Human Rights First's U.S. Law and Security Digest is a weekly report to help keep you up to date about developments in U.S. national security law and policy that have an impact on civil liberties and human rights.

SUPREME COURT BACKS ADMINISTRATION'S USE OF STATE SECRETS DOCTRINE
On Tuesday, October 9, the Supreme Court denied a request that it accept review of German citizen Khaled el-Masri's extraordinary rendition case, dismissed by the lower federal courts without any review of the merits of Mr. el-Masri's claims on the basis of the Bush administration's invocation of the "state secrets doctrine." Mr. el-Masri alleged that he was detained in December 2003, turned over to the CIA and flown to a secret prison in Kabul, Afghanistan, where he endured four months of abuse. According to the German government, the Bush administration admitted that Mr. el-Masri's case was one of mistaken identity and that he was not a terrorist. The CIA eventually released Mr. el-Masri on a hilltop in Albania, from where he made his own way home. Following his release, Mr. el-Masri filed a lawsuit against former CIA director George Tenet and the unidentified CIA agents responsible for his apprehension. Human Rights First has criticized the U.S. government's use of the state secrets doctrine as an excuse to prevent Mr. el-Masri's case from proceeding, arguing that use of the doctrine allows the government to "evade accountability for abuses." The Supreme Court did not provide any reason for its refusal to consider Mr. el-Masri's case.  Read more.

COURT PREVENTS TRANSFER OF GUANTANAMO DETAINEE
On Tuesday, October 9, an unsealed ruling by Judge Gladys Kessler of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia revealed an order preventing U.S. officials from transferring Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Abdul Rahman to his home country of Tunisia amid concerns that he may face torture. Judge Kessler's decision marked the first known instance in which a court prevented the transfer of a detainee or ruled in favor of detainee rights since Congress denied court oversight of detainee affairs. The ruling also underscored the importance of Boumediene v. Bush, a case currently before the Supreme Court that may restore habeas corpus rights to detainees in U.S. custody. Judge Kessler argued that the Supreme Court's decision to hear Boumediene "cast a deep shadow of uncertainty" over past rulings limiting detainee rights. In August, Human Rights First joined a coalition of public interest and religious groups to file an amicus brief in support of detainees' rights to challenge their detention in U.S. courts. On October 9, the U.S. government filed its brief for respondents in the Boumediene case, arguing that Guantanamo detainees do not have a constitutional right to habeas corpus and that these detainees are afforded "more procedural protections than any other captured enemy combatants in the history of warfare." Oral arguments in Boumediene will be held in December. Read more.

BUSH THREATENS VETO OF NEW SURVEILLANCE LEGISLATION
On Wednesday, October 10, President Bush threatened to veto a new proposed surveillance law that calls for increased oversight and does not provide retroactive immunity to telecommunications companies who actively participated in the warrantless wiretapping program following the September 11 terrorist attacks. Despite President Bush's warning, the House Judiciary and Intelligence committees on Wednesday approved the revisions, which would amend the Protect America Act, a temporary law passed by Congress in August, by allowing greater congressional and court oversight of surveillance activities.  The new bill grants future immunity to telecom firms, but does not ensure retroactive immunity. The Protect America Act is set to expire in February, but President Bush hopes to make the existing law permanent, arguing that greater freedom of surveillance activities is necessary to thwart terrorist attacks. Some civil liberties advocates argue that even the proposed revised legislation is overbroad because it does not require individual warrants when intercepting communications targeting terror suspects believed to be overseas. Read more.

PRIVATE SECURITY CONTRACTORS KILL TWO IRAQI CIVILIANS
Two Iraqi women died on Tuesday, October 9, after private security guards fired approximately 40 bullets at their car. The guards work for Unity Resources Group (URG), an Australian-run private security company that provides security to financial and policy experts working in Iraq. URG claimed the guards fired as the vehicle approached a convoy and ignored signals to stop. Tuesday's incident bears some resemblance to a September 16 episode in which guards from Blackwater USA fired into traffic approaching their convoy; while casualty reports from that incident continue to fluctuate, most recent reports indicate that the Blackwater guards that day killed 17 and injured 27 Iraqi civilians. The Bush administration's investigations into the Blackwater incident continue, while a victim and victims' families have begun to file lawsuits against the security company. The September 16 and October 9 incidents have further strained relations between Iraqis and the thousands of private security contractors working in Iraq and have increased pressure to provide better oversight and to establish an effective system for holding such contractors accused of criminal misconduct accountable for their actions. Read more.

OCTOBER 15: U.S. FOREIGN POLICY DISCUSSION
The Center for American Progress hosts a panel discussion entitled "Pursuing the Global Common Good: Principles & Practice in U.S. Foreign Policy." Discussion topics will include justification for war and the use of torture. The panel will begin at 9:30 a.m. at the Center for American Progress, 1333 H St. NW, 10th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. More information.

OCTOBER 16: PANEL ON CONFLICT IN AFGHANISTAN AND PAKISTAN
The Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law presents "Shadow Conflict: Afghanistan and Pakistan." The discussion will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Lipton Hall, 108 W. 3rd Street, New York, NY. More information.

OCTOBER 30: DISCUSSION ON THE WAR ON TERROR
The Human Rights Institute and Center for National Security and the Law at Georgetown University present a discussion in honor of the release of "Less Safe, Less Free: Why America is Losing the War on Terror," by Professor David Cole and Jules Lobel.  The discussion will begin at 3:45 p.m. in McDonough Hall, Hart Auditorium, 600 New Jersey Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C.

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