CIA tapes show 9/11 suspects in secret prisons
August 18, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
WASHINGTON: The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has videotapes made at a secret prison in Morocco showing the interrogation of a conspirator in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, an international news channel reported on Tuesday. The tapes were reportedly found three years ago under a desk at the CIA’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and may offer insights into the controversial role that some foreign countries played during former president George W Bush’s war against terrorism.
The tapes show Ramzi Bin al-Shibh, who has admitted to helping plot the Sep 11 attacks on New York and Washington, CNN reported, citing a “knowledgeable US source”. Bin al-Shibh is not being subjected to torture, instead he is shown being interrogated behind a desk.
It would mark the only video evidence remaining of the CIA’s secret overseas prisons system, which was
miranda
June 1, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that suspects must explicitly tell police they want to be silent to invoke Miranda protections during criminal interrogations, a decision one dissenting justice said turns defendants’ rights “upside down.”
A right to remain silent and a right to a lawyer are the first of the Miranda rights warnings, which police recite to suspects during arrests and interrogations. But the justices said in a 5-4 decision that suspects must tell police they are going to remain silent to stop an interrogation, just as they must tell police that they want a lawyer.
The ruling comes in a case where a suspect, Van Chester Thompkins, remained mostly silent for a three-hour police interrogation before implicating himself in a Jan. 10, 2000, murder in Southfield, Mich. He appealed his conviction, saying that he invoked his Miranda right to remain silent by remaining silent.
But Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing the decision for the court’s conservatives, said that wasn’t enough.
“Thompkins did not say that he wanted to remain silent or that he did not want to talk to police,” Kennedy said. “Had he made either of these simple, unambiguous statements, he would have invoked his ‘right to cut off questioning.’ Here he did neither, so he did not invoke his right to remain silent.”
The Court’s opinion is the most important Miranda decision in a decade. The ruling is breathtaking even to those, like me, who believe that Miranda’s safeguards were already eroded. The Court has formally transformed Miranda from a rule aimed at protecting suspects to one that protects police. Miranda’s safeguards for suspects are now mostly symbolic. So long as officers give warnings, their interrogation practices will be largely immune from any legal challenge. As the justices have noted in other cases, if warnings are given and a statement is obtained, it is very difficult for a defendant to contend that his admissions were coerced.
Justice Sotomayor wrote a strong dissent in Thompkins. Joined by retiring Justice John Paul Stevens and Justices Breyer and Ginsburg, she explained how the majority opinion rewrites Miranda.
Lahore attackers were local Taliban: police
LAHORE: Militants who attacked a minority sect, killing 93 people in the country”s east, belonged to the Pakistani Taliban and were trained in a lawless border region where the U.S. wants Islamabad to mount an army operation, police said Saturday.
The revelation could help the U.S. persuade Pakistan that rooting out the various extremist groups in North Waziristan is in Islamabad”s own interest. Up to now, Pakistan has resisted, in part because it says its army is stretched thin in operations elsewhere.
Suspicion that the man accused of a failed bombing attempt in New York”s Times Square earlier this month may have received aid from the Pakistani Taliban has added to U.S. urgency about clearing North Waziristan.
Local TV channels have reported the Pakistani Taliban, or an affiliate, had claimed responsibility for Friday”s attacks in country’s second-largest city.
Senior police officer Akram Naeem in Lahore said the interrogation of one of the arrested suspects revealed that the gunmen were involved with the Pakistani Taliban. The 17-year-old suspect told police the attackers had trained in the North Waziristan tribal region.
“Our initial investigation has found that they all belong to Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan,” or Pakistani Taliban movement, Naeem said. He said the suspect, “Abdullah alias Mohammad, was given terrorism training in Miran Shah” — the main city in North Waziristan.
flashforward cancelled
May 14, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
ABC has given up on “FlashForward” before the show gets to air its first season finale. Nevertheless the show will continue airing the last episode that leads to the finale on May 27. In “Countdown”, which airs May 20, everybody who have seen their future are dreading at the thought of whether the vision will come true or not.
Mark continues his interrogation of Hellinger in a desperate attempt to find out when the next blackout will occur; Demetri must choose between helping Janis and Simon break into NLAP to stop the blackout from occurring, or turning the fugitive Simon in to the FBI.
Lloyd finds the common denominator that can help him solve the complex equation he was working on in his flashforward; while Tracy fights for her life, Aaron discovers why Jericho was after her; and Nicole wrestles over her strong feelings for Bryce and what would happen if she told him she knew the whereabouts of Keiko.
“FlashForward” is not the only show canceled by the Alphabet. “Romantically Challenged”, “Scrubs” and “Better Off Ted” are all axed from the Fall line-up, giving the chance to other series to fill the schedule. Fellow sci-fi series “V” meanwhile, gets a second season.
Dr. Aafia Formally Charged in US Court
NEW YORK: Dr Aafia Siddiqui formally charged in American court for trying to kill a group of US soldiers at an Afghan police compound in July 2008 with a rifle she had snatched from a soldier.
Dr Aafia’s lawyer, however, rejected the charge, saying that there’s no evidence to support the claim.
Assistant US Attorney Jenna M. Dabbs told a court here that Dr Aafia, who had been taken into custody by authorities in Afghanistan in July 2008, took an army soldier’s M-4 assault rifle and attempted to shoot the assembled agents and soldiers.
However, Charles D. Swift, Dr Aafia’s lawyer, said that there’s no evidence that she ever touched or fired the M-4 rifle. In his opening statement, Swift said that the soldiers had given different versions of where she was when the M-4 was allegedly fired and how many shots were fired.
The lawyer said a bullet and shell casings from the 9mm handgun were found in the room, but no bullets or bullet fragments from the M-4 were found in the room.
In her opening statement, the prosecutor described the scene inside the interrogation room where Dr Aafia allegedly tried to snatch a rifle from the soldier and was shot and wounded in the process as chaotic but admitted that the FBI didn’t return to examine the room until six days after the incident.
Dr Aafia, 37, is on trial on US District Court in Manhattan on a seven-count indictment that includes charges of attempted murder, armed assault on US officers and employees and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. She faces up to 20 years in prison on the attempted murder charges and life in prison on the firearms charge.
Dr Aafia, who was wearing a white headscarf over tan prison garb on Tuesday, has denied wrongdoing. However, she has said she doesn’t recognise the legitimacy of the proceedings and refused at times to appear in court for proceedings.
Aafia Siddiqui yelled at jurors during the first day of her trial, saying she had been held in a secret prison.
She had to be led out of the courtroom after disrupting the testimony of one of the witnesses.
Assistant US Attorney Jenna Dabbs told jurors Ms Siddiqui was taken into custody by Afghan police in July because she was carrying containers of unidentified chemicals and notes referring to mass-casualty attacks and New York landmarks such as the Empire State Building, the Statue of Liberty, Wall Street and the Brooklyn Bridge.
A protest demonstration was also staged for release of Dr. Aafia Siddiqui outside the court.
Pakistan America Freedom Forum (PAFF) staged demonstration asking for release of Aafia Siddiqui and other missing persons in Pakistan.
The protesters also demanded immediate closure of Gitmo prison.
Dr. Aafia Formally Charged in US Court was first posted on January 20, 2010 at 12:04 pm.
Senate for Transparent Probe into Karachi Mayhem
Islamabad, Pakistan News: All the political parties urged transparent investigation into Karachi turmoil during a Senate session.
Senate has ratified an amended bill regarding Code of Criminal Procedures while a Sovereignty Bill has also been tabled. Initiating argument over Karachi situation, Professor Khursheed called to utilize all the resources to unmask those behind the mayhem, while Tahir Mushhadi of MQM ruled out any political dispute in Karachi, saying that Taliban have entered the city to take control over it. Dr Farooq Sattar said that Interior Minister has assured the cabinet that he would launch judicial probe if he remained unable to unmask the culprits in this regard.
He added that it was not the time to resort to blame game, saying that such attitude might hamper the interrogation. Abdul Raheem Mundukhel, Ismail Polidi, Senator Zahid Khan and Dr Abdul Malik also sought investigation into Karachi turmoil. Arguing over point of objection, Senator Raza Rabbani deplored the screening of the Pakistani passengers at US airports.
According to the amended Criminal Procedure Bill, the sentence of the accused would be counted from the time of trial and as such his/her term would be lessened. Waseem Sajjad has presented a bill for Pakistan’s sovereignty and stability seeking certificate from President Asif Ali Zardari in this regard.
Senate for Transparent Probe into Karachi Mayhem was first posted on January 11, 2010 at 5:49 pm.
Chaos Reigns in J&K Assembly for 3rd Straight Day
SRI NAGAR: Pandemonium reigned in the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly for the third consecutive day on Wednesday as the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) sought a judicial probe into state Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s alleged involvement in the 2006 sex scandal.
Accusing the CBI of defending Omar Abdullah, senior members of the PDP tore up a letter issued by the CBI in connection with their investigation of the case.
The CBI letter states that neither Chief Minister Omar Abdullah nor Union Minister for Non-Renewable Sources of Energy and Omar’s father Farooq Abdullah is figured in the list of suspects that were involved in the 2006 sex scandal.
Assembly Speaker Akbar Lone confirmed that he had received a communication from the CBI to this effect.
Union Home Minister P Chidambaram had said on Tuesday that there was no mention of Omar Abdullah in the CBI list.
Earlier, Jammu and Kashmir Governor N. N. Vohra had refused to accept Omar Abdullah’s resignation, saying that the latter should continue in office till a final decision is taken on the matter.
Abdullah had formally submitted his resignation to Vohra, hours after a senior PDP leader had alleged in the State Assembly that Abdullah was involved in the sex scandal.
PDP leader and former Deputy Chief Minister Muzaffar Beigh levelled the allegation that Abdullah was involved. Beigh even traded charges with Farooq Abdullah during a heated television debate on Tuesday night.
Beigh said he had list of names who were involved in the scandal and Abdullah was listed as number 102.
The sex scandal surfaced in 2006 with the arrest of a woman, Sabina, who allegedly claimed during her interrogation that she used to send girls, including minors to politicians, senior policemen and bureaucrats.
Among the 17 people chargesheeted by the CBI are G A Mir and Raman Mattoo, both ministers in the then PDP-led Government, and Mohammed Iqbal Khandey, former Principle Secretary to the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed.
Chaos Reigns in J&K Assembly for 3rd Straight Day was first posted on July 29, 2009 at 5:14 pm.
