White House Trying to Keep Torture Controversy Out of Court

New York, December 22 (RHC)-- A well-known and respected constitutional
rights attorney in the United States says that the White House is
trying to keep the issue of torture out of the courts in order to keep
it out of the spotlight. Michael Ratner, president of the Center for
Constitutional Rights (CCR), based in New York City, says that recent
revelations of waterboarding by the CIA and the destruction of
interrogation tapes have pushed the debate over torture back onto
center stage.

Ratner told re****ters in New York that the Bush administration has been
fighting to cover up further evidence and testimony of torture from
becoming public. Ratner's organization was directly affected by the
destruction of the CIA interrogation tapes that apparently showed the
use of torture against terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah. A judge ordered
the CIA to preserve any do***ents that could serve as evidence of
torture in a case being brought by CCR on behalf of Majid Khan. A
former resident of Baltimore, Maryland, Kahn was held and interrogated
at secret detention facilities and at Guant!namo. The destroyed tapes
could be relevant to the case, according to Ratner, because they may
have shown that confessions or evidence against prisoners at Guantanamo
was obtained through torture.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has been at the forefront of
litigation seeking to define the status of prisoners at Guantanamo and
at secret military prisons across the world. The president of the
non-profit organization said that CCR has played an integral role in
the three Guant!namo cases that have been heard before the Supreme
Court, including the recent Boumediene v. Bush, argued on December 5th.
In the Boumediene case, the Supreme Court is being asked to decide
whether Guant!namo prisoners have habeas corpus rights. A ruling in the
case is expected by mid-2008. This decision could be a defining moment
for CCR, which was the first organization to challenge Bush
administration policies on the treatment and detention of prisoners
captured in the days after September 11, 2001.

                           ***

U.S. Federal Judge Appears Reluctant to Open CIA Inquiry

Wa****ngton, December 22 (RHC)-- A U.S. federal judge appears reluctant
to investigate the destruction of CIA interrogation videotapes while
the Justice Department is conducting its own inquiry. U.S. District
Judge Henry H. Kennedy is considering whether to delve into the matter
and, if so, how deeply. The George W. Bush administration has openly
called on the judge to back off while it investigates.

The hearing held Friday marked the first time the administration has
been forced into court about the matter since the CIA disclosed this
month it destroyed the tapes of officers using controversial
interrogation methods while questioning two al-Qaida suspects.

Government lawyer Joseph Hunt said the joint Justice Department-CIA
investigation into the destruction of the videos will also seek
evidence of whether the government violated any court orders. Hunt
promised the judge that, when the investigation is complete, lawyers
will tell the court if its rules were violated.

The judge had ordered the government not to destroy any evidence of
mistreatment or abuse at the U.S.-run prison in Cuba. David Remes, a
lawyer for Yemeni detainees at Guant!namo, argues the destruction of
the tapes may have violated a court order and may indicate that other
evidence was also destroyed. Remes noted that the government was
prohibited from destroying any evidence that could be relevant in a
case, even if not directly noted in a court order.

Remes urged the court not to take a back seat to the executive branch,
which destroyed the do***ents in the first place. "The Justice
Department may have sanctioned the destruction of these videotapes,"
attorney David Remes said. "Now they are asking the court to stay out,
on the ground it is investigating the destruction of these videotapes." 

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