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Yesterday Attorney General Holder answered questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee about 9/11 trials. Thousands of you joined us in urging the committee to support his decision to use our civilian courts-and it worked! Senators urged him to stand strong against the politics of fear.
Holder told Senators that a decision is imminent. We need to keep the pressure on-the ball is now in the President’s court.
The facts show that federal court trials are the best way to bring terrorist suspects to justice-they’ve convicted more than 195 members of al Qaeda or their allies since 9/11.
Help us get the word out that federal courts are an important tool to fight terrorism.
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You Helped us Raise over $10,000! Thank you!
Thanks to your generosity, Human Rights First is now better equipped to lead efforts to fight the fear mongering over Guantanamo trials. As the Obama Administration nears a decision, we’re amping up our activities, pushing back on Liz Cheney’s “Keep America Safe” and others who are distorting the truth and obstructing justice. We have the facts and the experts behind us – watch some of their testimony in this video!
Your support helps Human Rights First continue building respect for human rights and the rule of law – give today!
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30 Years of Protecting Refugees: What’s Next?
Last month marked the 30th anniversary of the landmark Refugee Act of 1980. Human Rights First helped draft the original bill, and hosted a symposium to both celebrate how this law has helped the persecuted find refuge and find solutions to the challenges in the current system. Learn about the Refugee Act-and its impact on real lives-in this video.
Progress could be on the way! The Refugee Protection Act of 2010 was recently introduced in the Senate. It aims to remove unnecessary barriers that deny refuge to those with legitimate asylum claims. TAKE ACTION today: ask your Senator to stand up for refugees by co-sponsoring the bill!
Internet Freedom: Beyond Google and China
Google has shut down its search engine in China, finally telling government censors “enough is enough.” But the quest for Internet freedom goes beyond China and Google. To learn why, read Elisa Massimino’s Huffington Post article.
Watch this video testimony from an online journalist in Belarus, whose life and work depends on Internet freedom.
HRF’s Daphne Eviatar was at Gitmo last week for the hearing of Noor Uthman Mohammed. Read about her experience in her blogs.
Ask Daphne all you want to know about Gitmo and military commissions on a webchat next week! Send us your questions ahead of time, or just join us on Facebook Wednesday the 21st at 3. We’ll put instructions on how to participate at that time.
Protecting Free Speech ≠ Being Soft on Hate Crime
Hate speech of any form-against individuals, groups, or a religion-is abhorrent, but the debate in the Human Rights Council on “defamation of religions” risks limiting free speech and giving repressive governments the tools to censor legitimate debate. Human Rights First went to Geneva last month to urge the Council and governments to combat hate in more effective ways that uphold freedom of expression.
Learn more about our work, check out Tad Stahnke’s Washington Post blog, and watch Jo�lle Fiss make the case in Geneva.
Voice of America covered the story of Guatemalan human rights activist Jesus Tecu, the winner of our Baldwin Medal of Liberty. Having witnessed the slaughter of his family by agents of the Guatemalan military during the civil war, Tecu has dedicated his life to securing human rights for indigenous people in Guatemala. HRF is proud to honor him.
A recent Human Rights First Huffington Post piece explores how we can confront the enablers of mass atrocities-those who make violent acts possible by providing the goods, services, and resources that allow for the commission of crimes against humanity.
Our last action alert supporting Attorney General Eric Holder provoked a blog conversation with the Wall Street Journal!