|
International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
Coalition pour la surveillance internationale des libertés civiles
July 19, 2025 - 19 juillet 2025
| |
Community Forum on Bill C-2, the Strong Borders Act
| |
TNG + KBCLS 10/07/2025 - Bill C-2, known as the “Strong Borders Act”, is a piece of legislation which the Canadian government says is meant to enhance border security, combat transnational crime, and strengthen the integrity of Canada’s immigration system. The bill proposes amendments to various acts, including the Customs Act, the Coast Guard mandate, and the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act, granting new powers to law enforcement and border officials.
The Canadian Council for Refugees says:
Under the guise of a bill that claims to make Canada safer, the government is introducing sweeping legislative changes that will seriously weaken refugee rights and are inconsistent with our obligations under the Canadian Charter and international law.
The International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group says:
Many aspects of the bill have little to nothing to do with “securing the border,” and many aspects that do relate to the border present a significant threat to human rights and civil liberties. It is clear that, under the guise of addressing border security and placating the Trump administration, the government is seeking unrelated powers that they have unsuccessfully attempted to obtain in the past, and which will have wide-ranging negative impacts.
PLEASE JOIN US ON WEDNESDAY, JULY 23 1:30 PM ET ON ZOOM
Please register here to receive the Zoom link to participate in this online event.
Featured Speakers:
- Lee Tenenhouse, Immigration Lawyer, Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services
- Tim McSorley, National Coordinator, International Civil Liberties Monitoring Group
- Syed Hussan, Executive Director, Migrant Workers Alliance for Change
Presentations will be followed by a Discussion Moderated by
Elsie Dickson, Director of Legal Services, Kensington-Bellwoods Community Legal Services Source
ICLMG in the media on Bill C-2
Petra Molnar: The Great White North: Canada’s New Border Bill Appeases the Trump Administration
Michael Geist: Why Bill C-2 Faces a Likely Constitutional Challenge By Placing Solicitor-Client Privilege at Risk
Alexandre Popovic : L’État canadien veut connaître tous nos secrets. Et les rendre accessibles aux services secrets qui ont tant à cacher.
ACTION Stop Bill C-2 and protect our rights!
NEW Stop Carney’s Surveillance Plan: Stop Bill C-2!
NEW Retirer le projet de loi C-2 - protégez le droit de demander l'asile
| | Canada must end its complicity in torture! | |
ICLMG 26/06/2025 - June 26th is the United Nations’ International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. In recognition of this day, ICLMG has sent three letters to three ministers of the new federal government calling on them to stop the Canadian government’s complicity in torture:
-
A letter to the new Minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree, calling on him to stop the deportation to torture proceedings against Mohamed Harkat once and for all.
-
A letter to the new Minister of Foreign Affairs, Anita Anand, calling on her to repatriate all Canadians detained in northeast Syria in life-threatening conditions akin to torture.
-
A letter to the new Minister of Justice, Sean Fraser, and the new Prime Minister, Mark Carney, calling on them to settle the lawsuit to the satisfaction of Abousfian Abdelrazik and provide redress for Canada’s role in his torture.
Please join us in taking the two following actions:
+ Stop Mohamed Harkat’s deportation to torture
+ Canada must repatriate all Canadians detained in NE Syria now!
Please take action even if you have done so in the past as these messages will be sent to new ministers and MPs who might be unfamiliar with the cases. Source
Please share on Instagram + Bluesky + Twitter + Facebook
| | Amnesty International Canada: Action must follow Canada’s tone shift on Gaza | |
Hill Times 09/07/2025 - In May, Canada made its strongest statement yet against Israel’s ruthless siege of Gaza.
In a joint letter with the United Kingdom and France, the Canadian government said it “will take further concrete actions” if the Israeli government does not halt its military assault on Gaza and lift restrictions on humanitarian aid. The letter also threatened sanctions in response to further attempts to expand illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
The shift in tone—paired with Canada’s decision to freeze assets and impose travel bans on two Israeli cabinet members for inciting violence against Palestinians in the West Bank—suggests that Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government may be more emboldened than its predecessor to defend the lives and rights of Palestinians in Gaza.
These were encouraging signs, if painfully overdue. However, vague threats and half measures will do little for two million Gazans at imminent risk of destruction and starvation—a risk now obscured by Israel-Iran hostilities. Canada must do more now to protect Palestinians’ rights, starting with a full ban on the transfer of military equipment to Israel.
Announced in 2024, Canada’s partial ban on arms transfers to Israel does not go far enough to meet our obligations under the Genocide Convention, nor to ensure that Canadian-made military technology is not used to commit war crimes in Gaza. Canada has not cancelled all of its existing arms-sales permits to Israel, nor has it fully prohibited Canadian-made arms or weapons components from being exported to Israel via a third party such as the United States.
Along with an arms embargo, trade is one of the most powerful tools Canada possesses to pressure allies who violate international law. If the Carney government’s new tone reflects a willingness to act, it will follow the lead of the European Union, which voted to review its trade agreement with Israel. Ottawa can draw inspiration from another long-time Israel ally, the U.K., which suspended trade talks with Israel just hours after the Canada-France-U.K. missive was released on May 19.
The need for Canada and its allies to put action behind words could not be more urgent. In December 2024, Amnesty International determined that Israel’s military campaign in Gaza—marked by the indiscriminate killing of civilians, the denial of basic supplies such as clean water and electricity, and the destruction of civilian infrastructure including health-care facilities and schools—meets the legal definition of genocide.
Seven months later, the evidence of genocide continues to mount after Israel imposed a full blockade preventing independent humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. Evidence gathered by Amnesty International demonstrates how—since the launch of its militarized “aid” distribution system in May—Israel has continued to use starvation of civilians as a weapon of war against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. On multiple occasions, Israel Defense Forces soldiers have also opened fire on the crowds, killing dozens of people, and creating a booby trap for desperate and already starved Palestinians.
In total, according to the United Nations, the Israel-Hamas war has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, including more than 3,900 Gazans since mid-March when a ceasefire broke down.
To date, Canada has not publicly acknowledged that a genocide is taking place. In a televised election debate this past April, Carney said that he would not use the term genocide in reference to Gaza, lest it “politicize the situation.” Contrary to his stated objective, Carney’s remarks did politicize the determination of genocide, which has a strict definition under international law.
Canada’s timidity on the genocide question stands in contrast to its duty to prevent atrocity crimes wherever they occur. The Genocide Convention, to which Canada is a party, is not optional. It requires states to act—decisively and without delay—whenever a serious risk of genocide exists.
It’s too early to tell whether the Canadian government’s May statement signals a meaningful shift toward a “human rights first” approach to Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Either way, history will judge Canada’s response over Gaza.
It will not be enough to point to statements of concern, or empty ultimatums. Immediately strengthening our arms embargo on Israel, imposing trade restrictions, and recognizing that Israel is waging genocide in Gaza will demonstrate that Canada is serious about protecting Palestinian lives and upholding its human rights obligations under international law. Source
Carney Must Denounce Israel’s Plan for Gaza Concentration Camps: CJPME
Anyone who doesn’t go to the concentration camp will be “eliminated”
Nearly 100,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza amid Israeli war: Haaretz
Gaza: Evidence points to Israel’s continued use of starvation to inflict genocide against Palestinians
NEW Parliamentary petition to urgently deploy peacekeeping forces to Gaza
NEW Send a mandate letter to your MP and key Ministers demanding an Arms Embargo Now
Mark Carney should have condemned the US attack on Iran
Canada refuses to support the International Criminal Court on two consecutive occasions
Canada Authorized $37.2 Million In New Military Exports To Israel
NEW Ottawa protest: We stand with Gaza, Sat July 19, 2PM, Marion Dewar Plaza
Unifor letter to Prime Minister Carney Re: Urgent Canadian intervention to end the genocide in Palestine
NEW Online event: Hot Cargo and Labour’s Fight for Justice in Palestine, July 20, 1PM ET
| | Palestinian Canadians launch sit-ins over visa delays for families trapped in Gaza | |
The Toronto Star 16/07/2025 - Palestinian Canadians and supporters have launched weekly sit-ins at federal immigration department offices, asking Ottawa to expedite the temporary admission of their loved ones from the almost 21-month-old war in Gaza.
On Tuesday, about 70 people gathered in front of the immigration outpost near Milner and Progress avenues in Scarborough, demanding a meeting with Immigration Minister Lena Diab, who they said has not responded to their request.
The Toronto event under a heat warning was one of five sit-ins organized across Canada; the others are in Hamilton, Halifax, Ottawa and Vancouver, They follow months of protests and demonstrations held by the community to ask the government to expedite the processing of temporary visas for displaced Gazans.
Two months after war started between Hamas and Israel in October 2023, Ottawa announced the special measures to help displaced Palestinians with connections to Canadians to seek refuge. But Raed Hamdan, an organizer of the Toronto rally, said the processing has moved at a glacial pace and more people are being killed or die of hunger every day as the war wears on.
“The government is not putting a lot of effort into evacuating our families,” said Hamdan, whose widowed sister-in-law and three orphaned nephews — ages five, eight and 12 — have been stuck in Egypt awaiting a security clearance from Canada since Jan. 17, 2024. His two other brothers and their families managed to get their security clearance, but cannot leave Gaza.
“It makes no sense. We are also losing family members while they are waiting for their Canadian visas in Gaza,” added the Toronto resident, a Canadian citizen, with supporters behind him chanting “Do what’s right. Reunite.”
People at the rally also carried signs that said “DELAY=DEATH” and “They fled war. Now they face silence.” As of June, the Gaza Health Ministry said the Palestinian death toll from the Israel-Hamas war already surpassed 55,000. On Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led militants attacked Israel, killing about 1,200 people, mainly civilians, and taking about 250 people hostage.
David Wall, an ally at the Toronto sit-in, accused Ottawa of a double standard in offering refuge for displaced Gazan Palestinians and Ukrainians as part of its response to both crises. “It’s great that there’s people in the war zone and you help them by giving them temporary resident visas,” said Wall, a member of the United Jewish People’s Order.
“Imagine how desperate you’d be if your grandkids or your brother or your sister were stuck in Gaza, and your hands are tied, you can’t do anything. It’s horrible. They need to speed up the process.” As of July 1, the Immigration Department said 1,213 Gazan temporary visa applicants who exited Gaza were able to submit biometrics and complete their application, and have been approved to come to Canada; 861 of them have arrived.
Hamdan, a member of the group Gaza Families, said Canadian officials need to be transparent to applicants in reporting application status, processing timelines and evacuation numbers.
“Movement out of Gaza remains the biggest challenge affecting how quickly we can help Gazans reunite with their family in Canada,” an Immigration Department spokesperson told the Star. “Canada continues to put forward names of people who passed preliminary eligibility and admissibility reviews to local authorities for approval but does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza.” Source
Palestinian students say visa delays have stranded them despite admission to Canadian schools
UPDATED Keep Calling Until They Come to Canada: Save Gaza Moms Doaa and Nariman, Reunite These Kids
| | Spy agency says it 'improperly' shared Canadians' data with international partners | |
CBC 21/06/2025 - One of Canada's intelligence agencies says it "improperly" shared information about Canadians that it had obtained "incidentally" with international partners.
The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) shared some details about the incident after the intelligence commissioner — the quasi-judicial position that reviews the cyber spy agency's activities — flagged the case in his annual report tabled in Parliament earlier this week.
CSE spokesperson Janny Bender Asselin told CBC News that last year the agency had to notify the defence minister "of an incident where CSE improperly shared information."
"CSE identified an activity where, between 2020 and 2023, we shared some information with international partners without properly removing Canadian information that had been acquired incidentally when targeting valid foreign intelligence targets," she said. [...]
CSE did not say how many Canadians were impacted or to which countries the information was shared, citing operational security. Details were shared with Intelligence Commissioner Simon Noël, who raised it in his recently published report. The commissioner is part of the chain of approval before CSE and its sister agency, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS), can go ahead with certain intelligence-gathering and cybersecurity activities.
CSE first needs to seek permission from the minister of defence — known as ministerial authorization — if the proposed action would otherwise break the law or potentially infringe on the privacy interests of Canadians. Under the law, ministerial authorizations must prove the activities are reasonable, necessary and that measures are in place to protect Canadians' privacy.
The intelligence commissioner then provides a layer of oversight and either signs off on the mission, approves with conditions or denies the request outright. Noël also makes sure CSE remains compliant after receiving the green light and sticks to what was approved — which was not the case in this information-sharing matter. The commissioner's report doesn't include many details, citing national security.
The case will be included in CSE's own annual report, which is expected later this month, said Asselin.
Noël's report said he urged the intelligence agency to be as transparent about the incident as possible.
It doesn't appear the individuals involved were alerted, although CSE said it reported the incident to its oversight and review bodies, including the Office of the Privacy Commissioner.
"The disclosure of this incident involving CSE raises many serious concerns," said Matt Malone, director of the Canadian Internet Policy and Public Interest Clinic. The University of Ottawa professor said the findings justify many of the fears raised by civil society groups about the potential for inappropriate information-sharing in the Liberal government's cybersecurity bill. The first iteration of the bill died when the House prorogued earlier this year, and it was reintroduced by Prime Minister Mark Carney's government as Bill C-8.
If passed, federally regulated industries would have to report cybersecurity incidents to CSE, meaning it would be in possession of more information. All of this bodes very poorly for the state of privacy protection in Canada," Malone said. "Three of the eight government bills introduced so far in this Parliament are extremely privacy-corrosive."
In 2024, the information commissioner received 13 ministerial authorizations for review — seven relating to CSE activities and six relating to CSIS activities. He approved the activities in 11 authorizations, approved the activities with conditions in one authorization and partially approved the activities in the other authorization. Read more - Lire plus
| | Manufacturing the Threat - A must-see documentary | |
TVO docs 10/07/2025 - Manufacturing the Threat is a thrilling and emotional film, which examines a deeply disturbing episode in Canadian history, when an impoverished couple was coerced by undercover law enforcement agents into carrying out a terrorist bombing. Further, viewers learn that this case is far from unique in the context of Canadian intelligence. This film was directed by Amy Miller and is inspired by the book “Produire la menace” written by Alexandre Popovic.
Federal Court says RCMP must hand over solicitor-client information in terror plot case
| |
30 States announce unprecedented measures to halt the Gaza genocide at Bogotá conference | |
Progressive International 16/07/2025 - In the most ambitious multilateral action since the start of Gaza genocide 21 months ago, a coalition of cross-regional states gathered in Bogotá has agreed to six coordinated diplomatic, legal and economic measures to restrain Israel's assault on the Occupied Palestinian Territories and defend international law at large.
Jointly convened by the governments of Colombia and South Africa as co-chairs, the Emergency Conference of The Hague Group, brought together 30 states from Africa, Asia, Europe, as well as North America and South America to move beyond words of condemnation - and to take collective action grounded in international law.
In the deliberations at the Bogotá conference, all 30 participating states unanimously agreed that the era of impunity must end - and that international law must be enforced without fear or favour through immediate domestic policies and legislation - along with a unified call for an immediate ceasefire.
To kickstart that process, 12 states from across the world - Bolivia, Colombia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iraq, Libya, Malaysia, Namibia, Nicaragua, Oman, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and South Africa - committed to implementing the six measures immediately through their domestic legal and administrative systems to break the ties of complicity with Israel's campaign of devastation in Palestine - and set a date of 20th September, to coincide with the 80th UN General Assembly, for additional states to join them. Consultations with capitals across the world are now ongoing.
"We hereby announce the following measures," the Joint Statement on the Conclusion of the Emergency Ministerial Conference on Palestine reads, "to be adopted based on states' domestic legal and legislative frameworks":
- Prevent the provision or transfer of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel...
- Prevent the transit, docking, and servicing of vessels at any port.... in all cases where there is a clear risk of the vessel being used to carry arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel
- Prevent the carriage of arms, munitions, military fuel, related military equipment, and dual-use items to Israel on vessels bearing our flag... and ensure full accountability, including de-flagging, for non-compliance with this prohibition.
- Commence an urgent review of all public contracts, to prevent public institutions and funds from supporting Israel's illegal occupation of the Palestinian Territory and entrenching its unlawful presence.
- Comply with obligations to ensure accountability for the most serious crimes under international law, through robust, impartial and independent investigations and prosecutions at national or international levels, to ensure justice for all victims and the prevention of future crimes.
- Support universal jurisdiction mandates, as and where applicable in national legal frameworks and judiciaries, to ensure justice for victims of international crimes committed in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
"These 12 states have taken a momentous step forward," said UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese. "The clock is now ticking for states - from Europe to the Arab world and beyond — to join them."
The conference agreed to set a deadline for states' final decisions by September 2025, in line with the 12-month timeframe mandated by United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/RES/ES-10/24, adopted on 18 September 2024.
That resolution called on all states to take effective action on Israel's violations of international law - including accountability, sanctions, and cessation of support - within one year of adoption.
"We came to Bogotá to make history — and we did," said Colombian President Gustavo Petro. "Together, we have begun the work of ending the era of impunity. These measures show that we will no longer allow international law to be treated as optional, or Palestinian life as disposable."
"What we have achieved here is a collective affirmation that no state is above the law," said South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola. "The Hague Group was born to advance international law in an era of impunity. The measures adopted in Bogotá show that we are serious - and that coordinated state action is possible."
"This conference marks a turning point - not just for Palestine, but for the future of the international system," said Varsha Gandikota-Nellutla, Executive Secretary of The Hague Group. "For decades, states - particularly in the Global South - have borne the cost of a broken international system. In Bogotá, they came together to reclaim it - not with words, but with actions. Source
‘Like a video game’: Israel enforcing Gaza evacuations with grenade-firing drones
“From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide”: A Damning Indictment of the Corporate Machinery
‘Combat Propagandists’: The Sick Way in Which Israel Tries to Justify Targeting Journalists
| | Lawyers take EU Commission, Council to court over their ‘failure to act on Gaza genocide’ | |
Anadolu Agency 17/07/2025 - A group of international lawyers from the Association of Jurists for the Respect of International Law (JURDI) filed legal action against the European Commission and European Council at the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in Luxembourg for their serious and prolonged inaction in response to violations of international law in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
On July 17, which coincides with the Day of International Criminal Justice, JURDI lawyers submitted an "action for failure to act" under Article 265 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), a legal provision that allows individuals or groups to challenge EU institutions for not fulfilling their legal obligations.
These obligations include preventing genocide as soon as there is a plausible risk, ending obstacles to the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination, and refraining from recognizing or assisting unlawful situations such as prolonged occupation.
The association also highlighted that continued arms exports to Israel constitute a breach of the Arms Trade Treaty and the EU's own Common Position 2008/944/CFSP, both of which prohibit transfers in the case of clear risk of serious violations, yet several member states have maintained arms deliveries.
This is the first time in EU history that both the Commission and the Council are facing legal proceedings before the CJEU for inaction in the face of alleged international crimes. The move comes two months after a formal letter of notice was sent to both institutions in May, a legal warning that has received no response, according to the group.
JURDI is asking the CJEU to formally acknowledge the EU's failure and to compel its institutions to suspend cooperation with Israel, impose targeted sanctions and uphold their duty of prevention. Read more - Lire plus
Israeli soldiers ‘ordered’ to shoot unarmed Gaza aid seekers: Report
Children queuing for supplements killed in Israeli strike in Gaza, hospital says
Israel limits entry of baby formula in Gaza as infants die of hunger
Oxfam and 240 other NGOs call for immediate action to end the deadly Israeli distribution scheme in Gaza, revert to the existing UN-led coordination mechanisms, and lift the Israeli government’s blockade on aid and commercial supplies
NEW Amnesty International action: Lift the blockade on Gaza and stop the genocide
| | UN experts urged United Kingdom not to misuse terrorism laws against protest group Palestine Action | |
UN 01/07/2025 - UN experts* today urged the United Kingdom not to ban the “direct action” group Palestine Action as a terrorist organisation under the Terrorism Act 2000.
“We are concerned at the unjustified labelling of a political protest movement as ‘terrorist’,” the experts said. “According to international standards, acts of protest that damage property, but are not intended to kill or injure people, should not be treated as terrorism.”
The Government asserts that the group is “terrorist” because some members have allegedly caused criminal damage to property, including at military bases and arms companies, with the aim of progressing its political cause and influencing the Government. Proscription would trigger a range of criminal offences relating to support for the group.
Palestine Action positions itself as a national activist network that promotes civil disobedience and takes direct action against companies and institutions deemed by the group as being used by Israel to violently enforce apartheid, occupation, colonisation and genocide in Palestine.
“While there is no binding definition of terrorism in international law, best practice international standards limit terrorism to criminal acts intended to cause death, serious personal injury or hostage taking, in order to intimidate a population or compel a government or an international organisation to do or to abstain from doing any act,” the experts said.
“The UK supported this approach in voting for Security Council resolution 1566 in 2004,” they said. “Mere property damage, without endangering life, is not sufficiently serious to qualify as terrorism.”
The experts noted that, if national law criminalises property damage as terrorism, as it does in the UK, then it would be good international practice in a democracy to exclude acts of advocacy, protest, dissent or industrial action that do not result in death or serious injury. The Security Council’s Counter-Terrorism Executive Directorate supports this approach.
“Protest actions that are not genuinely ‘terrorist’, but which involve alleged property damage, should be properly investigated as ordinary crimes or other security offences,” they said.
Banning Palestine Action would make criminal offences out of actions relating to the group, including membership, inviting support for it, arranging a meeting in support of it and publicly wearing clothing or carrying articles associated with the group. The experts warned disproportionate penalties of up to 14 years in prison could apply.
“These offences would criminalise legitimate activities by innocent members of the group that do not contribute in any way to property damage by other members, let alone 'terrorism' which, if properly defined, the group has not committed,” they said.
“Individuals could be prosecuted for peacefully exercising their rights to freedom of expression and opinion, assembly, association and participation in political life. This would have a chilling effect on political protest and advocacy generally in relation to defending human rights in Palestine.”
The experts have been in contact with the UK Government in relation to this issue. Source
UK: Banning Palestine Action 'a disturbing legal overreach' by UK Government, Amnesty International UK Chief Executive warns
Palestine Action Is Being Banned Because It’s Effective
UK Constitutional Law Association: The Implications of Widening the Legal Understanding of Terrorism
The Guardian view on proscribing Palestine Action: blurring civil disobedience and terrorism is a dangerous step
UK arrests priest, 83, in sweeping ban on pro-Palestinian activism
Armed police threatened to arrest Kent protester for holding Palestinian flag
Scottish university agreed to monitor students for arms company
NEW Stop the use of counter-terrorism powers against pro-Palestine activists
| | “Ideological Deportation”: AAUP v. Rubio Trial Challenges Trump Crackdown on Pro-Palestine Students | |
DemocracyNow! 09/07/2025 - The first trial in a case challenging the Trump administration’s policy of detaining and deporting international students and professors who participate in pro-Palestinian activism is underway in Boston.
The American Association of University Professors and the Middle East Studies Association brought the lawsuit. Government lawyers tried to get it dismissed, but U.S. District Judge William Young, an 84-year-old Ronald Reagan nominee, ordered a trial, saying it was the “best way to get at truth.”
“Students and faculty all over the country are quite literally terrified about the possibility that their advocacy and expression will lead to detention,” says Jameel Jaffer, director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University and one of the lawyers challenging the Trump administration. “They are terrified that ICE agents will show up at their door any day and take them away.” Read more - Lire plus
The Pipeline From Zionist Lists To ICE Arrests, Revealed
| | ICE Is Planning Mass Extraordinary Renditions | |
Forever Wars 14/07/2025 - AT THE START of this newsletter nearly four years ago, I wrote about how what is widely presumed to be the largest part of the post-9/11 CIA torture program has simply vanished from the historical record. That's the part where the CIA didn't do its own torture, but instead sent people it kidnapped off the streets to countries like Bashar al-Assad's Syria or Moammar Qaddafi's Libya, where their security apparats would do the dirty work. In Italy there was a major court case after the CIA snatched a man known as Abu Omar off the streets of Milan for torture. But in the United States, not even the Senate intelligence committee's torture investigation was able to access agency files on the practice known as extraordinary rendition.
Many of us who track the War on Terror have spent literal decades warning that without accountability for these atrocities, they will recur and intensify. It's one of the main points of REIGN OF TERROR. And now, extraordinary rendition, albeit without the name, is under contemplation by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), with a crucial assist by the Supreme Court. More than a decade after the CIA got away with it, ICE will perform mass extraordinary renditions at scale.
ICE is no stranger to extraordinary rendition. The Venezuelans in the Salvadoran prison CECOT were all victims of extraordinary rendition—the term denotes officials of one country sending people who are citizens of a different country to a third country, where they are not citizens, for detention that operates outside a legal process for their disposition. Separately, in violation of a court order, the Trump administration flew eight people from various countries to the giant military base in Djibouti, en route to South Sudan. In what I think can be understood as a capitulation to the threats of habeas corpus suspension from Stephen Miller—though I hardly discount the prospect that Miller was knocking on an open door—the Supreme Court in June blessed the practice.
CNN, when writing up the court decision, didn't use the term "extraordinary rendition." Instead, its reporters referred to Trump "deporting migrants to countries other than their homeland," as if there was no recent and highly relevant precedent for the practice. The eight men, from Sudan, Laos, Myanmar, Cuba and Vietnam, arrived in South Sudan a week ago Friday. [Also that’s not what the word “deporting” means!—Sam]
On Saturday evening, the Washington Post revealed that ICE is set to act upon the license granted to them by the Court. "Thousands of immigrants" are now considered eligible by ICE for removal to a third country, according to a leaked ICE memo issued Wednesday. It's a sadistically creative weaponization of a long-standing human-rights protection against what's called refoulement, or not sending people back to their country of origin where they would be at risk for persecution or torture. In the hands of ICE Acting Director Todd Lyons, non-refoulement just means you send thousands of people to a completely unfamiliar country, regardless of whether they'd face persecution or torture there.
The Post's reporting here is a valuable public service. I'm grateful for it. But I think it's important to note that the Post's team also did not connect the upcoming mass removals to extraordinary rendition. Such omissions conceal a crucial patrimony for what is about to happen.
We'll never know if mass revelations of CIA extraordinary rendition would have stopped this. ICE is a lawless agency and the Supreme Court has transformed the presidency—then again, codified is a better word, since they didn't do this without a ton of post-World War II history guiding them—into an office above the law. But had there been any actual accountability for extraordinary rendition, the lawyers who signed off on Lyons' memo, or who would/will subsequently have to interpret it, would have had to warn ICE that employees acting upon it would put themselves at risk of prosecution or other adverse consequence.
Instead, because of choices made by people like George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, David Addington, John Yoo, George Tenet, Mike Hayden, Barack "look forward, not back" Obama, Leon Panetta, Liz Cheney and many others—REIGN will sort out for you who did what and proportionately assign blame—we don't inhabit that world. We inhabit a world where ICE will perform extraordinary rendition at scale, and many will act like it's an innovation, rather than a sick recurrence, prompting no one who wielded power to reckon with their role in building this dystopia. Source
Trump Administration Deports Five Men to Eswatini, Expanding Global Gulag in Africa
Trump’s Global Gulag Search Expands to 53 Nations
Flight Manifests Reveal Dozens of Previously Unknown People on Three Deportation Flights to El Salvador
ICE Campaign of Violence Will Lead to More Deaths
ICE Is Using a New Facial Recognition App to Identify People, Leaked Emails Show
Documenting Brutal ICE Tactics in LA Immigration Raids
Federal Agents March Through L.A. Park, Spurring Local Outrage
CBP Agents Can Have Gang Tattoos — as Long as They Cover Them Up
| | |
Jurist News 01/07/2025 - The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Monday ruled that Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractors who designed enhanced interrogation techniques do not fall under the jurisdiction of US federal courts in civil claims.
The three-judge panel unanimously affirmed the dismissal of Abu Zubaydah’s claims against two psychologists who designed enhanced interrogation techniques based on the military’s Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape (SERE) training program. Zubaydah sought damages for suffering torture, using the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), which grants federal courts jurisdiction over civil actions brought by non-US citizens for violations of US treaties and international law.
The central question in the case was whether federal courts have jurisdiction under the Military Commissions Act (MCA), which allows individuals to be tried for violations of the Law of War. The court held that despite their status as contractors, the defendants qualify as government agents under the MCA, and this means that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to hear civil claims against them.
The court found that the two psychologists qualified as government agents because the CIA authorized their conduct and maintained control over their operations. In the court opinion, Judge Anthony Johnstone relied on the Restatement (Third) of Agency, a set of legal interpretations published by the American Law Institute in 2006. Quoting case law, Judge Johnstone wrote:
At common law, “[w]hether an agency relationship exists is for a court to decide based on an assessment of the facts of the relationship” and how the parties define their relationship “is not dispositive.” While “independent contractors are not ordinarily agents,” courts still may find an agency relationship.
The court determined that because Zubaydah was designated as an enemy combatant, and the defendants were considered US agents, the MCA stripped the court of jurisdiction to hear any civil claims.
The ruling marks the latest legal development surrounding Zubaydah’s detention. In 2023, The UK Supreme Court ruled that he can bring claims against UK authorities in English and Welsh courts. In 2022, the US Supreme Court denied Zubaydah’s request for discovery to subpoena CIA contractors involved in his detention, ruling that details of his detainment and interrogation were protected by the state secrets privilege.
Originally designated as a terrorist and al-Qaeda leader, Zubaydah was captured in Pakistan in 2002 and subjected to interrogation tactics including waterboarding, sleep deprivation, and prolonged confinement in coffin-like boxes. Zubaydah’s case has drawn considerable attention due to the nature of his confinement and questions surrounding his actual role in the September 11th attacks. Zubaydah is still held today in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp under the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) Act, a joint resolution passed in 2001 that allows the use of military force against those responsible for the September 11 attacks.
Lawsuits of this nature spring from the 2006 Supreme Court ruling in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, where it was determined that Bush-era military commissions acted in violation of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ) and the Geneva Conventions. Source
Trump Administration Transfers More Immigrants to Guantánamo
On U.N. Torture Day, We Echo Recent Calls by U.S. Lawmakers for the Permanent Closure of All Detention Facilities at Guantánamo
US appeals court throws out 9/11 Guantánamo plea deals, clears path for death penalty cases
Ex-Gitmo detainee will be allowed to testify about alleged torture by former Chicago detective
Case Profile: Mohammed Al-Gubari – Ex Guantanamo Family Man Trapped Between Promises and Exile
Case Profile: Sabri al-Qurashi – From Guantánamo to Kazakhstan: A Life in Limbo
| | “Gator Grift”: Hundreds Caged in Inhumane Conditions with No Due Process at Florida Immigrant Jail | |
DemocracyNow! 15/07/2025 - Florida Democratic Congressmember Maxwell Frost joins us to discuss how he observed horrific conditions in Florida’s new immigration detention jail in the Everglades, known as “Alligator Alcatraz,” when he joined other lawmakers in a visit. “I saw myself in those cages. It was a lot of people my age that looked like me,” says Frost. “The administration is essentially trying to ethnically cleanse the country.” We also speak with a reporter at the Miami Herald, which reports hundreds of detainees at the Everglades immigration prison have no criminal records or charges, contradicting claims by the Trump administration. The newspaper recently published a list of people detained or believed to be detained at the facility, helping families locate their loved ones.
Democratic lawmakers are blasting the horrific conditions in Florida’s new immigration jail in the Everglades, which Republican politicians are calling “Alligator Alcatraz.” After visiting the jail Saturday, the Democratic lawmakers say it should be shut down.
The Miami Herald found hundreds of prisoners at the Everglades prison have no criminal records or charges, contradicting claims by the Trump administration that the people held there are “the worst of the worst.” Meanwhile, critics have called the facility by other names, including “concentration camp,” “internment camp,” “gator grift” — a reference to how the Texas-based company IRG Global Emergency Management gave $10,000 to Florida’s Republican Party just days before it received a no-bid, $1.1 million contract with Florida to, quote, “provide operational support services in support of migration efforts in the state,” unquote. Drop Site News and others report funds from FEMA’s Shelter and Services Program are being used to fund the so-called Alligator Alcatraz jail, estimated to cost at least $608 million.
Florida’s Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier, a longtime ally of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, has been called the mastermind of the jail. The publisher of Florida Politics wrote, quote, “In Uthmeier, DeSantis found his own Stephen Miller,” the far-right immigration hard-liner and White House senior adviser. Attorney General Uthmeier was appointed to that position to replace Ashley Moody, who took the Senate seat of Marco Rubio when he became secretary of state. Meanwhile, Miller has urged politicians in Republican states to build their own versions of Alligator Alcatraz. Read more - Lire plus
| | ‘Shoot them in the leg’: Kenyan president’s anti-protest rhetoric hardens as death toll rises | |
The Guardian 09/07/2025 - Kenya’s president, William Ruto, has ordered police to shoot protesters targeting businesses in the legs, in a sharp intensification of his rhetoric days after 31 people were killed in nationwide anti-government demonstrations.
“They shouldn’t kill them but they should shoot their legs so they break and they can go to hospital on their way to court,” Ruto said in the capital, Nairobi.
In his toughest remarks yet about the wave of protests over economic stagnation, corruption and police brutality that have swept the east African country, he also accused his political opponents of orchestrating the demonstrations and said some of those out on the streets were waging a “war” on the state.
“Those who attack our police, those who attack our security men and women, those who attack our security installations, including police stations, that is a declaration of war, that is terrorism,” he said. “We are going to deal with you firmly. We cannot have a nation that is run by terror. We cannot have a nation that is governed by violence.
In the latest protests, on Monday, Kenyans took to the streets to mark Saba Saba (Seven Seven), the day on 7 July 1990 when Kenyans rose up to demand a return to multiparty democracy after years of autocratic rule under Daniel arap Moi.
Thirty-one people were killed on Monday and 107 injured, according to the state-funded Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, bringing the toll to 51 over the past two months, according to Agence France-Presse.
Unicef condemned the arrest of children during the protests. “Children must be protected from harm at all times and under all circumstances,” the UN agency said.
The demonstrations began in June last year as a youth-led movement against a proposed tax increase, and quickly widened to encompass calls for reform and Ruto’s resignation. The government was forced to withdraw the finance bill that contained the proposed rises, and Ruto dismissed nearly all of his cabinet in an attempt to control the situation.
Police killings and abductions have done little to assuage public anger. The death in police custody last month of a teacher who had reportedly criticised a senior police official on social media, and the police shooting of a man at close range during a subsequent protest, has refocused attention on the security forces. Read more - Lire plus
Kenya using anti-terrorism laws to tame civil protests
| | Hong Kong: National Security Law analysis shows vast majority unjustly arrested | |
Amnesty International 30/06/2025 - More than 80% of people convicted under Hong Kong’s National Security Law (NSL) have been wrongly criminalized and should never have been charged in the first place, according to new research by Amnesty International published on the fifth anniversary of the law being enacted.
The organization’s analysis of 255 individuals targeted under national security legislation in Hong Kong since 30 June 2020 also showed that bail was denied in almost 90% of cases where charges were brought, and that those denied bail were forced to spend an average of 11 months in detention before facing trial.
“Five years after the enactment of the National Security Law, our alarming findings show that the fears we raised about this law in 2020 have been realized. The Hong Kong government must stop using the pretext of ‘national security’ to punish legitimate expression,” Amnesty International’s China Director Sarah Brooks said.
“This draconian law, and the other national security legislation it spawned, has corroded key legal safeguards that once formed the foundation for protecting human rights and the rule of law in Hong Kong. The result has been a devastation of Hongkongers’ ability to express themselves without fear of arrest.”
Amnesty’s briefing paper analyses patterns in arrests, bail decisions and prosecutions under the NSL and other national security legislation. In particular, the research highlights three major concerns: the criminalization of the legitimate exercise of the human right to freedom of expression, the low bail grant rates in these cases, and the de facto long-term incarceration of most accused.
The analysis found that of the 78 concluded cases under the NSL at least 66 (84.6%) involved legitimate expression that should not have been criminalized according to international standards, with no evidence of violent conduct or incitement.
When concluded cases under Article 23 and pre-Article 23 “sedition” offences are also counted, at least 108 out of a total of 127 cases (85%) involved similarly legitimate forms of expression which were unjustly prosecuted. These cases fall well short of the high threshold required for criminalization under international standards.
Meanwhile, according to Amnesty’s data, the courts denied bail in 129 national security cases, or 89% of those in which individuals were charged. Among the 129 cases where bail was denied, the average length of detention was 328 days. Fifty-two cases (40.3%) involved detentions lasting one year or more before trial or a guilty plea.
“In five years, the National Security Law has transformed Hong Kong from a city of tolerance and open debate into a city of repression and self-censorship. Our analysis shows that Hong Kong’s national security framework is not just a flagrant violation of international human rights standards on paper but that authorities misuse it to target opposition voices and foster an environment of fear,” Sarah Brooks said.
“This research demonstrates that the vast majority of those charged with national security offences have acted entirely within their rights. Meanwhile, prosecutors have continued to bring cases under this flawed national security architecture and appealed the rare acquittals awarded by courts. Other governments should step up and use their influence to urgently press the Hong Kong and Chinese authorities to repeal the law.
“In the interim, the Hong Kong government should stop applying national security legislation immediately. At the very least they need to reinstate the presumption of bail in favour of release pending trial. No one should be made to languish in jail simply for exercising their right to freedom of expression.” Read more - Lire plus
Amnesty International: Hong Kong: Appeal hearing in ‘HK 47’ case a pivotal chance to correct mass injustice under National Security Law
Hong Kong's dragnet widens 5 years after national security law
Hong Kong’s new prison rules may curb lawyer and chaplain visits on national security grounds | The Seattle Times
| | Podcast: Security or Surveillance? Climate Activism Under Watch in France: Part 1 “The disaster is here” | |
Are we Europe 23/06/2025 - France presents itself as a global climate leader—but at home, environmental activists are facing increasing repression from the authorities.
In this episode, host Seden Anlar speaks with activists Arthur Grimon and Lea Hobson of Les Soulèvements de la Terre, who share what it’s like to face police raids, surveillance, and accusations of “eco-terrorism” for protesting environmental destruction.
With insights from Amnesty International’s Catrinel Motoc and trauma expert Guido Veronese, we explore how AI surveillance, counterterrorism rhetoric, and repressive laws are reshaping protest—and how this crackdown is affecting activists’ mental health, human rights, and the future of climate resistance in France and beyond. Source
| | Time for Rightsizing: Change is Coming to the UN Counterterrorism System | |
Just Security 20/06/2025 - Diplomats at the United Nations in New York have their 2025 buzzword: “UN80.” It’s a quintessential U.N.-style acronym for the reform process to mark the 80th anniversary of the U.N. system. While it sounds like a planned and virtuous project, in reality it is a hasty restructuring to balance the books. Considering impending budget cuts from the Trump administration, virtually every part of the U.N. system is being asked to make budget reductions of approximately one third of its operating costs. For the U.N.’s counterterrorism system specifically, an area that has experienced a significant infusion of resources over the past few years, 25 years of institutional growth might be coming to an end. This actually could be positive, if done right.
The UN80 process offers an opportunity to shift sprawling counterterrorism structures that have been overwhelmingly weighted towards hard security into a an approach that fits more comfortably with the U.N.’s core purpose: focusing clearly on its core pillars of peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights and humanitarian affairs. Yet, with all reform processes, there are real risks. Namely, talks of mergers, consolidations, reductions, and relocations might lead to the weakening of the wrong parts of the U.N. counterterrorism system. To guard against this, U.N. member States — and U.N. leadership — should carefully balance proposed reforms with three clear tests:
-
Will the changes enable balanced implementation across the four pillars of the U.N.s Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy, the guiding mandate for the U.N.’s counterterrorism system;
-
Is the new offering rooted in international law, including humanitarian law, international human rights law, and respect for the rule of law — in line with the U.N. Charter and recently reiterated by consensus in the body’s Pact for the Future;
-
Is the correct expertise in place to ensure that the counterterrorism work of the U.N. system does not inadvertently support harmful approaches at a national or local level that would negatively impact the U.N.s reputation. Source
| | OTHER NEWS - AUTRES NOUVELLES | | ICLMG ACTIONS DE LA CSILC | |
Canada: Abolish rights-violating terrorist entities list!
| | |
On October 15, 2024, the Canadian government placed the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network on Canada’s terrorist entities list. While ostensibly a tool to protect the safety and security of people in Canada and internationally, the list is an arbitrary political tool that undermines freedom of association, of expression and due process in the courts. Its effectiveness as a national security tool has never been demonstrated in a manner that justifies its use.
Due to these deep flaws, and more, the ICLMG has consistently called for the list to be abolished since the Canadian coalition’s founding in 2002. Please join us in urging the Canadian government to abolish the rights-violating terrorist entities list once and for all. Thank you!
| | CSIS isn't above the law! | | |
In recent years, at least three court decisions revealed the Canadian Security and Intelligence Service (CSIS) engaged in potentially illegal activities and lied to the courts. This is utterly unacceptable, especially given that this is not the first time these serious problems have been raised. CSIS cannot be allowed to act as though they are above the law.
Send a message to the Public Safety Minister demanding that he take immediate action to put an end to this abuse of power and hold those CSIS officers involved accountable. Your message will also be sent to your MP and to the Minister of Justice.
| | Canada must protect Hassan Diab! | | Canada must repatriate all Canadians detained in NE Syria now! | Every day the government fails to bring these Canadians home, it places their lives at risk from disease, malnutrition, violence, and ongoing military conflicts. United Nations officials have even found that the conditions faced by Canadians in prison are akin to torture. Please click below to urge the federal government to repatriate all Canadians illegally and arbitrarily detained in northeast Syria without delay. | | 22 years of fighting deportation to torture: Justice for Mohamed Harkat Now! | | Reform Canada's extradition law now! | |
Canada’s extradition system is broken. One leading legal expert calls it “the least fair law in Canada.” It has led to grave harms and rights violations, as we’ve seen in the case of Canadian citizen Dr Hassan Diab. It needs to be reformed now.
Click below to send a message to urge the Prime Minister, the Minister of Justice and your MP to reform the extradition system before it makes more victims. Thank you!
Version française: Le Canada doit réformer la loi sur l'extradition!
| | Canada must protect encryption! | |
Canada, with other G7 nations, continues to push to weaken our access to strong, reliable encryption, after decades of being supportive of strong encryption. We need encryption to safeguard our data, our online transactions, our communications, and to protect the lives of journalists and human rights activists.
Please send a message to the Prime Minister of Canada, the Minister of Public Safety, as well as your Member of Parliament, to urge them to reverse course and once again commit to protecting encryption.
Regardez la vidéo avec les sous-titres en français + Agir
| | Protect our rights from facial recognition! | Facial recognition surveillance is invasive and inaccurate. This unregulated tech poses a threat to the fundamental rights of people across Canada. Federal intelligence agencies refuse to disclose whether they use facial recognition technology. The RCMP has admitted (after lying about it) to using facial recognition for 18 years without regulation, let alone a public debate regarding whether it should have been allowed in the first place. Send a message to the Prime Minister and the Public Safety Minister calling for a ban now. | | What we’ve been up to from January to May 2025 and our plan for the rest of the year | |
ICLMG 30/05/2025 - Thanks to the support of our members and donors, here is what we were able to work on so far in 2025 :
- Open letter to the new Prime Minister and government
- 2025 federal election and National Security Info Card
- C-20: First independent watchdog for the CBSA
- C-27: Digital Charter Implementation Act, 2022
- Online Harms
- Foreign Interference
- Combatting Racism & Islamophobia
- Canada’s terrorist entities list
- Palestine and the right to dissent
- Impacts of Counter terrorism financing
- Hassan Diab & Extradition
- Civil Society Coalition on Human Rights and Counter-terrorism
- And more!
What we have planned for the rest of 2025!
We have our work cut out for us! In response to threats of tariffs and annexation from the Trump administration, the Canadian government has problematically committed to the rapid expansion of border security, surveillance and information sharing with the US, and expanded the use of rights violating anti-terrorism tools. We also cannot ignore the US crackdown on protesters and migrants under the guise of fighting terrorism and protecting national security. We need to ensure that Canada disentangles itself from the US national security regime, resists US pressure to expand surveillance and counter-terror powers and tools at the expense of our civil liberties, and increases protections for privacy, dissent, migrants and asylum seekers.
We will continue our work on these issues and much more:
- Protecting our privacy from government surveillance, including facial recognition, and from attempts to weaken encryption, along with advocating for good privacy law reform
- Addressing the lack of regulation on the use of AI in national security
- Advocating for restrictions on Canadian information sharing with the US, including the application of the US No Fly List in Canada
- Campaigning for the repeal of secretive and rights violating national security lists, such as the Terrorist Entities List and the Canadian No Fly List
- Halting the rapid expansion of new security measures at the border and continuing to push back against the false narrative depicting migrants and refugees as security risks, and advocating for rights protection and accountability for border agencies, including by monitoring the creation of a new CBSA and RCMP watchdog agency
- Advocating with lawmakers and officials to protect civil liberties from the overall negative impact of national security
- Countering the escalating repression of free expression, dissent and protest in the name of “countering terrorism,” including the crackdown on protests in support of Palestinian human rights and against the genocide in Gaza. This includes countering new “bubble zone” laws at the municipal and federal levels
- Fighting for Justice for Mohamed Harkat, an end to security certificates, and addressing problems in security inadmissibility
- Fighting for Justice for Hassan Diab and reforming Canada's extradition law
- Addressing the impacts of measures to counter terrorism financing on civil society groups, including the CRA’s targeting of Muslim-led charities and restrictions and criminalization of the provision of international assistance and humanitarian aid
- Calling for the return of Canadian citizens and the non-Canadian mothers of Canadian children, who remain indefinitely detained in Syrian camps
- Pushing for restrictions on the implementation of new foreign interference laws
- Keeping you and our member organizations informed via the News Digest
- And much more! Read more - Lire plus
Share on Facebook + Instagram + Bluesky + Twitter
| | Les opinions exprimées ne reflètent pas nécessairement les positions de la CSILC - The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the positions of ICLMG. | | |
THANK YOU
to our amazing supporters!
We would like to thank all our member organizations, and the hundreds of people who have supported us over the years, including on Patreon! As a reward, we are listing below our patrons who give $10 or more per month (and wanted to be listed) directly in the News Digest. Without all of you, our work wouldn't be possible!
James Deutsch
Bill Ewanick
Kevin Malseed
Brian Murphy
Colin Stuart
Bob Thomson
James Turk
John & Rosemary Williams
Jo Wood
The late Bob Stevenson
Nous tenons à remercier nos organisations membres ainsi que les centaines de personnes qui ont soutenu notre travail à travers les années, y compris sur Patreon! En récompense, nous nommons ci-dessus nos mécènes qui donnent 10$ ou plus par mois et voulaient être mentionné.es directement dans la Revue de l'actualité. Sans vous tous et toutes, notre travail ne serait pas possible!
Merci!
| | | | |
