[Peace-discuss] secret evidence and secret proceedings

[pfmueth at ux1.cso.uiuc.edu]

At the  Friends of Ahmed Press conf/rally this morning, the recent 
ruling by bushcroft allowing secret INS proceedings was conflated 
with the provisions almost six years old that allow for secret 
evidence .

looking for some clarity . .    here's one of several short pages 
from the American Muslim Council with background. .

I searched the aclu looking for some info on what I think is the 
first major use of this provision, the LA seven, but I haven't found 
details yet.

What is very interesting here is that the gov't apparently hasn't 
used the court preferring to "merely" use it for detainment. . ..

http://www.amconline.org/sevidence/
What is Secret Evidence

The 1996 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act established a 
new court charged only with hearing cases in which the government 
seeks to deport aliens accused of engaging in terrorist activity 
based on secret evidence submitted in the form of classified 
information. The 1996 Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant 
Responsibility Act expanded the secret evidence court so that secret 
evidence could be more easily used to deport even lawful permanent 
residents as terrorists. It also included provisions allowing the 
government to use secret evidence to deny bond to all detained 
non-citizens and to deny various discretionary immigration benefits 
such as asylum to all non-citizens, including those not accused of 
being terrorists.

Though the secret evidence court has not yet heard a case, the INS 
has moved in dozens of other proceedings to use secret evidence 
against non-citizens to deny them bond and relief from deportation, 
such as asylum. In fact, the INS attempts to use secret evidence to 
deny mandatory relief from deportation, such withholding of 
deportation, even though it has no statutory authority to do so.

Virtually every recent secret evidence case that has come to public 
attention involves a Muslim or an Arab. The ACLU represents one such 
non-citizen, Nasser Ahmed, a 37-year old Egyptian who was denied 
bond, asylum and withholding based on secret evidence. The 
immigration judge who heard the evidence said that he had "no doubt" 
that Mr. Ahmed would be tortured if returned to Egypt. If the 
decision in his case had been based only on the evidence in the 
public record -- evidence that Mr. Ahmed had the chance to challenge 
-- Mr. Ahmed would be a free man today. Instead, he was held in 
solitary confinement for over three years, and is still being 
detained, without being told why and thereby given a change to refute 
the accusations against him.

Secret evidence is also being used to detain in Florida without bond 
Mazen Al-Najjar, a stateless Palestinian. One day at breakfast with 
his wife as he helped his daughters get ready for school, he answered 
a knock on the door. This 18-year resident of the United States was 
immediately detained for alleged violations of the immigration laws. 
When he asked for release on bond -- which is commonly granted 
similarly-situated non-citizens who are likely to appear for their 
immigration hearings because of their strong family and community 
ties -- his request was denied, based on secret evidence. Two years 
has elapsed and Mr. Al-Najjar still does not know the basis for his 
detention.

The INS is also using secret evidence in cases involving seven Iraqis 
airlifted by the U.S. from Northern Iraq because they were part of a 
failed CIA plot to destabilize the regime in Iraq headed by Saddam 
Hussein. The INS is denying them political asylum based on secret 
evidence. A legal team including former Director of Central 
Intelligence R. James Woolsey represents them. Mr. Woolsey, who was 
himself denied the opportunity to see the evidence against his 
clients, commented that secret evidence is what "one would expect to 
find in Iraq, not the U.S." Five of the seven recently agreed to be 
deported in exchange for release from custody with certain 
limitations on their liberty while they search for a foreign country 
that will accept them.
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