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.

"... [T]o have an Islamic terrorist threat against us, it's an existential threat, it has nothing to do with our foreign policy. It has to do with their ideas, their theories, the things that they have done and the way they've perverted their religion into a hatred of us. And what's at stake are the things that are best about us -- our freedom of religion, our freedom for women, our right to vote, our free economic system. Our foreign policy is irrelevant, totally irrelevant. If you read what they write, if you bother to listen to what they say, this comes out of their own perverted thinking."

Republican Presidential Candidate Rudy Giuliani, January 5, Republican debate in New Hampshire.

"The truth is, it was too darn good. The conditions down there were amazingly hospitable."

Republican Presidential Candidate Mike Huckabee, January 6, Republican debate, in defense of his position on closing Guantanamo because the prison is too lenient on detainees.

EX-CIA OFFICIAL DEMANDS IMMUNITY BEFORE TESTIFYING ABOUT VIDEOTAPE DESTRUCTION
In a letter sent to the House Intelligence Committee, a lawyer for Jose Rodriguez Jr. stated that his client will not testify at a January 16 hearing unless he is granted immunity from prosecution for his statements. The House committee subpoenaed Rodriguez, the former CIA chief of clandestine operations, under allegations that he ordered the destruction in 2005 of videotapes showing the harsh interrogations of two alleged al Qaeda leaders now held at Guantanamo Bay. The Committee has not permitted Rodriguez or several other CIA officers to review classified documents pertinent to the case. In related news on Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Henry H. Kennedy Jr. rejected a request by a group of Guantanamo detainees to begin a judicial inquiry into the destruction of the tapes. The 11 Yemeni detainees argued that the CIA's actions violated a 2005 court order requiring the preservation of evidence involving the interrogations of Guantanamo prisoners. Judge Kennedy said a judicial inquiry was not necessary and explained that neither of the detainees whose interrogation tapes were destroyed had a connection to the prisoners who were demanding the review. He further declared that he would rely on the Justice Department's investigation to determine whether the CIA's actions were lawful, stating that he expected the department to "follow the facts wherever they may lead." Read more.

SENTENCING HEARING BEGINS FOR PADILLA AND TWO CO-DEFENDANTS
On Tuesday, January 8, a sentencing hearing began for Jose Padilla and co-defendants Adham Amin Hassoun and Kifah Wael Jayyousi following their convictions in August 2007 for participating in a North American support cell for al Qaeda and other Islamic extremist groups. Padilla was apprehended in May 2002 under accusations that he was plotting to detonate a radioactive "dirty bomb" in the U.S. He was designated an enemy combatant and held without charge for over three years in a Navy brig in South Carolina, where he claims he was tortured. He was indicted in November 2005 and added to an existing Miami terrorism support case. Prosecutors have urged U.S. District Judge Marcia Cooke to sentence all three men to life in prison. But at the start of the hearing on Tuesday, lawyers for the defendants raised over 90 objections to the presentence report and questioned in particular the theory that their clients played supervisory roles in the criminal conspiracy. "The charged conspiracy is exceedingly broad," said Padilla's attorney Michael Caruso. "You have to concede that Mr. Padilla played a minimal role." The prosecutor disagreed, calling Padilla "a trained al-Qaida killer" and an "instrument of the scheme itself." The hearing, initially expected to last three days, is now likely to continue next week. Read more.

OFFICER INVOLVED IN ABU GHRAIB SCANDAL CLEARED OF ALL CHARGES
In a letter sent on Tuesday, January 8, Maj. Gen. Richard J. Rowe dismissed the final charge against Lt. Col. Steven L. Jordan, who supervised the interrogation task force at the Abu Ghraib prison at the time of detainee abuse in 2003. Jordan was initially charged with abuse and failure to properly supervise the soldiers involved in the abuse, crimes that could have sent him to prison for over sixteen years. However, last year a court martial acquitted Jordan of those charges and convicted him of only a minor offense -- disobeying an order not to discuss the investigation into the abuse. Rowe cleared Jordan of any criminal wrongdoing on Tuesday and issued an administrative reprimand, thereby permitting Jordan to continue his service as an active-duty officer. The Army "finally got it right" said Jordan in response to Rowe's dismissal. Eleven lower ranking soldiers have been convicted in military courts in connection with the abuse at Abu Ghraib, but Jordan was the only officer to face a court martial. Read more.

SPAIN ACCUSED OF INVOLVEMENT IN GUANTANAMO INTERROGATIONS
On Wednesday, January 9, Edward Fitzgerald, a lawyer representing former Guantanamo detainees Jamil el-Banna and Omar Deghayes, stated that Spanish authorities were complicit in the transfer of the men to Guantanamo and were directly involved in their interrogations there. Spanish authorities provided the U.S. with material about which to question the men and sent their own interrogators to take part in the questioning, said Fitzgerald. Following nearly five years of imprisonment without charge, el-Banna and Deghayes were released from Guantanamo and transferred to the United Kingdom on December 20. Immediately following their release, Spanish authorities issued a warrant requesting the extradition of the two men to Spain, where they face terrorism charges for their alleged involvement in an al Qaeda cell there. Fitzgerald told a London court on Wednesday that "this is an overwhelming case of an abuse of power and an abuse of process," arguing that Spanish authorities should be precluded from questioning or charging the men when the U.S. had already exonerated them and the British government had declined to press charges. The judge adjourned the case until February 14. The two men may face up to 15 years in prison if convicted on charges of belonging to a terrorist organization. Read more.

JANUARY 11: ANNIVERSARY OF FIRST DETAINEES SENT TO GUANTANAMO BAY
Friday marks the sixth anniversary of the first arrival of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

JANUARY 16: DISCUSSION ON LEADERSHIP IN THE MUSLIM WORLD
The Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law will present a discussion entitled "Power Politics: Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Leadership in the Muslim World." The event will begin at 6:00 p.m. in Lipton Hall, 108 W. 3rd Street, New York City. More information.

FEBRUARY 1: CONFERENCE ON NATIONAL SECURITY
The Center on Law and Security at New York University School of Law will hold a conference entitled "Intelligence and the Age of National Security." The full-day event will begin at 9:15 a.m. in Greenberg Lounge, Vanderbilt Hall, 40 Washington Square South, New York City. More information.

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