Peace News Now

The American Civil Liberties Union and Yale Law School’s Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic today filed a petition against the United States with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IAHCR) for the unlawful detention and torture of José Padilla, a U.S. citizen, whom the United States detained and interrogated for four years.

The petition was filed by Padilla’s mother, Estela Lebron, on her own and on her son’s behalf. Padilla and Lebron had previously filed federal lawsuits – since dismissed – against current and former government officials for their roles in Padilla’s torture and other abuse.

The petition is an international complaint asking the IACHR, which is an independent human rights body of the Organization of American States, to conduct a full investigation into the human rights violations suffered by Padilla; to find that his mistreatment violated the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man; and to recommend that the United States publicly acknowledge the violations and apologize for its unlawful conduct.

“The U.S. justice system denied a day in court to a U.S. citizen who was arrested and then tortured on U.S. soil by his own government,” said Steven Watt, senior staff attorney with the ACLU Human Rights Program. “The U.S. has historically been a leader in ensuring access to justice for human rights violations around the world, but it has effectively closed the courtroom door to all victims and survivors of the Bush administration’s torture regime. Denied redress in U.S. courts, torture survivors like Padilla are now left with no choice but to turn to international justice.”

In 2002, President Bush declared Padilla an “enemy combatant” and ordered him to be placed in military custody. U.S. officials seized Padilla from a civilian jail in New York and secretly transported him to the Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C., where they held him for 43 months without charge. Interrogators subjected Padilla to torture and other egregious forms of abuse, including forcing him into stress positions for hours on end, punching him, depriving him of sleep and threatening him with further torture, “extraordinary rendition” and death.

“For more than a decade, Estela Lebron has lived with the terrible knowledge that her own government tortured her son, but there has never been any official acknowledgement, let alone an apology,” said Alaina Varvaloucas, a student with Yale’s Lowenstein Clinic who worked on preparing the petition. “The pain and indignity of that betrayal continue to this day.”

For the first 21 months of his captivity, Padilla was held incommunicado, without access to lawyers and his family.

“No human being deserves what happened to our family, and I will continue to work for my son and for justice as long as I’m breathing. As a mother, I want to be sure this never happens to anyone else,” said Lebron. “This petition may be my last chance.”

Today’s petition filed with the IACHR is available at:
www.aclu.org/files/assets/iachr_padilla_petition.pdf
Information on the dismissed federal lawsuit against U.S. officials is available at:
www.aclu.org/national-security/padilla-v-rumsfeld

Source: ACLU Press Release
CONTACT:
Josh Bell, (212) 549-2666; media@aclu.org

From ABC’s WCVB:

A local family says a language barrier may have resulted in police using a Taser on a woman after she tried to buy too many iPhones at a local mall. Police, however, say the incident isn’t that clear cut.

Xiaojie Li, of Newton, said she is embarrassed by Monday’s Pheasant Lane Mall in New Hampshire incident.

“So my mom says she don’t know why they called the police, because she doesn’t understand what they are talking about,” her 12-year-old daughter Jiao Jay said.

Jay said her mother bought two iPhones last Friday, and was told that was the limit. When she took video of others she claimed were buying more, the store manager asked her to leave.

The confrontation involving the Taser happened when Li went to the store on Monday to pick up two iPhones she ordered online.

“The management of the store asked us to have her removed. The officer approached her, told her she wasn’t welcome in the store, and she refused to leave,” Nashua Police Capt. Bruce Hansen said.

Police say the store had issued a stay-away order against Li.

“Two days prior to that, she had been asked to leave the store by store personnel for doing something that they didn’t want,” Hansen said, referring to Li’s photographing other customers in the store.

A video posted on YouTube shows Li and police officers on the floor outside the Apple store at the Nashua mall. The crackle of the Taser and Li’s screams can be heard on the video.

“She was scared, she didn’t understand,” said John Hugo, who said he was Li’s fiance’. “I was outraged. You go into a store, and you end up getting brutalized by the police.”

From FoxNews.com:

A Fox News contributor was punched in the face during a pro-union protest Tuesday in Michigan, one of a series of confrontations between union demonstrators and opponents on the day the state Legislature approved so-called “right to work” legislation that unions oppose.

Steven Crowder, a conservative comedian and Fox News contributor, had spent the day questioning demonstrators, and video he posted on YouTube showed some of them becoming verbally aggressive, with one telling him, “get the f— out of my face!”

Another protester can be seen later in the video punching Crowder in the face before being restrained by another man.

Crowder later posted photos on his Twitter account showing a chipped tooth and “minor cut on forehead.” He told the website TheBlaze.com that the scuffle started when protesters tried to tear down a tent set up by conservative organization Americans for Prosperity.

“They were trying to tear down the tent and people were trying to pull them off. … And as they did that, a few people tripped,” he told the website. “This guy tripped over a tent peg and then got up and hit me.”

The Lansing Police Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment, but a spokesperson said police would have further information on the incident some time Tuesday night.

Gov. Rick Snyder signed the legislation Tuesday evening after the state House gave final approval of the bills, which bar unions from collecting mandatory fees from workers they represent under collective bargaining agreements.

Earlier Tuesday, two people were arrested after trying to get into a Michigan state building where Snyder has an office.

By evening, dozens of state troopers in riot gear swept protesters away from the building. State police accompanied by sheriff’s deputies on horses moved shoulder-to-shoulder to clear the area across the street from the Capitol. Some people who refused to move were physically picked up.

The new laws deliver a blow to the labor movement in the heart of the U.S. auto industry. One bill dealt with public sector workers, the other with government employees. Both measures cleared the Senate last week.

“There will be blood, there will be repercussions,” state Democratic Rep. Douglas Geiss, speaking on the House floor on Tuesday, warned ahead of the votes.

Earlier in the day, two state school districts closed after hundreds of teachers called out, presumably to join the protests.

FoxNews.com confirmed that the Warren school district had to close Tuesday after so many teachers called out absent; WDIV in Detroit reported that the Taylor school district had to do the same. A statement from the Warren system said that by 8 a.m. local time, 750 staff members had called out.

Fox News’ Mike Tobin and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is why I love video cameras. Because they make situations transparent. They create an objective record of what exactly is happening. Is this kid a provocative deuchebag? You could say that. But are the cops infringing on his rights? Absolutely. And without an objective record, these cops would lie about the incident and follow through with their plans to “get this kid kicked out.” It’s a good thing this kid not only knew his rights but recorded the interaction when calling the police’s bluff. I bet they’ll think twice before raiding their next college dorm!

Police Say Technology Will Provide Officers Bird’s-Eye View Of High-Crime Areas

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) — A warning to criminals in Jersey City: Every step you take, every move you make, police are watching.

As part of a stepped-up effort to deter and detect criminal activity, Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy and Police Chief Tom Comey announced new initiatives Tuesday that they hope will be effective.

Among the initiatives is the “Eye in the Sky,” a three-story high, mobile tower equipped with 360-degree views and streaming surveillance cameras to give police a bird’s-eye view of high-crime areas.

1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg Reports

 

“It makes us smarter. It makes us better and once again, it’s another step we have to take as we embrace technology and do policing,” Comey told reporters, including 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg.

With budget cuts and mass retirements in his police force, Chief Comey is still dealing with a significant police shortage. So he said he is looking for ways to do the job smarter and better.

“Is it the most effective way? At what we have right now. Yes,” he said. “Would it be better if we had more man power? Probably. That’s not something I have right now.”

The $100,000 “Eye in the Sky” was acquired by Jersey City’s Office of Emergency Management & Homeland Security through the state’s Urban Area Security Initiative program.

Officials said the technology is used by police departments across the country, including the New York Police Department.

Mayor Healy also announced the hiring of 22 new beat cops to help beef up the department’s dwindling ranks.

In July, the U.S. Justice Department awarded Jersey City $1.85 million through a hiring program that allowed it to bring on 15 new officers. The other seven cops will be paid through the municipal budget, officials said.

The police department will now have a total of 806 officers.

What do you think of the ‘Eye in the Sky?’ Share your thoughts in the comments section below…