In this issue:

Man cleared for release from Gitmo presses judge to act on long stalled case as medical condition worsens 

A Somali man held without charge at Guantánamo since 2006 is asking a federal judge to act on his long stalled case as he suffers continuing medical problems caused by abuse in a CIA “black site.” Guled Duran seeks to call attention to the inaction of both the courts and the Biden administration, which has kept him imprisoned even though it approved him for release nearly a year ago. He is one of the 35 men still detained at the 20-year-old prison and one of 20 cleared for release. 

"Courts remain an essential check on indefinite detention at Guantánamo, now approaching 21 years, while the Biden administration commits policy malpractice by fighting to detain men it no longer wants to detain in a prison it has said should be closed,” said Wells Dixon, Senior Staff Attorney. 

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Afghanistan: as ICC probe gets green light, rights groups and victims’ representatives urge investigation into all crimes and perpetrators 

After over a year’s wait, the International Federation for Human Rights and its member organizations OPEN ASIA | Armanshahr and the Center for Constitutional Rights welcomed the International Criminal Court’s decision to resume its investigation into all alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the armed conflict in Afghanistan. The organizations urged the Prosecutor to dedicate sufficient resources to a complete investigation without delay and strongly called for more effective outreach to affected communities and meaningful victim participation throughout the proceedings.

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TOMORROW: The case against ALEC lawmakers continues in Arizona Supreme Court 

Tomorrow, November 15, the Arizona Palestine Solidarity Alliance (APSA), Black Lives Matter (BLM) Phoenix Metro, Mijente, and Puente continue their fight against the corporate-led American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) in the Arizona Supreme Court. The groups will join the Center for Constitutional Rights and the People's Law Firm for oral argument in court from 10 a.m. MST, and will hold a press conference outside the courthouse at roughly 11:45 a.m. MST.

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RESCHEDULED: Pack the Court — Urooj Rahman’s sentencing hearing 

Join a solidarity call to support Urooj Rahman and attend her sentencing hearing on November 18 in the Eastern District of New York, Courtroom 8D South.

Join us in court to show that Urooj has a community of people supporting her. Muslims for Just Futures has created a sign-up form for RSVPs. 

Note: The sentencing hearing is just for Urooj. Colin Mattis will be sentenced at a later date in EDNY. This hearing was previously scheduled for 11/9. November 18 is the new date.

Adalah and Center for Constitutional Rights demand U.S. cancel plan to build embassy compound in Jerusalem on private Palestinian land 

Adalah - The Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel and the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York sent an urgent letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Thomas R. Nides, calling on the Biden administration to immediately cancel the plan for the new U.S. Embassy Compound in Jerusalem and to demand Israeli authorities withdraw it. The letter was sent on behalf of several Palestinian heirs to the land on which the new U.S. Embassy Compound is to be built. 

The letter follows the advancement of a plan to build the new U.S. Embassy Compound on land illegally confiscated from Palestinians – both refugees and internally displaced persons, several of whom are now U.S. citizens – using the 1950 Israeli Absentees’ Property Law. Archival records, found in the Israeli State Archives and published by Adalah in July 2022, clearly prove the land was owned by Palestinian families and leased temporarily to British Mandate authorities before the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948. 

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