Terrorism

FBI Discusses Patriot Powers

A meeting with the FBI director yesterday did little to sway privacy advocates from their resolve to curb agents’ power to obtain certain records without a court order. FBI Director Robert Mueller spent two hours with critics to discuss new guidelines governing National Security Letters, used by his agency to…

Jul 10, 2007 8:26 PM CDT

UK Bomb Plot Jury Deadlocked

A jury has failed to reach a verdict against two remaining defendants in a failed plot to bomb London’s subways. The jury convicted four of the six defendants of conspiracy to murder on Monday, but remained deadlocked on the other two after deliberating two more hours today, the Associated Press…

Jul 10, 2007 4:38 PM CDT

AG Overlooked Reported Violations

U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified two years ago that the FBI had not abused its investigative powers under the USA Patriot Act even though he had received several reports of improper surveillance by the agency, the Washington Post reports. Gonzales had received at least six reports of procedural or…

Jul 10, 2007 3:15 PM CDT

Gitmo Panel Faces Likely Challenge

Two members of a special review panel to hear appeals in Guantanamo detainee cases had helped the Defense Department draft prior rules for military commissions struck down by the U.S. Supreme Court. Former Attorney General Griffin Bell and former Transportation Secretary William Coleman helped draft the overturned rules, and Coleman…

Jul 9, 2007 8:24 PM CDT

N.Y.P.D. Will be Watching

New York is installing a surveillance system designed to capture terrorists that rivals the one used in London. The city plans to install more than 100 live-transmission cameras by the end of the year and 2,900 more by the time the $90 million project is complete, the New York Times…

Jul 9, 2007 3:30 PM CDT

ACLU Wiretap Suit Dismissed

Updated: A federal appeals court has ruled in a 2-1 decision that the American Civil Liberties Union and other plaintiffs lack standing to challenge warrantless wiretaps in terrorism cases. Today’s opinion by the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacates a lower court decision that had held the surveillance…

Jul 6, 2007 5:38 PM CDT

UK Web Jihad Case Linked to US Fraud

Most Americans probably don’t think they have a personal link to a terrorism case that resulted in lengthy prison terms today for three London residents who ran Web sites promoting al-Qaida. But many might well be wrong about that. The three convicted terrorists funded their operations through Internet identity theft…

Jul 5, 2007 11:50 PM CDT

Jihadist Jailed for Internet Use in UK

Updated: A self-proclaimed jihadist has been jailed in Britain, along with two accomplices, based solely on his use of the Internet, in the first such terrorism case. A 10-year prison term was imposed today on Younis Tsouli, 23, a Moroccan-born resident of London, for inciting others to commit terrorism, reports…

Jul 5, 2007 9:48 PM CDT

Justice Targets Export Law Violations

Companies that ship products abroad in violation of U.S. export laws could find themselves in the sights of a new amped-up Justice Department enforcement program. Billed as a crucial component of the war on terrorism, it seeks to prevent American technology from being stolen by foreign companies. Technology thefts are…

Jul 5, 2007 6:39 PM CDT

Report: Rape Used as Weapon in Sudan

A government-backed militia is systematically using rape as a method of so-called ethnic cleansing in the Darfur region of western Sudan, a report by a humanitarian group says. The Janjaweed militia can do so with impunity due to hostility to rape claims by local police and the difficulty of providing…

Jul 4, 2007 1:18 AM CDT

6 Docs, 1 Med Student in UK Bomb Case

Updated: It’s now official: a total of six doctors, plus a medical student, plus a spouse who worked as a medical assistant are being held as suspects in the United Kingdom car bombing case. As ABAJournal.com reported yesterday, it’s unusual for highly educated professionals to be suspected in such a…

Jul 3, 2007 9:25 PM CDT

Khadr, 20, Starts 6th Year at Gitmo Jail

Although he scored a big legal victory June 4, when the U.S. government–at least for now–was told by a military court that its terrorism charges against him are invalid, Omar Khadr’s day-to-day situation is still the same. Held since he was 15 years old at the U.S. military prison at…

Jul 3, 2007 5:37 PM CDT

Justices Court Kennedy

Supreme Court litigators often play to swing justices, crafting arguments designed to appeal to those whose votes will make a difference. Some justices appear to be learning the same lesson, aiming for the support of Anthony M. Kennedy, the justice in the middle, Linda Greenhouse writes in her Supreme Court…

Jul 3, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

Bill Would Transfer Detainees

The administration is discussing legislation that would move some Guantanamo detainees to military brigs on American soil where they would be held indefinitely. The idea is gaining support despite fears that legal challenges by detainees moved here will hamper the fight against terrorism, the New York Times reports. Aides are…

Jul 3, 2007 4:38 PM CDT

5 or 6 Doctors in UK Car Bomb Case?

Defying the stereotype that those involved in terrorist acts are often uneducated, at least five doctors may be among the eight suspects now being held in an alleged plot to blow up cars in London and Glasgow, Scotland. Only two of the suspects have been identified by authorities as physicians,…

Jul 3, 2007 1:47 AM CDT