September, 16 2010, 11:51am EDT
Lawyers For Guantanamo Prisoner In Court Friday To Defend Successful Challenge To Detention
Court Should Uphold Habeas Ruling In Salahi Case, Says ACLU
NEW YORK
The
American Civil Liberties Union and attorneys from the law firm Freedman
Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan P.A. will argue Friday,
September 17, that a federal appeals court should uphold Guantanamo
prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi's successful challenge to his unlawful
detention. A federal judge ordered Salahi released from Guantanamo in
March on the grounds that he was being held unlawfully, but the U.S.
government is challenging that ruling.
After being arrested in Mauritania in
2001 on suspicion of ties to al Qaeda, Salahi was rendered by the U.S.
government to Jordan, where he was detained, interrogated and abused for
eight months. He was then rendered to Bagram, Afghanistan and finally
to Guantanamo, where he has been held since August 2002.
WHAT:
Arguments in the U.S. government's appeal of a ruling ordering the release of Guantanamo prisoner Mohamedou Ould Salahi
WHO:
Theresa Duncan of the law firm
Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan P.A. will argue
before Judges Sentelle, Tatel and Brown of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia Circuit. In addition to Duncan, lawyers on the
case are Melissa Goodman and Jonathan Manes of the ACLU National
Security Project; Jonathan Hafetz, cooperating attorney with the ACLU;
Nancy Hollander of Freedman Boyd Hollander Goldberg Ives & Duncan
P.A. and Linda Moreno of Linda Moreno P.A.
WHERE:
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
333 Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, D.C.
WHEN:
Friday, September 17, 2010
9:30 a.m. EDT
The American Civil Liberties Union was founded in 1920 and is our nation's guardian of liberty. The ACLU works in the courts, legislatures and communities to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to all people in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
(212) 549-2666LATEST NEWS
'Make Polio Great Again': Alarm Over RFK Jr. Lawyer Who Targeted Vaccine
"So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is," said one critic.
Dec 13, 2024
Public health advocates, federal lawmakers, and other critics responded with alarm to The New York Timesreporting on Friday that an attorney helping Robert F. Kennedy Jr. select officials for the next Trump administration tried to get the U.S. regulators to revoke approval of the polio vaccine in 2022.
"The United States has been a leader in the global fight to eradicate polio, which is poised to become only the second disease in history to be eliminated from the face of the earth after smallpox," said Liza Barrie, Public Citizen's campaign director for global vaccines access. "Undermining polio vaccination efforts now risks reversing decades of progress and unraveling one of the greatest public health achievements of all time."
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According to the newspaper:
Mr. Siri is also representing ICAN in petitioning the FDA to "pause distribution" of 13 other vaccines, including combination products that cover tetanus, diphtheria, polio, and hepatitis A, until their makers disclose details about aluminum, an ingredient researchers have associated with a small increase in asthma cases.
Mr. Siri declined to be interviewed, but said all of his petitions were filed on behalf of clients. Katie Miller, a spokeswoman for Mr. Kennedy, said Mr. Siri has been advising Mr. Kennedy but has not discussed his petitions with any of the health nominees. She added, "Mr. Kennedy has long said that he wants transparency in vaccines and to give people choice."
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Ayman Chit, head of vaccines for North America at Sanofi, told the newspaper that development of the vaccine began in 1977, over 280 million people worldwide have received it, and there have been more than 300 studies, some with up to six months of follow-up.
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Asked about RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine record during a Time "Person of the Year" interview published Thursday, the president-elect said that "we're going to be able to do very serious testing" and certain vaccines could be made unavailable "if I think it's dangerous."
Trump toldNBC News last weekend: "Hey, look, I'm not against vaccines. The polio vaccine is the greatest thing. If somebody told me to get rid of the polio vaccine, they're going to have to work real hard to convince me. I think vaccines are—certain vaccines—are incredible. But maybe some aren't. And if they aren't, we have to find out."
Both comments generated concern—like the Friday reporting in the Times, which University of Alabama law professor and MSNBC columnist Joyce White Vance called "absolutely terrifying."
She was far from alone. HuffPost senior front page editor Philip Lewis said that "this is just so dangerous and ridiculous" while Zeteo founder Mehdi Hasan declared, "We are so—and I use this word advisedly—fucked."
Ryan Cooper, managing editor at The American Prospect, warned that "they want your kids dead."
Author and musician Mikel Jollett similarly said, "So if you're wondering if Donald Trump is trying to kill your kids, yes, yes he is."
Multiple critics altered Trump's campaign slogan to "Make Polio Great Again."
U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) responded with a video on social media:
Without naming anyone, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), a polio survivor, put out a lengthy statement on Friday.
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Sandy Fonzo, whose son killed himself after being sentenced to juvenile detention, said in a statement: "I am shocked and I am hurt. Conahan's actions destroyed families, including mine, and my son's death is a tragic reminder of the consequences of his abuse of power."
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