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For Immediate Release
May, 24 2011, 12:31pm EDT
Contact:
Jen Nessel, 212.614.6449, jnessel@ccrjustice.org;
David Lerner, Riptide Communications, 212.260.5000
Center for Constitutional Rights Launches Case Seeking U.S. Knowledge of and Role in Deadly Israeli Attack on Humanitarian Flotilla to Gaza
U.S. Victim’s Father Hopes Documents May Shed Light on Son’s Killing
WASHINGTON
The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) today launched a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking immediate release of documents that the United States government has refused to provide regarding its knowledge of and role in the deadly May 31, 2010 attack by Israeli commandos on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. Among the nine civilians killed was 18-year-old U.S. citizen Furkan Dogan who was shot several times as he was filming the 4:00 a.m. raid, and then shot in the face at point blank range as he lay there wounded. Fifteen other U.S. citizens participated in the flotilla, including five who traveled on a U.S. registered boat; many were beaten and injured.
Said Professor Ahmet Dogan, father of Furkan, "I have traveled twice to Washington, D.C. seeking answers and support in my efforts to achieve justice and accountability for my son's killing. So far, my efforts have not been successful. I call upon the United States government to at least release information related to the flotilla attack and what it knows about my son's death. Why isn't the United States investigating the death of a U.S. citizen in this case?"
The federal lawsuit, Center for Constitutional Rights v. Department of Defense, et al was filed in the Southern District of New York against the Defense Department as well as numerous other federal departments, including Justice and State, and various components of the U.S. military. The initial FOIA requests were filed nearly 11 months ago: only two agencies responded, and their responses were wholly inadequate, according to the suit.
"One year after the deadly attack on the humanitarian flotilla, the American public has been told nothing about what actions, if any, the United States undertook to ensure that U.S. citizens and other civilians were protected when they sailed towards Gaza," said Center for Constitutional Rights Senior Staff Attorney, Katherine Gallagher. "A U.S. citizen was killed and the U.S. has not conducted an independent investigation into his killing in international waters by a foreign military. Indeed, the State Department did not even mention the killing of Furkan Dogan in its recently released Human Rights report on Israel. We need to know what our government is doing to protect us - and hold those to account who harm U.S. citizens."
The attack by Israeli commandos took place in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea against a six-boat humanitarian flotilla headed to Gaza with more than 700 civilian passengers. One of the ships was registered in the U.S. The flotilla sought to bring food and other humanitarian supplies to the people of Gaza, who have been living under an Israeli blockade for nearly five years.
Commandos seized the property of U.S. citizens, including a video camera that recorded the raid, and Israel continues to retain control of this property. The Center for Constitutional Rights is seeking communications from and to the U.S. agencies named in the lawsuit that relate to the preservation of evidence that might shed light on the death of Furkan Dogan. The Center further seeks any documents that could show what steps the Department of State, Department of Justice and other agencies have taken to ensure that Furkan's death be properly and independently investigated. The United Nations Fact-Finding Mission concluded that the refusal of Israel to return this personal property is, "a deliberate attempt by the Israeli authorities to suppress or destroy evidence and other information related to the events of 31 May." The full UN report can be viewed here (PDF).
Said Jessica Lee, of the University of Virginia International Human Rights Law Clinic, which is co-counsel in the case, "With the blockade continuing, another humanitarian aid flotilla to Gaza is planned for next month. The blockade cannot be reconciled with principles of international law; it amounts to collective punishment. Regardless of how one determines Israel's legal obligations with respect to Gaza, civilians have the right to receive food and medical supplies. And United States citizens who participate in non-violent humanitarian missions have the right to know what protections they can expect their government to provide in international waters."
To read the complaint, visit the Center for Constitutional Right's legal case page or https://ccrjustice.org/ourcases/current-cases/gaza-freedom-flotilla.
The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. CCR is committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.
(212) 614-6464LATEST NEWS
'Every Atrocity Imaginable': Litany of Israeli War Crimes Continues
"Genocide, ecocide, mass infanticide, rape, sexual assault, torture, slavery, sniping children, bombing hospitals, executing aid workers," said one critic. "We are funding an endless nightmare and it should haunt us forever."
Mar 31, 2025
As Israel Defense Forces bombing continued to kill and maim large numbers of Palestinians across the Gaza Strip over the weekend and into Monday, the discovery of the bodies of medical workers who were apparently executed by their captors and the publication of several reports in which Israeli soldiers admit to torturing prisoners and using civilians as human shields have drawn renewed war crimes accusations and calls for accountability.
On Sunday, the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) said it had recovered the bodies of 15 Palestinian first responders from a mass grave, including eight Red Crescent workers and six Civil Defense personnel, who were killed by Israeli forces on March 23 while traveling "on duty" in five ambulances, a fire truck, and a United Nations vehicle in the al-Hashashin area of southern Gaza.
Jonathan Whittall, head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Gaza, said Sunday that the vehicles were picked off "one by one."
"Their bodies were gathered and buried in this mass grave," Whittall added. "We're digging them out with uniforms, with their gloves on. They were here to save lives. Instead, they ended up in a mass grave."
The IFRC condemns the killing of eight Palestine Red Crescent Society medics in Gaza. We are heartbroken. These dedicated humanitarians, killed while responding to the wounded, should have been protected. We mourn their loss and stand with the Palestine Red Crescent. Full statement: bit.ly/427LXxp
[image or embed]
— IFRC (@ifrc.org) March 30, 2025 at 11:47 AM
The Gaza Health Ministry said that "some of these bodies were bound and shot in the chest" before being "buried in a deep hole to prevent their identification."
Accusing Israel of a "heinous crime," the ministry called on U.N. agencies "and relevant international bodies to conduct an urgent investigation into these crimes and hold the occupation accountable for committing them."
An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson said troops opened fire on the convoy because it was "advancing suspiciously" toward their position.
"Following an initial assessment, it was determined that the forces had eliminated a Hamas military operative, Mohammad Amin Ibrahim Shubaki, who took part in the October 7 massacre, along with eight other terrorists from Hamas and the Islamic Jihad," the spokesperson claimed.
Israeli officials routinely claim—often with little or no evidence—that Palestinian first responders, United Nations workers, journalists, and other civilians that it kills are members of Hamas or other militant resistance groups.
The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) said in a statement Sunday that it is "outraged" by the killings, which it called "the single most deadly attack on Red Cross Red Crescent workers anywhere in the world since 2017."
"After seven days of silence and having access denied to the area of Rafah where they were last seen, the bodies of ambulance officers Mostafa Khufaga, Saleh Muamer, and Ezzedine Shaath and first responder volunteers Mohammad Bahloul, Mohammed Al-Heila, Ashraf Abu Labda, Raed Al Sharif, and Rifatt Radwan were retrieved today," the statement noted. "Ambulance officer Assad Al-Nassasra is still missing."
Noting that at least 30 Red Crescent workers and volunteers have been killed by Israeli forces during the war, IFRC secretary general Jagan Chapagain said: "I am heartbroken. These dedicated ambulance workers were responding to wounded people. They were humanitarians. They wore emblems that should have protected them; their ambulances were clearly marked. They should have returned to their families; they did not."
"Even in the most complex conflict zones, there are rules," Chapagain stressed. "These rules of international humanitarian law could not be clearer—civilians must be protected; humanitarians must be protected. Health services must be protected."
"Our network is in mourning, but this is not enough," he added. "Instead of another call on all parties to protect and respect humanitarians and civilians, I pose a question: When will this stop? All parties must stop the killing, and all humanitarians must be protected."
Journalist Mohammad Alsaafin compared the killings to last year's IDF massacre of 6-year-old Hind Rajab, five of her relatives, and two PRCS medics who rushed to the site of the attack in a doomed bid to rescue the wounded child after she called for help.
On Sunday, the British newspaper The Independent published an investigation into alleged Israeli torture of Palestinians detained at facilities including Ofer Prison in the illegally occupied West Bank and the notorious Sde Teiman base in the Negev Desert.
The report begins:
Handcuffed and cowering on the floor of a cell in a military base in southern Israel, the Palestinian found himself surrounded by five soldiers. Armed with dogs, the five reservists allegedly kicked, punched, and stamped on the man as he lay on the ground. Continuing their assault, they are accused of attacking him with Taser guns and sharp objects, sexually abusing him with these instruments. At one point, the soldiers allegedly stabbed him so hard that they pierced his buttocks and anus. The brutal alleged assault left the man hospitalized with a punctured lung, cracked ribs, and a tear in his rectum needing surgery for a stoma. He had not been charged with any crime.
The Independent noted details regarding some of the dozens of Palestinian detainees who have died in Israeli custody. The IDF is currently conducting its own probe into the deaths of at least 36 Sde Teiman prisoners, including one who died after allegedly being sodomized with an electric baton.
"The fact that we see some signs of abuse means that this is probably the tip of the iceberg," said one Israeli physician who has overseen multiple autopsies on dead detainees.
In an anonymous testimony leaked to The Independent, one Sde Teiman guard described a prevailing attitude of "Yes, they need to be beaten, it must be done."
"We began looking for opportunities to do so," the soldier said, adding that when he spoke out against the beating of one detainee, he was told, "Shut up, you leftist, these are Gazans, these are terrorists, what's wrong with you?"
One former Sde Teiman detainee said that "every meter you moved, they beat you, they hit you, they insulted you; they used dogs, tear gas, and electric shock."
IDF troops and veterans who were posted at Sde Teiman have provided similar details about "Israel's Abu Ghraib," a reference to the U.S. torture prison outside Baghdad during the Iraq War. Israeli doctors and medics have described forced starvation and 24-hour shackling so severe that prisoners have had limbs amputated.
A number of Sde Teiman guards were arrested last year following the leak of a video allegedly showing them raping a Palestinian detainee. The arrests outraged far-right Israelis, a mob of whom stormed Sde Teiman in a failed bid to free the accused guards.
As The Independent noted, "Among those held in [Israeli] detention are many of Gaza's healthcare workers, including doctors, nurses, and paramedics." Some of these prisoners have died in custody, including the renowned surgeon Dr. Adnan al-Bursh, who may have been raped to death, according to Francesca Albanese, the U.N. special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian territory occupied since 1967.
Earlier this month, an independent U.N. panel found that Israel has "systematically" used reproductive, sexual, and other forms of gender-based violence against Palestinian men, women, and children during the war.
The IDF has responded to these and other allegations by claiming it "operates in accordance with international law."
However, the International Criminal Court last year issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant—who ordered a "complete siege" of Gaza blamed for deadly starvation and disease there—for alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity. Israel is also the subject of an ongoing International Court of Justice genocide case brought by South Africa.
Also on Sunday, Haaretz, Israel's oldest newspaper, published a piece by an anonymous Israel soldier who said that "in Gaza, almost every IDF platoon keeps a human shield."
"We operate a sub-army of slaves," the soldier said, describing how innocent Palestinians are used to check buildings for Hamas fighters or booby traps before IDF troops enter.
"I recently saw that the IDF's Military Police Criminal Investigation Division opened six investigations into the use of Palestinian civilians as human shields, and my jaw dropped," he wrote. "I've seen cover-ups before, but this is a new low."
Previous reporting has detailed the IDF's widespread use of Palestinian civilians—including children—as human shields in Gaza. The IDF even has a name for the practice—the "mosquito protocol." In one case, an 80-year-old man was used as a human shield before being shot dead by Israeli troops.
The IDF's thoroughly documented use of noncombatants as human shields stands in start contrast with mostly baseless claims of Hamas using Palestinian civilians in such a manner.
The new reports come as Israeli forces continued their assault on Gaza. Health and medical officials in Gaza said at least 41 Palestinians were killed in airstrikes throughout the strip on Monday, the second day of the Muslim holiday Eid al-Fitr. This followed the killing of at least 64 Palestinians across Gaza on Sunday.
Approximately 1,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since Israel resumed its assault on the embattled coastal enclave on March 18,
including hundreds of children. Israel's 542-day annihilation of Gaza has left more than 175,000 Palestinians dead, wounded, or missing since October 7, 2023, when Hamas led the deadliest-ever attack on Israel.
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'This Is the State of American Democracy': Sanders Calls for Public Funding of Elections as Musk Buys Votes With $1 Million Checks
Independent groups spending on most expensive judicial race in U.S. history favor the right-wing Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate, according to the Brennan Center for Justice.
Mar 31, 2025
On the eve of what the nonpartisan law group the Brennan Center for Justice has deemed the most expensive judicial race in American history, Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont is calling out billionaire Elon Musk's role in Tuesday's Wisconsin Supreme Court race and demanding the country move to public funding in elections.
"So. This is the state of American democracy," wrote the Independent senator on X on Monday. "The richest guy in the world is handing out million dollar checks in order to win a Wisconsin Supreme Court seat and elect an anti-choice judge." In addition to being the richest person in the world, Musk is also a key figure in Republican President Donald Trump's administration.
"We MUST overturn Citizens United and move to public funding of elections," Sanders continued, referencing the 2010 Supreme Court decision Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. That ruling stuck down existing limits on how much money a corporation can directly spend to support a political campaign, and has since enabled unlimited campaign spending by corporations and other outside groups—including what are known as dark money groups.
On Tuesday, voters in Wisconsin will decide a contest between Susan Crawford, a liberal Dane County judge, and former Republican attorney general and current Waukesha County Circuit Judge Brad Schimel, who are competing to fill the seat of retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley. The outcome of the race which will determine the ideological swing of the state's highest court, which since 2023 has had a liberal majority for the first time in over a decade.
Musk's super political action committee, America PAC, has spent over $12 million on the race to benefit Schimel—and another Musk-linked group, Building Americas Future, has spent nearly $6 million, according to the Brennan Center. Total spending in the race tallies $90 million, with $40.3 million going toward Crawford and $49.7 million going toward Schimel.
According to the Brennan Center, "Independent groups like super PACs and nonprofits spending untraceable dark money favor Schimel by a much larger margin: $13.5 million benefiting Crawford compared with almost $35.5 million boosting Schimel."
Musk was also accused of bribing Wisconsin voters by circulating a petition opposing "activist judges" through America PAC, and offering registered voters $1,000 if they sign the petition. Last week, Musk announced on social media that he would hold a rally on Sunday in Wisconsin and hand out $1 million checks to two voters who had already cast their ballots. He then deleted that post and clarified that "entrance is limited to those who have signed the petition in opposition to activist judges," adding, "I will also hand over checks for a million dollars to 2 people to be spokesmen for the petition," according to The New York Times.
Nevertheless, Wisconsin's attorney general appealed to the state Supreme Court to prevent Musk from using the giveaway tactic, but the court declined to hear the case Sunday.
Musk did hand out checks during a rally in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Sunday. One of the recipients was Nicholas Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin College Republicans.
During a discussion on X that Musk hosted with Schimel and U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) on March 22, Musk indicated that he has been keen to shape the race because the makeup of the court could threaten how the state's current congressional districts are drawn.
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Trump CFPB Accused of Siding With 'Bottom-Feeder' Payday Lenders Over Struggling Workers
"A policy of 'hear no evil, see no evil, punish no evil' is a sure-fire way to promote lawless behavior," said one advocate.
Mar 31, 2025
"Regulatory relief for small loan providers" was how the Trump administration described its decision not to prioritize enforcing a rule meant to protect people who are financially struggling from predatory payday lenders—but one consumer protection advocate said Monday that the announcement signals a policy that that is certain to "promote lawless behavior" by corporations.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), whose actions aimed at protecting working families and consumers from big banks and other corporations have been attacked for years by Republicans, announced last Friday that under the Trump administration, it will not enforce a rule meant to safeguard people from fees they accrue when payday lenders repeatedly attempt to debit their accounts.
Part of the 2017 payday loan rule, the bounced payment rule was set to go into effect on Sunday—barring payday lenders, "buy now, pay later" (BNPL) lending services, and other predatory lenders from continuing to make attempts to debit bank accounts after a loan customer's payment bounced twice. The lenders would be required under the rule to gain the customer's permission after two failed attempts to retrieve the payment.
When the CFPB announced last year that the rule was set to go into effect on March 30, 2025, it noted that it had "found one instance of a lender making 11 failed withdrawal attempts in one day"—subjecting the consumer to "a pile of junk fees" including nonsufficient (NSF) funds fees, overdraft charges, and others.
Adam Rust, director of financial services for the Consumer Federation of America, said Monday that the CFPB had "sided with bottom-feeder payday lenders at the expense of vulnerable borrowers struggling to make ends meet."
"The CFPB is designed to be a law enforcement agency," said Rust. "A policy of 'hear no evil, see no evil, punish no evil' is a surefire way to promote lawless behavior."
The agency said it would also not enforce rules applying to vehicle title loans, which can have high interest rates and are banned or limited in at least 30 states.
Lauren Saunders, associate director of the National Consumer Law Center, noted that former CFPB Director Kathy Kraninger, the U.S. Supreme Court, and the 5th Circuit previously upheld "the bare minimum protection against multiple NSF fees on unaffordable loans."
"It's outrageous that the CFPB will not enforce the law that prohibits payday lenders and other 200% APR lenders from continually debiting people's accounts, subjecting them to multiple NSF and overdraft fees," said Saunders. "Buy now, pay later lenders that make unaffordable loans should not be allowed to keep hitting your bank account after payments bounce twice. It's unconscionable to have greater protections for payday lenders than for people struggling to afford basic necessities."
A Pew survey in 2013 revealed that 1-in-4 payday loan customers faced an overdraft fee due to the lender's attempt to collect a payment from an account with insufficient funds.
The CFPB said it was contemplating "issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking to narrow the scope of the rule."
"By allowing payday lenders to repeatedly debit borrowers' empty bank accounts," Nadine Chabrier of the Center for Responsible Lending toldConsumer Affairs, "the CFPB's political leadership is giving a free pass for payday lenders to kick people when they're down."
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