CCR's News Feed

ACLU Sues To Force Release Of Drone Attack Records

Camilo Ramirez — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 15:13:52 -0500

The American Civil Liberties Union asked a federal court Wednesday to force the Obama administration to release records related to the killing of U.S. citizens in drone attacks in Yemen last year.

Federal Court to Decide Whether Former Abu Ghraib Prisoners Can Sue U.S. Contractors for Damages

Camilo Ramirez — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 15:00:28 -0500

Eight years after the release of shocking photographs depicting detainee abuse in Iraq's famed Abu Ghraib prison, a federal appeals court in Virginia is grappling with whether former Iraqi prisoners can bring a civil suit against U.S.-based contractors.

Guantánamo: Ten Years and Counting

Camilo Ramirez — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 16:34:14 -0500

On January 11 it will have been a decade since the first of the men we once called “the worst of the worst” were brought to Guantánamo Bay. In the intervening years much has improved but Guantánamo is a deeper problem today than it ever was. No longer a temporary exception, it has become a permanent fixture in our national firmament.

10 Years Later, Guantánamo Represents Obama’s Failed Promise

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:49:31 -0500

CCR Legal Director, Baher Azmy, elaborates on President Obama’s biggest failed promise: how after 10 years since the prison camp opened, and three years after Obama pledged to close it, Guantánamo goes on.

Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act Threatens Activism

Camilo Ramirez — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:11:02 -0500

Will Potter, an independent journalist who specializes in the topic of eco-terrorism, says the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act classification of activists as terrorists threatens to end activism, in part to stem corporate profit loss.

Congress Should Close Guantánamo

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:41:43 -0500

CCR Executive Director, Vince Warren, explains the importance and need of closing Guantánamo, before its travesty of justice continues into another decade.

Gitmo: 10 Years Of Injustice And Disgrace

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:46:37 -0500

On the tenth anniversary of Guantanamo bay detention center, CCR Executive Director, Vince Warren, discusses a decade of injustice and disgrace, emphasizing the importance of closing the detention center.

NY Lawsuit: Public Release of Guantanamo Detainee Video Could Alter Anti-Terrorism Debate

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:33:06 -0500

A lawsuit filed Monday seeks to force the U.S. government to make public the videotapes of harsh interrogation carried out on Mohammed al-Qahtani. Lawyers for the Center for Constitutional Rights said the videos have been seen by attorneys for Mohammed al-Qahtani but cannot be shown to the public because they are classified.

Guantánamo: Still A Part Of America's Conscience, A Decade On

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:45:19 -0500

Guantanamo remains a part of America’s conscience ten years later. Despite Obama’s promises, some 171 inmates remain at Guantanamo bay after 600 were released. Only six detainees were ever convicted.

Notes From a Guantánamo Survivor

Camilo Ramirez — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 13:05:56 -0500

Five years after his release, and near the tenth anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay detention center, CCR client Murat Kurnaz, and author of “Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo,” shares his experiences and wonders how it is possible that a democratic government can detain people in intolerable conditions and without a fair trial.

Lawsuit Seeks Disclosure of Guantánamo Interrogation Videos

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:59:58 -0500

A legal group filed a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit on Monday asking that videotapes showing the interrogation of a terror detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, be made public.

Guantánamo at 10: The Defeat Of Liberty By Fear

Camilo Ramirez — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 15:48:40 -0500

CCR President, Michael Ratner, discusses Guantanamo's 10th anniversary and the deterioration of civil and human rights in post-9/11 America, and the breakdown of a body politic that occurs when a country attacks its own constitution in the name of defending it.

Federal Immigration Enforcement Is Mandatory, Memo Says

Camilo Ramirez — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 12:56:29 -0500

Two years after the Secure Communities immigration enforcement program was implemented, federal officials determined that choices available to local law enforcement agencies that wished to decline or limit their participation would be "streamlined" or "eliminated," making the information-sharing program mandatory, according to a memo recently made public.

'Tortured' Guantánamo Bay Prisoner Seeks Release of Secret Videos

Camilo Ramirez — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 15:55:06 -0500

A new federal lawsuit seeks to force the U.S. government to make public “extremely disturbing” videotapes of a Saudi national, Mohammed al-Qahtani, whose abuse at the Guantanamo Bay prison has been called “torture” by a former Bush administration official.The suit comes 10 years after the first prisoners in the United States’ global war on terror arrived at the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba.

Florida Legislature Drops Anti-Videotaping Language

Camilo Ramirez — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:01:48 -0500

The Florida legislature has dropped a controversial provision that would have made it a crime to photograph or videotape on agricultural facilities without consent.