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Terrorist Can Sue Over Alleged Torture – Judge Rules

Posted: 13 Jun 2009 05:36 PM PDT

A convicted terrorist can sue a former Bush administration
lawyer for drafting the legal theories that led to his alleged torture,
ruled a federal judge has ruled who said he was trying to balance a clash
between war and the defense of personal freedoms.

The order by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White of San Francisco
is the first time a government lawyer has been held potentially liable for
the abuse of detainees.

White refused to dismiss Jose Padilla’s lawsuit against former
senior Justice Department official John Yoo on Friday. Yoo wrote memos on
interrogation, detention and presidential powers for the department’s
Office of Legal Counsel from 2001 to 2003.

Padilla, 38, is serving a 17-year sentence on terror charges.
He claims he was tortured while being held nearly four years as a
suspected terrorist.

White ruled Padilla may be able to prove that Yoo’s memos “set
in motion a series of events that resulted in the deprivation of Padilla’s
constitutional rights.”

“Like any other government official, government lawyers are
responsible for the foreseeable consequences of their conduct,” wrote
White, a Bush appointee.

Yoo did not return telephone and e-mail messages Saturday.

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Mousavi, Ahmadinejads Rival Arrested Amid Iran Rioting

Posted: 13 Jun 2009 03:21 PM PDT

Iranian presidential candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi was
reportedly arrested Saturday following the reformist’s defeat at the polls
by hardliner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Supporters of Mousavi, the main
challenger to Ahmadinejad, have responded to the election with the most
serious unrest in Tehran in a decade and claim that the result was the
work of a dictatorship.

There have been a number of contradictory reports from Iran, in
large part due to the heavy restrictions imposed on the media in the
Islamic Republic and in particular on foreign reporters.

Mousavi’s arrest was reported by an unofficial source, who said
that the presidential contender had been arrested en route to the home of
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Pro-reform Mousavi has
denounced the election as rigged and vowed he will not accept defeat. He
and key aides could not be reached by phone Saturday.

Several hundred demonstrators – many wearing the trademark
green colors of Mousavi’s campaign – chanted “the government lied to the
people” and gathered near the Interior Ministry as the final count from
Friday’s presidential election was announced.

As night fell Saturday, the rioting and fires continued on the
streets of Tehran. The city’s cell phone network appeared to be down
Saturday night. When users tried to call cell phones, a message appeared
saying error in connection. There were also reports of difficulties
accessing social networking sites – used by Mousavi to rally
supporters.

Iran Riot Updates

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Adam Gadahn American al Qaeda In New Video

Posted: 13 Jun 2009 01:30 PM PDT

In a new anti-Israel, anti-U.S. video, an American al Qaeda
member makes reference to his Jewish ancestry for the first time in an
official al Qaeda message.

In the video, Adam Yahiye Gadahn, also known as Azzam the
American, discusses his roots as he castigates U.S. policies and deplores
Israel’s offensive in Gaza that started in late December 2008 and
continued into January.

“Let me here tell you something about myself and my biography,
in which there is a benefit and a lesson,” Gadahn says, as he elicits
support from his fellow Muslims for “our weapons, funds and Jihad against
the Jews and their allies everywhere.”

“Your speaker has Jews in his ancestry, the last of whom was
his grandfather,” he says.

[...]

The video in which Gadahn speaks Arabic, with English subtitles
— surfaced on Saturday. This account is based on an English transcript
provided by As-Sahab Media, the media production company used by al
Qaeda.

Gadahn’s Jewish ancestry has been reported in the news media.
But terrorism analyst Laura Mansfield says it is the first time Gadahn
acknowledged his Jewish ancestry in an official al Qaeda message.

Gadahn says his grandfather was a “Zionist” and “a zealous
supporter of the usurper entity, and a prominent member of a number of
Zionist hate organizations.”

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