They kept him in a small cell, barely the size of a bathroom. There was one window, painted black to prevent natural light from coming in, a concrete bed, toilet, and sink. He was under 24 hours video surveillance, and 23 hours of solitary confinement. This is where he slept, ate, prayed if they allowed it, and relieved himself. These were the Special Administrative Measures (SAMs) that Syed Fahad Hashmi, then 27, was placed under for three years before he was convicted of any crime. After September 11, many such Americans have faced similar cases. In October, a two-day conference and talk held at Brooklyn College and the City University of New York discussed several of these trials and detentions marked by inhumanity and injustice.

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Guantanamo at Home: The horrifying case of Syed Fahad Hashimi

DAMASCUS, Syria — In the two-month-long uprising against Syrian authorities, the southern town of Daraa has been at the heart of the unrest, and the inspiration for many other Syrians as protests have spread across the country. But Daraa’s defiance has come with a cost: Civilians who have fled the town in the past week described scenes of terror, with arbitrary detentions and snipers on rooftops. One young man, Mohammed, said he walked 13 miles through forests Tuesday to evade capture after his parents were arrested by security forces. He feared that if he did not leave Daraa, he would be next. Read full article > >

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Residents fleeing Syrian town tell of arrests, terror

Activists describe a campaign of intimidation, with arbitrary detentions, particularly in Dara’a and near the capital.

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In Syria, Reports of Arrests Proliferate

Immigration enforcement in the United States is plagued by unjust treatment of detainees, including inadequate access to lawyers and insufficient medical care, and by the excessive use of prison-style detention, the human rights arm of the Organization of American States said Thursday. read more

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Immigrant Detentions Draw International Fire

The Ghailani prosecution illustrates the risk of giving terrorists a fair trial.

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Ghailani verdict makes stronger case for military detentions

American soldiers in Afghanistan capture a Taliban fighter who has launched a rocket-propelled grenade at them. Few people would think that the only answer is to bring him to the United States for a criminal trial. The military’s primary battlefield mission is not collecting evidence for…

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Terror detentions deserve time limits