U.S. Federal Judge Says Names of Sept. 11 Detainees Must Be Released
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Kessler: Judicial branch must ensure government operates within constraints that distinguish a democracy from a dictatorship |
WASHINGTON,
Aug 3 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - A federal judge gave the
U.S. administration 15 days Friday, August 2, 2002, to publish the
names of most people being held for suspected links to the September
11 attacks on the United States, news agencies reported.
The
Justice Department "shall disclose within 15 days the names of
those it has arrested and detained in connection with its September
11, 2001 terrorist investigation," Judge Gladys Kessler ruled,
reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Most
of the suspects are being held at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba. The department must also disclose the names of the
detainees' attorneys within the same time frame, Kessler decided.
"The
court fully understands ... the first priority of the executive branch
in a time of crisis is to ensure the physical security of its
citizens. By the same token, the first priority of the judicial branch
must to be to ensure that our government always operates within the
statutory and constitutional constraints which distinguish a democracy
from a dictatorship," Kessler said in her ruling.
The
judge made two exceptions in her ruling, allowing officials to honor
the request of detainees who wish to remain anonymous, and enabling
the department to keep secret the dates and places of the detainees'
arrest, said AFP.
Secret
arrests are "a concept odious to a democratic society and
profoundly antithetical to the bedrock values that characterize a free
and open one such as ours" Kessler said.
Meanwhile,
the Justice Department said it was reviewing the ruling to evaluate
"all options to protect the American public from future terrorist
threats, while preserving our constitutional liberties."
The
Department of Justice believes today's ruling impedes one of the most
important federal law enforcement investigations in history, harms our
efforts to bring to justice those responsible for the heinous attacks
of September 11 and increases the risk of future terrorist threats to
our nation," Assistant Attorney General Robert McCallum said in a
statement.
While
the department is "pleased" that Kessler "recognized
that certain categories of information relating to the 9/11
investigation are protected from disclosure," he added that the
Justice Department's criminal division and the FBI "firmly
believe that the information sought by the plaintiffs, if released,
could jeopardize the investigation."
The complaint had been brought against the Justice Department by 23
different groups, including the Center for National Security Studies,
the American Civil Liberties Union, the Arab American Institute, Human
Rights Watch and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
Some 751 people were detained for immigration violations after
September 11. Seventy-four of them remained in custody as of June 13,
according to the ruling.
In
addition, 129 people were charged with committing federal crimes. Of
those who remain in prison, only one has been identified: Zacarias
Moussaoui, the only person charged in connection with the September 11
attacks that killed more than 3,000 people.
The
number of people held as material witnesses has never been released,
but at least 26 people are known to be detained under those terms.
In
a related development, the Pentagon placed the number of suspected
Taliban and al-Qaeda members captured in Afghanistan at 534. The
detainees belong to some 39 different countries.
According
to the BBC’s correspondent, the ruling does not affect detainees at
the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, who are beyond the
jurisdiction of U.S. courts.
“The
federal government's power to arrest and hold individuals is an
extraordinary one," Kessler said in the 45-page ruling.
"Here,
the government has used its arrest power to detain individuals as part
of an investigation that is widespread in its scope and secrecy,"
she said.
Meanwhile,
U.S. national newspaper the USA Today, reported Friday that a
group of women who lost their husbands in the September 11 attacks
have started contemplating the need for an independent commission to
investigate the September 11 attacks.
For
months, the President and other administration officials have argued
against an independent commission. This week, however, senior White
House officials met with three widows spearheading a lobbying
campaign.
"They
said they have a lot of thinking to do," said Kristen
Breitweiser, one of the widows who attended the meeting, reported the
paper.
According
to the USA Today, the women hope that the U.S. President, who
could establish a commission by executive order, will act sooner.
"We would like to see this as a memorial to our loved ones,"
said Lorie Van Auken. "With the Sept. 11 anniversary coming up,
people are asking us what they can do. This is something they can
do."
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