HLP v. PATRIOT ACT

Humanitarian Law Project, et al. v. Ashcroft is a case filed on behalf of the Humanitarian Law Project and several Tamil-American organizations with the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles. It challenges the United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act (USA Patriot Act), claiming it is vague and overbroad and that it violates their First and Fifth Amendment rights.

The attached brief was filed January, 2008, in the appeal from Judge Collins’ decision in Humanitarian Law Project v. Dept. of the Treasury, our challenge to the restrictions on association with PKK and LTTE created by Executive Order 13224 (issued just after 9/11), the Global Terrorism Sanctions Regulations, and the IEEPA statute.

Judge Collins issued a ruling against us on most grounds on November 27, 2006, and this appeal goes to the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the same court that last month affirmed our partial victory before Judge Collins in Humanitarian Law Project v. Mukasey (the latest round in our ongoing challenge to the “material support” statute).

Read brief.

See also Humanitarian Law Project, et al. v. Mukasey, HLP, et al. v. Gonzales, and HLP, et al. v. Ashcroft (Center for Constitutional Rights).

• Judge Strikes Down Bush on Terror Groups
• HLP Challenges USA Patriot Act in Federal Court
• Key Patriot Act provision ruled unconstitutional

CRISIS IN DARFUR

In 2007 Humanitarian Law Project board member, David Lynn, drawing from past HLP efforts, embarked on a mission to explore the viability of providing accompaniment delegations for the refugees fleeing Darfur to the camps in Chad. David video-chronicled his experience in The Face of Genocide, narrated by David and Mia Farrow, human rights activist, actress and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Most of the violence resulting in the deaths of an estimated 300,000, is attributed to the Janjaweed, an Arab militia allied with the Arab-dominated government of Sudan. Responding to discrimination and human rights abuses, ethnic African rebel groups took up arms in 2003 against the government. Between two and three million civilians have been displaced and have fled to other parts of Sudan and more than 250,000 to neighboring countries, mostly to Chad.

The images on the news and in The Face of Genocide evoke outrage at the scope and depth of the daily tragedy plaguing Darfur. Peace talks and efforts at the U.N. ebb and flow, with no end to the crisis in sight. Mia Farrow says, “Personally, I think there should be a permanent U.N. Force. U.N. Resolution 1706 provided for 22,700 U.N. peacekeepers and was passed with a robust Chapter Seven mandate without requiring the government’s consent but it did require the political will to go against the government.” Due to various obstacles, the full deployment of the peacekeeping force will probably be delayed until 2009.

David Lynn sums it up best: “To do nothing concerning the crisis in Darfur and Eastern Chad, makes us all accomplices. The world has simply watched as hundreds of thousands were murdered, raped and mutilated. Today, millions more remain vulnerable to ongoing violence and are teetering on the brink of starvation. What are you going to do about it? We encourage you to view the video, The Face of Genocide, and visit www.miafarrow.org to find out how to get directly involved in bringing hope and resources to the refugees in Darfur and Eastern Chad and ending the genocide that continues on our watch.”

THE ROAD TO BAGHDAD

When HLP Board member spent two months in Iraq during the intense bombing of that country, it brought his personal saga as a Viet Nam veteran full circle. His account which can be found on the HLP website, describes not only the devastation of 2003, but portends the over 4,000 deaths of U.S. soldiers, countless Iraqi civilians and the shattered lives of those who survive.

By David Lynn The air is thick, like a heavy mist embedding in your clothing and skin, invading all senses through your nose and mouth, a smell and nauseous taste that spins you around into bouts of gagging and gut-wrenching dry heaves. Once you have experienced it, it dwells in your psyche until your next encounter. The second time you are assaulted by it, no matter how slight or brief, instantly you know death is near. The scent of rotting flesh, whether from the dead and lifeless body of a soldier, innocent civilian, man, woman or child, invades and then eternalizes itself within your senses and forever becomes a part of who you are. ...Continued...click here

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