstration in human history, and how the movement created by a small band of activists changed the world. United for Peace and Justice played a leading role in organizing the demonstrations in New York and other cities in the U.S. The film features interviews with participants from all walks of life and areas of expertise including Noam Chomsky, Leslie Cagan and Phyllis Bennis, UFPJ Co-founders, veteran and author Ron Kovic (Born on the Fourth of July), Code Pink Co-founder Medea Benjamin, activist and author Bill Fletcher Jr. (They’re Bankrupting Us!), Academy Award winner Mark Rylance, world-renowned author John le Carré, former UN Weapons Inspector Dr. Hans Blix, Stop the War Coalition Founding Member Lindsey German, and Jesse Jackson, as well as Danny Glover, Ken Loach and Brian Eno.  

WE ARE MANY is directed by Amir Amirani. The film is executive produced by Pippa Harris (Former Chair of BAFTA, BAFTA Winner and Oscar Nominee ‘1917’), Callum McDougall, Signe Byrge Sorenson (BAFTA Winner and Oscar Nominee), Omid Djalili, and co-produced by Richard O’Brien (Creator of the Rocky Horror Show), Jens Eilstrup Rasmussen (Co-Inventor of Google Maps).

100 CITIES. ONE NIGHT FOR PEACE serves as a cinematic forum for communities to join together to reflect on the power of nonviolent protest and the sense of urgency to keep coming back to create change. The event will take place on Monday, September 21st at 8pm EDT/5pm PDT in more than 100 theaters including virtual cinemas in nearly every major North American city from New York to Los Angeles; from Toronto to Vancouver.   A live panel addressing the issues raised in the film and exploring the power of nonviolent protest will follow the screening with Director Amir Amirani, luminaries featured in the film, and leaders from various protest movements. Many of the communities and local organizers from the 2003 protest will take part in this special event.

The post Virtual Screening and Benefit: We Are Many, a film about the February 15, 2003 demonstrations to stop the Iraq war. appeared first on United For Peace and Justice.