In which of the following countries can you detain an innocent man for 5 years in solitary confinement without actually charging him with any crime?
a) Soviet Russia
b) Communist China
d) United States of America
e) all of the above
f) a and b only
If you picked the answer f, you are wrong. The real answer is e – all of the above. You don’t believe me? Google for the name Benamar Benatta. You will most likely find a very scary story of a man who suffered through 5 years of imprisonment, and interrogations.
How did he get nabbed? He picked a really bad time and place to desert from Algerian Air Force. He was on a six-month training program for foreign air force engineers in Virginia, and he decided to make a break for it and seek a political asylum in Canada. He got stopped on the border, and shipped back to US.
Official findings in 2001 proved beyond reasonable doubt that he had no connections to any terrorist organizations, and that he was not involved int the 9/11 attacks. He was released on July 20, 2006. He was never charged with a crime.
This is a great example of how the stupid provisions of Patriot Act can really go wrong. The question is – are we able to prevent this from happening again? Our legal system is already horribly broken. Is it possible to fix it, or will this sort of imprisonment without charge become the new norm?
Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither ~ Benjamin Franklin
via legatissimo
[tags]9/11, benmar benatta, imprisonment without charge[/tags]