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ASHCROFT
DENIES DETAINEES RIGHT TO CONFIDENTIAL MEETINGS WITH ATTORNEYS
WASHINGTON,
Nov 9 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) – U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
defended Friday a Justice Department move to monitor conversations between
attorneys and clients with alleged links to terrorism.
Ashcroft,
in an interview with CNN's "Larry King Live", described a major
overhaul of his department announced on Thursday.
"Terrorism
has changed our priorities," Ashcroft said, according to an advance
transcript of the interview, which was broadcast later Friday. "Our first
priority has been terrorism prevention."
"We
have a very high priority right now on securing America and preserving the peace
and the security of the American people," he added.
The
attorney general Thursday announced a 10-point plan to reorganize the Justice
Department and several of its agencies to meet the department's "new
anti-terrorism mission".
He
defended a proposal to break the time-honored legal tradition of attorney-client
privilege. Ashcroft said it would only apply to prisoners who were alleged
spies, terrorists or those who attempted to commit crimes in jail.
"This
is a very narrowly focused thing," Ashcroft insisted, saying only 13
inmates nationwide would thus far be subject to the new rule.
However,
according to discussions between IslamOnline and the American Civil Liberties
Union (ACLU) and the National Coalition to Protect Political Freedom (NCPPF),
almost 1,100 people have been detained since the September 11 attacks, almost
all of whom are of Muslim/Arab background.
Amnesty
International has launched a major campaign against the Justice Department for
what the human rights giant calls unjust and torturous treatment of some of the
detainees.
Many
lawyers representing clients in detention have lamented that they have been
unable to even meet with their clients – in direct violation of a detainee’s
constitutionally protected rights to due process - and have been put under court
instated “gag orders”, which forbid them to talk about the case.
The
current denial of the right to due process greatly disturb civil rights leaders,
who recall their now dead fight against the disproportional use of secret
evidence against Muslims and Arabs, in which detainees are jailed - sometimes
for years - without being charged with a crime. They were also held without the
“evidence” against them being released to their lawyers, thus denying them
the ability to adequately defend themselves.
Civil
rights activists have also claimed that such practices only further the unjust
practice of racially-profiling Muslims and Arabs.
However,
Ashcroft argues that suspected terrorists could use conversations with their
attorneys to convey orders to those outside prison to commit terrorist acts, and
hence their conversations should be monitored.
"We
think we ought to be able to try and detect that and prevent that ongoing
terrorism," Ashcroft said. "It's there as a weapon and tool if we feel
we need it."
On
the thorny issue of ethnic profiling, the attorney general said, "I
certainly hope that we don't have an abuse of anyone based on their race of
religion in the United States. There shouldn't be profiling based on race or
religion or discrimination that refuses to recognize the valuable contributions
that all Americans bring to our culture."
But
the State Department said Friday it would tighten visa restrictions for men from
predominantly Muslim nations in a move likely to anger many in Arab and Muslim
communities.
Ashcroft
also backed the Administration's plan to boost security in the nation's airports
and airliners but would block the creation of a federal work force to screen
baggage, news agencies reported
"It's
important that we have federal standards... It's not important that they all be
federal employees," he said.
The
aviation security bill is now in joint House-Senate conference committee, where
the two houses of Congress are working to reach a compromise.
With
additional reporting by Neveen A. Salem, IOL Washington D.C.
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