Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

Arizona, and Florida, where the nineteen September 11 hijackers and other terrorist
suspects had lived or visited. These witnesses became suspect because they were
believed to have worked, dined, or prayed at the same mosque with the suspected
terrorists. The remaining material witnesses identified throughout this report were living
throughout the country and came under suspicion for a variety of reasons: taking flight
lessons, tips from neighbors, having news material on terrorist suspects, or even having a
name similar to a suspect.
III. Misuse of the Material Witness Law to Hold Suspects as Witnesses
After September 11, then Attorney General John Ashcroft insisted the Justice
Department “think outside the box” to combat terrorism. The Justice Department has
adopted a “prevent first, prosecute second” strategy, which has included efforts to detain
through whatever means possible people who might be connected to terrorist
organizations. 38 Federal agents have swept through Muslim communities to pick up
suspects often based on leads that, according to the Justice Department Inspector
General’s subsequent report, “were often quite general in nature, such as a landlord
reporting suspicious activity by an Arab tenant.” 39
Lacking in most cases sufficient evidence to obtain criminal arrest warrants, the Justice
Department has used other means to secure these detentions. Whenever possible, the
Justice Department has used routine immigration violations, such as working on a
student visa, to detain Muslim men suspected of links to or knowledge about terrorism. 40
Through manipulation of procedure and abuse of its authority to use detention to carry
out deportations, the Justice Department has held these “special interest” detainees until
they have been “cleared” of ties to terrorism. 41
38
“Attorney General Ashcroft Outlines Foreign Terrorist Tracking Task Force,” Opening Remarks of John
Ashcroft, September 24, 2001 (“Ashcroft Outlines Foreign Terrorist Tracking Force”).
39
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the Inspector General (OIG), The September 11 Detainees: A Review of
the Treatment of Aliens Held on Immigration Charges in Connection with the Investigation of the September 11
Attacks, April 2003, p. 16 (DOJ, OIG, The September 11 Detainees).
40
According to Department of Justice Inspector General Glenn Fine, when the FBI arrested people in sweeps on
immigration violations, “[T]he FBI in New York City made little attempt to distinguish between aliens who were
subjects of the FBI terrorism investigation (called “PENTTBOM”) and those encountered coincidentally …
[E]ven in the chaotic aftermath of the September 11 attacks, the FBI should have expended more effort
attempting to distinguish between aliens who it actually suspected of having a connection to terrorism from
those aliens who, while possibly guilty of violating federal immigration law, had no connection to terrorism but
simply were encountered in connection with a PENTTBOM lead.” Statement of Glenn A. Fine, inspector
general, U.S. Department of Justice before the House Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime,
Terrorism, and Homeland Security concerning Section 1001 of the USA PATRIOT Act, May 10, 2005.
41
Human Rights Watch, “Presumption of Guilt: Human Rights Abuses of Post-September11 Detainees,” Vol. 14,
No. 4 (G), August 2002 (“Presumption of Guilt”).
17 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH VOL. 17, NO. 2(G)