Canada judge warns judiciary on politicized public inquiries

Devin Montgomery at 12:05 PM ET

[JURIST] Richard Scott, head of the Canadian Judicial Council [official website] conduct committee [materials], warned on Sunday that judges should exercise caution in agreeing to head up extra-judicial public inquiries designed to address politically controversial issues. Scott, who is also the chief justice of the Manitoba Court of Appeal [official website], said that by straying too far from their normal duties as judges, members of the judiciary risked the appearance of being seen as partisan. Scott's comments come after the Federal Court of Canada [official website] ruled [JURIST report] in June that media comments by Quebec Justice John Gomery [CBC profile], who led the public inquiry into the sponsorship scandal [CBC backgrounder] involving the Liberal Party [party website] government of former prime minister Jean Chrétien [official profile], had demonstrated bias against Chrétien [judgment, PDF] and his chief of staff Jean Pelletier [judgment, PDF]. In October, another Manitoba judge is scheduled to lead a similar committee established to investigate money that former Conservative Party prime minister Brian Mulroney received without paying taxes [Globe and Mail report]. Canwest has more.

Gomery's first and second reports [text and materials], released in November 2005 and February 2006 [JURIST reports], outlined the results of his judicial commission of inquiry [official website] into the Canadian scandal and included recommendations for controlling prime-ministerial power. The investigation began after Liberal Party Prime Minister Paul Martin, Chretien's successor, acknowledged allegations [JURIST report] of money laundering and kickbacks and took full responsibility for the misuse of public funds. After the reports has been issued, Gomery criticized [JURIST report] the now ruling Conservative Party [party website] for ignoring his recommendations on limiting government corruption and abuse of power. In June 2007, a former Canadian advertising executive was sentenced to 42 months in prison [JURIST report] for misappropriating nearly $1.6 million in government funds as part of the scandal.

More torturegate cointel pro BS .. JOhn RADSEN at seminar!!

Expert: Rendition vital but overused

Jay Price, Staff Writer

DURHAM - The man who started the controversial Central Intelligence Agency program that snatches terrorism suspects from one country and flies them to another for interrogation referred to it Friday as "the single most effective counterterrorism program in American history."

It should have a lesser role, though, and would be unnecessary if the United States were not improperly trying to force democracy on other countries, said Michael Scheuer, who worked for the CIA for 22 years, nearly all of them in covert operations.

Scheuer was speaking at a Duke University conference on how the next presidential administration might handle some of the more difficult aspects of fighting terrorism. He was on a panel about the CIA program, which is called "extraordinary rendition."

When the practice became public, it triggered outrage and protests around the world and legal action against CIA workers in Europe, where some of the suspects were captured. Opponents think that many of the countries where suspects are taken torture them.

Some of the protests have taken place at the Johnston County airport used by Aero Contractors Ltd., a company widely thought to be a front for CIA aircraft operations. A German court indicted several members of the company's air crews last year in connection with a rendition.

It's often overlooked, Scheuer said, that the practice began not with President George W. Bush but under his predecessor, Bill Clinton. Claims by Clinton administration officials that prisoners were sent only to countries that agreed to treat them according to U.S. laws weren't true, he said, adding that it's hard to imagine a country that would agree to such restrictions.

Scheuer ran the rendition program from its start in July 1995 to June 1999, he said.

Under Clinton, the program was different, he said. For one thing, there was little interest in information gleaned from interrogations.

CIA officials thought the country doing the questioning would alter the information to deceive the United States. Also, it had become clear that al-Qaida operatives had been trained to give either bad information or huge volumes of facts that were accurate but so dated that the United States would waste time investigating them.

So instead of interrogations, the CIA tried to get documents in either tape or digital form that the operatives might be carrying with them, Scheuer said.

Under Bush, he said, the emphasis changed to interrogations and having the CIA perform them.

The program is still vital, he said, but was never intended to be such a central source for crucial intelligence about terrorism. It was meant to complement other efforts, such as the work of special operations units and diplomacy.

Others on the Duke panel said that rendition may be effective in the short term but that any rational evaluation of it would require considering long-term effects that may be hard to quantify -- such as the erosion it causes to the reputation of the United States abroad.

The program should be shut down, said Aziz Huq, an expert on detention cases involving national security who is with New York University Law School. Huq said it is corrosive to democratic government in places such as Egypt and Pakistan, where proper governments are crucial in long-term efforts to fight terrorism.

There need to be more congressional oversight and more internal controls, such as an ombudsman, said former CIA lawyer and former federal prosecutor John Radson,[sic. why?? Its' RADSAN] now an associate professor at William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn. These controls should be made public, even if details about the program aren't.

"We should let the world know that we are going to not be doing this willy-nilly, but that the program is important," Radson [sic] said. "When you have 100, 150 people who have been rendered, you can't just say we're going to have a mistake or two."

jay.price@newsobserver.com or (919) 829-4526

I also notice that cointelpro or WHOEVER has taken off many of my items on RENDTION

and torture.

How friggin handy for them ..

Here is an important video with Radsan to watch:

Algeria officials visit Guantanamo Bay detainees
Devin Montgomery at 4:24 PM ET

[JURIST] Algerian Justice Minister Tayeb Belaiz on Sunday confirmed that officials from the country had visited the US base at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] to identify Algerian detainees, and said that although the country would accept repatriation of the 17 still held there, some may face criminal charges upon their return. US Assistant Secretary of State David Welch [official profile] has told reporters that the US and Algeria are negotiating an accord in order to return the detainees, but that the US wants to make sure that those that are dangerous are not simply set free.

Two main obstacles face the return of the Algerian detainees to their country of origin. Some detainees, most notably Ahmed Belbacha [BBC profile; JURIST news archive], have challenged their transfer, saying they fear being tortured or killed by either the government or al Qaeda if they return. In addition, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika's 2006 amnesty plan [BBC backgrounder] for Islamic insurgents could mean that dangerous detainees may be released and able to reestablish their terrorist ties. US President George Bush has said that, when possible, he wants to transfer detainees out of Guantanamo Bay in order to eventually close the facility [JURIST report]. AP has more. Reuters has additional coverage.

DOD transfers 10 Saudi detainees from Guantanamo Bay

Dennis Zawacki II at 11:42 AM ET

[JURIST] The Saudi Arabian Interior Ministry [official website] confirmed Saturday that 10 Saudi detainees released [press release] from Guantanamo Bay have returned home. With the latest release, roughly 275 detainees remain at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report], approximately 60 of whom have been cleared for release. Saudi Interior Minister Prince Nayef bin Abdul-Aziz said Saturday that his government is working with the US to bring home other Saudis in US custody.

The release follows a similar transfer of 14 Saudis [JURIST report] in November, and now brings the total number of Saudi detainees at Guantanamo down to about 13. In August, US President George W. Bush expressed hope that the Guantanamo detention facility would eventually be shut down [JURIST report], but said that other countries have shown reluctance to accept detainees. Reuters has more.