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From: Allen Ruff <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: Allen Ruff <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [Fwd: BREAKING NEWS! Posada Granted Asylum]
Date: Tue, 27 Sep 2005 23:56:10 -0500
SO much for the "War on Terror"
>Subject: BREAKING NEWS! Posada Granted Asylum
>Priority: normal
>
>9-27-05 3:30pm Mountain Time
>
>I have just been contacted by The El Paso Times asking for my reaction
>the news that a U.S. Immigration judge has ruled that terrorist Luis
>Posada Carriles will be permitted to remain in the U.S.
>
>I told the reporter that this outcome was expected since Posada knows
>too much about U.S. involvement in terrorism throughout Latin America.
>I added that the judgement sends an unequivocal message of a double
>standard toward
>terrorism that will damage U.S. credibility abroad, relations with
>Latin America and possibly lead to a break in diplomatic relations with
>Venezuela.
>
>It will be interesting to see what sort of protests, if any, this news
>generates from centrists and pseudo-leftists in the U.S.
>
>Watch for the story tomorrow at the El Paso Times
>http://www.elpasotimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/frontpage
>
>Luis Martin
>Boletin Latino
>
>===================================================
>National Disgrace - Homeland Security Opts not to Oppose Terrorist
>
>Homeland Security and its "Justice Department" chose not to present any
>evidence at all to oppose the maneuver by world-class terrorist Luis
Posada
>Carriles' to stay in the US on the basis that he would likely be
"tortured"
>if he were deported to Venezuela. Although no testimony whatsoever was
>presented to demonstrate that the Venezuelan government tortures people it
>arrests and prosecutes, the only testimony heard in the hearings was the
>statement by a Venezuelan friend of Posada's claiming he was likely to be
>tortured. Posada's friend, in fact, was part of the previous regime's
>security forces who did use torture -- that's one of the reasons they were
>overthrown.The US government could easily have presented witnesses to show
>that this is no longer the case in Venezuela under the current government,
>but of course that's not in the US' and Bush dynasty's interest. They need
>to keep Posada here and happy, because they are implicated in
>everythinghe's done. So the Justice Department shamefully rested its case
>presenting NO opposing witnesses to Posada's friend's self-serving lies.
>This should be a national scandal -- but it's not.Only you can make it one
>by contacting your local press and government representatives.
>Sent: Monday, September 26, 2005 12:50 PM
>Subject: Press Release
>
>
>
>EMBASSY OF THE BOLIVARIAN
>REPUBLIC OF VENEZUELA
>
>
>PRESS RELEASE
>September 26, 2005
>
>
>
>
>The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) today in El Paso rested its case
>in the immigration matter of Luis Posada Carriles. DHS incredibly failed
to
>put on any evidence or witnesses. It is our understanding that Judge
>William Abbott took the case under advisement and promised to issue a
>written decision soon. Judge Abbott also said that he was
>âEURoeinclinedâEUR? to
>allow Posada Carriles to stay in the United States under the protection of
>the Convention Against Torture.
>
>Posada is a fugitive from justice in Venezuela, where he is wanted for 73
>counts of first degree murder involving the downing of a passenger plane
on
>October 6, 1976.
>
>Venezuela formally asked the U.S. Department of State for his extradition
on
>June 15, 2005. Rather proceeding with the extradition of this self-
>confessed terrorist to stand trial for murder in Caracas, the U.S.
>Government has instead turned the case into a minor immigration matter in
El
>Paso.
>
>The Posada case reveals the Bush AdministrationâEUR^(TM)s double
standardin its
>so-called war on terrorism. Immigration Judges are employees of the
>Department of Justice who are not authorized to determine whether to
>extradite or to determine the guilt or innocence of international
>criminals. Only federal judges may do that.
>Posada is not eligible to request asylum in the United States, because he
is
>an aggravated felon. He has therefore withdrawn his asylum application. He
>is instead applying for relief under the Convention Against Torture (CAT).
>
>The legal standard to gain CAT relief is that it is âEURoemore likely than
>notâEUR? that he would be tortured by the government of Venezuela if
>returned. Prosecution is neither persecution nor torture. There is no
>evidence that the government of Venezuela would torture Posada. To grant
>CAT relief to Posada Carriles is to cynically twist an international
treaty
>meant to protect innocent victims of torture into an instrument with which
>to shelter a terrorist.
>
>DHS´ failure to contest Posada´s request for Torture Convention relief
>contradicts the position it took in the recent immigration case involving
>two Venezuelan Army Officers who violently participated in the 2002
>attempted coup in Caracas. In that case DHS argued against Torture
>Convention relief, because of the absence of evidence that Venezuela
>tortures its prisoners. On the other hand, there is ample evidence that
>the United States engages in the systematic torture of its own prisoners
at
>the Guantanamo Naval Base, the Abu Ghraib prison and other facilities.
>
>The government of Venezuela reiterates it does not torture its prisoners,
>and that Luis Posada Carriles will be afforded due process of law upon his
>extradition to Caracas. Indeed, under our laws, if he is found guilty. As
>our Foreign Minister Ali Rodriguez Araque said last week, âEURoewe are
willing
>to put him in a house made of gold and feed him caviar, as long as he is
>tried in Venezuela, because there is nothing to indicate that we torture
>people hereâEUR?.
>
>Three separate international treaties obligate the U.S. to extradite Luis
>Posada Carriles: 1. The Extradition Treaty between the United States and
>Venezuela signed on January 19, 1922, 2. The International Convention on
>Civil Aviation signed in Montreal on September 23, 1971, and 3. the
>International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings signed
on
>December 15, 1997.
>
>It is well settled law in the United States that the extradition process
has
>priority over any immigration matters. Venezuela once again calls on the
>United States government to follow the law and put the immigration matter
in
>abeyance and proceed with the extradition case of Luis Posada Carriles to
>Venezuela where is wanted for 73 counts of first degree murder.
>
>===================================================================
>
>Government doesn't rebut militant's torture claims
>By ALICIA A. CALDWELL (no URL provided)
>Associated Press Writer
>
>EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- The federal government will not directly rebut
>a Cuba militant's claims that he would be tortured if sent to
>Venezuela, lawyers said during a brief hearing Monday.
>
>Accused terrorist and Cuban exile Luis Posada Carriles, a former CIA
>operative being held in El Paso on immigration charges, has argued
>that he would be tortured if sent to Venezuela to stand trial on
>charges that he plotted the 1976 bombing of a Cuban jetliner that
>killed 73 people.
>
>Posada, who has denied that he planned the bombing, is accused of
>illegally crossing into the United States from Mexico in March. He
>was arrested in Miami in May and is being held in a federal detention
>center in El Paso.
>
>Government lawyers presented no witnesses or evidence during Monday's
>15-minute hearing. Instead, Gina Garrett-Jackson said the government
>had concerns about Venezuela's justice system and the country's ties
>to communist Cuba but no specific evidence that Posada would be
>tortured if sent there.
>
>Immigration Judge William L. Abbott reiterated previous statements
>that Posada's legal team had proven that he could be tortured if
>returned to the South American country.
>
>"I'm more inclined toward your argument than the government's, but I
>haven't made up my mind yet," Abbott told Matthew Archambeault, one
>of Posada's lawyer. Abbott is expected to make a decision within two
>weeks.
>
>The Venezuelan government has not commented publicly on Posada's
>torture claims.
>
>Archambeault has told Abbott that Posada is no longer seeking asylum
>in the United States and has conceded that the 77-year-old militant
>could be extradited. Archambeault has argued that any extradition
>order should be deferred until either the conditions in Venezuela
>change or another country could be found to accept Posada.
>
>The government earlier agreed that Posada, who is Cuban and a
>naturalized Venezuelan citizen, should not be sent to Cuba.
>
>Venezuelan officials have said Posada was in Caracas when he planned
>the bombing and in recently declassified CIA documents cite an
>unidentified source who claimed that before the bombing Posada said
>he and others would "hit a Cuban airplane."
>
>(Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
>
>APTV 09-26-05
>1329EDT=================================================================
>The US government (Homeland Security) had no witnesses, and the matter
>(deportation deferral based on Torture Protection) was submitted on the
>previously
>testimony and exhibits. Judge Abbott said he would issue a written
decision
>within two weeks, that is, on or before October 10. Since he previously
had
>ruled
>that Posada had made a prima facie case for CAT protection, this means
that
>Posada's deportation and/or extradition to Venezuela will be deferred
>indefinitely because Venezuela would likely torture him. Homeland can hold
>him for
>ninety days, after which they must release him to live freely in US unless
>it is
>shown he is a danger to our society.
>
>Of interest was the statement of the Homeland Security lawyer Gina
Jackson.
>She said the US has concerns about the Venezuelan justice system. She
>claimed
>there is a a growing lack of human rights there. She referred to the US
>State
>Department 2004 country report which referred to "lawyers allegations,"
>(which
>the witness Chaffardet had testified he "agreed with.") She said that
while
>the US has no specific information that Posada would be tortured by
>Venezuela,
>it thinks he would likely face torture by Cuba if sent to Venezuela
because
>of
>a possibility that Cuba would have access to Posada. She referred to a
>treaty
>between Venezuela and Cuba whereby Cuba might have "access" to Posada in
>Venezuela.
>
>No mention was made of extradition. Under extradition law, US could
>condition
>extradition on Venezuela's promise not to send Posada to Cuba or give
Cuban
>officials access to him in Venezuela. Both Cuba and Venezuela have stated
>many
>times that he would never be sent to Cuba, that instead his trial for the
>Cubana airliner bombing should be completed in Venezuela, and he should be
>dealt
>with there if found guilty. In fact, Venezuela is the only place where the
>airliner murders could be tried.
>
>Both sides will submit legal memoranda outlining their positions. Posada's
>lawyer Matttew Archibeau declined to make a statement in court, however I
>talked
>to him after the hearing. He denies that extradition takes legal
precedence
>over deportation and says Judge Abbott's decision (presumably granting CAT
>protection) will prevent both deportation and extradition. The only
question
>is
>whether the statutory "bars" for withholding removal are applicable. He
says
>they aren't. He feels the only evidence (Chaffardet's testimony)
establishes
>that
>Venezuela will torture Posada. As regards Ms. Jackson's statement about
>fears
>of Cuban access he says "she wanted to make it look like she did
something."
>He doubts very much that US would accept any diplomatic assurances from
the
>Chavez regime.
>
>Tom Crumpacker
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