#yiv617360250 a:visited {text-decoration:none;}
#yiv617360250 a:active {text-decoration:none;}
#yiv617360250 a:link {text-decoration:none;}
#yiv617360250 a:hover {text-decoration:underline;color:#red;}
Dear CCR Supporter:
In order to provide you with a condensed version of updates, developments, and
advocacy opportunities from CCR, we will occasionally send emails in this
newsletter format. We hope you like this and find it useful! As always, your
comments and feedback are welcome and valued.
Algerian man transferred from Guantánamo to Algeria against his will is
missing. Act now to secure his welfare and stop future involuntary transfers of
men who fear for their lives.
An Algerian man who was wrongly detained at Guantánamo for nearly 8 years has
gone missing after the United States sent him back to Algeria against his will.
Abdul Aziz Naji did not want to return to Algeria because he feared persecution
from both the Algerian government and militant anti-government forces. The
Obama Administration violated both U.S. and international law by forcibly
repatriating Mr. Naji, and Center for Constitutional Rights is now deeply
concerned as neither his wellbeing nor whereabouts are known. In the press,
Algerian officials have given mixed signals about whether or not Mr. Naji is
being held in secret detention, but they have at no point revealed his location
or provided evidence that he is well.
Please write the Algerian Embassy in Washington, DC (at [email protected])
and the Permanent Mission of Algeria to the United Nations (at
[email protected]) and demand that the Algerian government immediately
account for Mr. Naji's whereabouts and well-being. They must tell us where he
is and provide assurances that he is well. The Algerian government should also
comply with international law prohibiting the use of secret detention and
torture. Moreover, the Algerian government must protect Mr. Naji from
extremist forces in Algeria who may try to recruit him and harm him when he
resists joining them. Finally, the Algerian government should in the future
not accept forced repatriations of its citizens who fear they will be harmed in
the country.
Mr. Naji is presumably being held in secret detention by Algerian state
security forces. Although other Guantánamo detainees who have been returned to
Algeria voluntarily were held in secret detention for about two weeks and
eventually released, the only other detainee who publicly expressed a fear of
return to Algeria was Ahmed Belbacha, who was tried, convicted and sentenced in
absentia to 20 years of imprisonment in Algeria as retribution for speaking
out. Mr. Naji had applied for political asylum in Switzerland, and his
application was proceeding through the Swiss courts with the support of human
rights groups and other advocates in that country. There was no need for the
U.S. government to deliberately expose Mr. Naji to persecution by forcing him
to return to Algeria.
Until the Algerian government demonstrates Mr. Naji is well, releases him from
secret detention, and provides assurances for his future security, it will
continue to be suspected of human rights violations, and the U.S. government
which orchestrated Mr. Naji's forced repatriation will remain accountable for
Mr. Naji's disappearance in violation of U.S. and international law.
Thank you for helping us build pressure to secure Mr. Naji's safety and end a
U.S. policy of forcibly sending people to countries where they fear they will
face serious harm or death.
CCR and NLG Sue Virginia Prisons for Unconstitutional Banning of Handbook
This week, CCR and the National Lawyers Guild (NLG) filed a federal lawsuit in
the Western District of Virginia against the Virginia Department of
Corrections, challenging the ban on a self-help publication for prisoners. CCR
and NLG are represented by Virginia attorneys Steve Rosenfield and Jeffrey
Fogel, respectively.
The Jailhouse Lawyer's Handbook explains to prisoners how they can exercise
their Constitutional rights to protect themselves from physical abuse, poor
conditions and other mistreatment and was published by CCR and NLG. Since its
initial publication in 2003, demand for the handbook has grown substantially;
both CCR and the NLG provide copies to several thousand prisoners every year.
The handbook was recently banned from all Virginia prisons by the Virginia
Department of Corrections - this act of censorship infringes upon the First
Amendment and due process rights of prisoners in Virginia.
The practices of the Virginia Department of Corrections are part of a larger
surge in censorship taking place at prisons across Virginia. CCR will continue
to stand up for the Constitution, and challenge censorship wherever it may
occur. Learn more about the case here.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Bill Quigley
Legal Director
Center for Constitutional Rights
Connect with CCR online...
Forward this to a friend!
Center for Constitutional Rights ll 666 Broadway 7th floor NY, NY 10012 ll
212-614-6464 ll www.ccrjustice.org
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
LAAMN: Los Angeles Alternative Media Network
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Unsubscribe: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Subscribe: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Digest: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Help: <mailto:[email protected]?subject=laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Post: <mailto:[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive1: <http://www.egroups.com/messages/laamn>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Archive2: <http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected]>
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Groups Links
<*> To visit your group on the web, go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/
<*> Your email settings:
Individual Email | Traditional
<*> To change settings online go to:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/laamn/join
(Yahoo! ID required)
<*> To change settings via email:
[email protected]
[email protected]
<*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
[email protected]
<*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to:
http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
