Don't Let the U.S. Be Complicit in Torture
- by: Amnesty International USA
- recipient: U.S. Officials
After being held without charge or trial for over five years at Guantánamo, he has been cleared for release after he was found to "pose no threat" to the U.S. or its allies. But now he is in real danger of being secretly detained or tortured if returned to Algeria.
Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee urged the U.S. to "take all necessary measures" to avoid transferring persons to another country if the person would be at risk of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. But Ahmed Belbacha may be forcibly returned to Algeria as early as this week.
The five years of U.S. lawlessness at Guantánamo Bay must end. Tell U.S. Authorities: Stand up for human rights and stop the forcible return of Ahmed Belbacha immediately!
I urge that U.S. authorities not forcibly return Ahmed Belbacha to Algeria, or any other Algerian nationals held in Guantanamo. I am concerned that Ahmed Belbacha's safety would be at serious risk if he was returned to Algeria.
Ahmed Belbacha's safety, in the event of his return to Algeria, has been further jeopardized by the US government's labeling of him as an "enemy combatant" and the stigma that attaches to Guantanamo detainees, whom the U.S. authorities have collectively and repeatedly labeled "terrorists". He has been held in US custody without charge or trial for more than five years.
Anyone suspected of involvement in terrorist activities, or who is believed to possess information about terrorist activities in Algeria or abroad, faces a real risk of secret detention and torture at the hands of Algerian military intelligence agency the Department for Information and Security (Departement du renseignement et de la securite, DRS). Amnesty International, a global organization that works to promote and protect all human rights, has received dozens of reports of detainees treated in this way, among them people who had returned to Algeria from overseas, either voluntarily or at the hands of foreign governments.
A U.S. federal judge indicated that she would likely have granted an order barring Ahmed Belbacha's forcible return to Algeria, based on evidence presented by his lawyers of the risk to his safety if he were to be returned. However, under the Military Commissions Act signed into law by President Bush in October 2006 stripping the US courts of jurisdiction to hear habeas corpus petitions or other legal actions filed on behalf of foreign nationals held in US custody as "enemy combatants", the judge decided that she lacked the authority to prevent his forcible return.
While US authorities have been attempting to obtain assurances from the Algerian authorities about the treatment of returnees, these diplomatic assurances are inherently unreliable and unenforceable, and should not be relied upon in such cases.
Please stop the forcible return Ahmed Belbacha to Algeria immediately.
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