From the Executive Director 
In the aftermath of 9/11, Pentagon and White House policies created a climate in which torture became an acceptable practice, not only at Abu Ghraib but elsewhere in Iraq and Afghanistan. Human Rights First has made some headway fighting these policies in the courts and in Congress, but more needs to be done.
For example, there are new standards in place for military interrogations, but the President has authorized the CIA to use “alternative techniques,” which have not been made public. Large numbers of private contractors are also operating outside the normal channels. We are working to ensure that both of these groups are held to the standards as our own military. Click here to join us in calling on Congress to hold oversight hearings on the interrogation practices of the CIA and private contractors.
On another front, we have been closely monitoring the growing number of depictions of torture on television and the impact these shows have on soldiers in the field. This past month we launched the Primetime Torture project, which is detailed below and prominently featured on our Web site. This project has already produced remarkable results. Stay tuned.
Maureen Byrnes
'Primetime Torture' Campaign Takes on TV Tactics
 On Feb. 12, HRF launched the Primetime Torture project in response to reports that soldiers are imitating interrogation tactics they see on television. The project’s goal is to limit the impact TV has on the way interrogations are conducted in the field and also the way Americans view torture.
Last fall, HRF's David Danzig and Jill Savitt organized a meeting of military officials — including the dean of West Point — with the creative staffs of the hit series "24" and "Lost" to discuss the unintended consequences of the shows' story lines.
The project's launch coincided with major stories in The New Yorker, the Associated Press and the Los Angeles Times. Those stories led to interviews by NBC's "Today" show, CNN, and news media from all across America and around the world. The topic was also covered in numerous blogs, including Drudge Report, Political Animal and Daily Kos.
The lead writer of "24" later announced that viewers will be seeing less torture in future episodes.
As part of the project, HRF is working with military leaders and former interrogators to produce a training film for junior soldiers, which will be available in the spring.
Appeals Court Ruling on Guantanamo Detainees Denies Due Process
In a 2-1 decision announced Feb. 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. ruled that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 strips Guantanamo detainees of the right to challenge their detention in U.S federal courts. More than 770 people have been detained at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since it opened in January 2002.
Hina Shamsi, deputy director of HRF's Law and Security program, said the ruling "runs counter to one of the most important checks on unbridled executive power enshrined in the U.S. Constitution: the right to challenge imprisonment in a full and fair proceeding." The case will now go the Supreme Court.
Read HRF's statement
Colombian President's Rhetoric Endangers Defenders
HRF Fellow Andrew Hudson met with Colombian Vice President Francisco Santos Feb. 14 to express concern that recent statements by President Alvaro Uribe are contributing to a climate of increased danger for human rights defenders. In comments similar to statements he has previously made about defenders, President Uribe said some of his political opposition "went from being terrorists in camouflage to terrorists in business suits."
As reported by the Associated Press on Feb. 27, "[in] Colombia, such language (on the part of government officials) can spur death squads into action... ." Two days after the president's remarks, approximately 70 of Colombia's leading human rights defenders received threatening emails echoing President Uribe's remarks.
We will continue to call on the Colombian government to respect — in word and deed — the legitimacy and importance of the work performed by Colombian human rights defenders.
Government Commission Faults Department of Homeland Security for Jailing of Asylum Seekers
The bipartisan U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) issued a "report card" Feb. 7 giving the Department of Homeland Security a grade of "F" for its failure to protect asylum seekers from improper detention in U.S. immigration jails.
USCIRF found that refugees seeking asylum in the U.S. are detained in prison-like facilities that are inappropriate for them, and that decisions to release them appeared to be arbitrary. The New York Times quoted Eleanor Acer, director of HRF's Refugee Protection program, saying that the failure to address such problems promptly had "real human consequences." In a press statement, she added that those practices "fly in the face of America's traditional role as a safe haven for those fleeing oppression, religious persecution, and torture."
Read Human Rights First’s report, "In Liberty’s Shadow," on the detention of asylum seekers.
Prosecutor to Pursue Sudan Minister, Janjaweed Leader for Darfur Crimes
On Feb. 27, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court in The Hague named a Sudanese government minister and a leader of the Janjaweed militia as suspects in crimes against humanity and war crimes in the Darfur crisis.
The action is a welcome step, because it brings a new kind of pressure to bear on those responsible for the mass atrocities in Darfur. It also serves as a warning against further attacks on civilians. But legal proceedings cannot end with the naming of these two suspects. HRF Executive Director Maureen Byrnes was quoted in a Feb. 27 story in the Christian Science Monitor urging Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo to "pursue evidence of criminal responsibility up the chain of command, no matter how high it takes him.
Staff Spotlight: Julia Fromholz
From Capitol Hill to Sudan – Dedicated to Fighting for Human Rights
Julia Fromholz is based in HRF's Washington, D.C. office, where she is Senior Associate for Government Affairs – International. She represents HRF before Congress and the executive branch to shape and inform U.S. law and policy on a variety of international human rights issues.
Julia has just returned from a mission to Sudan, where she met with a wide range of international, individuals and groups in Khartoum and Juba, including local NGOs operating in Darfur, international humanitarian organizations with staff in Darfur, embassies, journalists, and members of the government and the main opposition party. She will soon be reporting in greater detail on her trip in a future edition of Rights Wire.
Prior to joining HRF, Julia worked with local human rights organizations in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, focusing on monitoring and reform of the criminal justice system. She is a graduate of Harvard College and the University of California, Berkeley School of Law. Julia also clerked for a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and practiced law in San Francisco.
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Priti Patel, associate attorney with HRF's Law and Security program, published an op-ed piece in the Raleigh, N.C. News and Observer on the sentencing of former CIA contractor David Passaro. On Feb. 13, he received a sentence of eight years, four months in prison for beating an Afghan detainee who later died. Last summer, Priti monitored the trial of Passaro, who is the only person associated with the CIA to be prosecuted for prisoner abuse.
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HRF Executive Director Maureen Byrnes and Elisa Massimino, director of HRF's D.C. office, both spoke at an HBO screening in New York of "Ghosts of Abu Ghraib," filmmaker Rory Kennedy's documentary. The film, which includes an interview with Adm. John Hutson, a member of HRF's Board of Directors, had its premiere Feb. 22 and will continue to be broadcast in March.
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