Law Enforcement

Cage director banned from entering Switzerland to address meeting at UN Muhammad Rabbani held overnight after being stopped at Geneva Airport in latest incident which he says is a consequence of France adding his name to a European no-entry database

(Middle East Eye) Border authorities in Switzerland have stopped the director of a UK-based human rights group from entering the country to address a meeting at the United Nations office in Geneva “after a request from France.” Posting on social media on […]

Law Enforcement

Man accused of leading 9/11 plot was denied a lawyer, then confessed The confession at issue in the case came after the accused mastermind asked about a lawyer. He would not get to see one for 15 more months.

(NY Times) Prosecutors called a retired F.B.I. agent this week to testify that the man who is accused of orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks freely discussed the deadly hijacking plot during four days of questioning in January 2007. In doing so, the […]

Health & Medicine

9/11 defendant not fit for death-penalty trial, judge rules A military mental health panel said that Ramzi bin al-Shibh had PTSD, psychosis and delusions, which his lawyer blamed on his torture by the C.I.A.

(NY Times) A military judge ruled on Thursday that a defendant in the Sept. 11 case who was tortured by the C.I.A. was ineligible for a death-penalty trial, adopting a finding that the prisoner was too psychologically damaged to help defend himself. […]

Government & Politics

Biden rejects proposed conditions for plea deals in Sept. 11 case Five Guantánamo detainees accused of aiding the attacks wanted a promise of care for torture-related trauma and to avoid solitary confinement.

(NY Times) President Biden has rejected a list of proposed conditions sought by the five men who are accused of conspiring in the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in exchange for pleading guilty and receiving a maximum punishment of life in prison, […]

Health & Medicine

Man accused in 9/11 plot is not fit to face trial, board says The question of Ramzi bin al-Shibh’s sanity has shadowed the case since he first appeared at the Guantánamo court in 2008. A new medical panel report says he has a mental illness making him incompetent for trial.

(NY Times) A military medical board has concluded that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, who is accused of conspiring in the Sept. 11 attacks, has a mental illness that makes him incompetent to either face trial or plead guilty in the death penalty case, […]

Legal

The ‘Shoe Bomber’ testified for him. He was acquitted of terror charges Nizar Trabelsi, a former professional soccer player in Germany, was arrested just after the Sept. 11, 2001, attack and accused of plotting to kill Americans in Europe

(Washington Post) The British man who tried to blow up a flight from Paris to Miami over 20 years ago spoke publicly last month for the first time, testifying under oath in federal court. His arms and legs were shackled as he […]

Arts & Entertainment

Bill Maher roasts ‘insane’ liberals for not calling out Islamic extremism The HBO host blasted 'the people who are purporting to uphold liberalism' for staying quiet on the issue

(Fox) Bill Maher used his “Club Random” podcast on Monday to slam those who will not defend free speech, hammering fellow liberals as “insane” and “backwards” for failing to call out Islamic extremism. Maher had evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins as a guest, […]

Discrimination & “Islamophobia”

Ron DeSantis: Republican rising star alarms Muslim, Palestinian communities As the Florida governor positions himself for a possible presidential bid, activists and organisers say DeSantis reminds them of bigoted rhetoric birthed in US-led 'war on terror'

(Middle East Eye) In 2006, then-Navy officer Ron DeSantis was an appointed attorney supporting the US military’s mission at Guantanamo Bay. Not much is officially known about his months-long stint at the prison, which at its peak held nearly 800 Muslim men […]

Academics & Education

Home Office accuses UK Muslim student group of acting ‘dangerously and irresponsibly’ Federation of Student Islamic Societies plans to host anti-counter-extremism university tour

(National-UAE) A British Muslim student group has been accused of acting “dangerously and irresponsibly” by the government for hosting an anti-counter-extremism university tour. The Federation of Student Islamic Societies (Fosis) is hosting a tour of seven universities, including three Russell Group institutions, […]

Government & Politics

Former Guantanamo detainee explains why he’s suing Canada Mohamedou Ould Slahi is suing the Canadian government for $28m over its alleged role in wrongly sending him to Guantanamo Bay

(Middle East Eye) Mohamedou Ould Slahi hoped his release from Guantanamo in 2016 would mark a new stage in his life, one where he could finally live freely after decades of imprisonment and torture. But years later, without a passport and the ability to […]

Government & Politics

French government calls UK advocacy group Cage ‘Islamist militants’ Anti-radicalisation body accuses organisation of supporting terrorists and seeking to smear France

(National-UAE) UK advocacy group Cage, which has a focus on Muslim detainees, has been labelled “Islamist militants” by the French government’s anti-radicalisation body. The Interministerial Committee for the Prevention of Delinquency and Radicalisation has published nine tweets accusing Cage, founded by former […]

Government & Politics

Ex-Guantanamo detainee sues Canada over 14-year ordeal of detention and torture Mohamedou Ould Slahi, a Mauritanian who lived briefly in Montreal, was haunted by a phone call asking for 'tea and sugar,' which interrogators claimed was code.

(Toronto Star) A former Guantanamo detainee, whose story of detention and torture was featured in a best-selling memoir and Hollywood film, is going to court to try to force the Canadian government to reveal its role in his ordeal. Mohamedou Ould Slahi, […]

Law Enforcement

9/11: 20 years on, Germany still grapples with militant Islamists On the 20th anniversary of 9/11, the Taliban flag is flying over Kabul again. A German police expert fears that Afghanistan could once again become a gathering place for jihadis — including from Germany.

(Deutsche Welle) Sven Kurenbach still remembers the images of the twin towers of the World Trade Center collapsing and the spontaneous minute of silence at the Berlin police department that followed. When Islamist terrorists weaponized passenger planes on September 11, 2001 — killing […]