Witness to Abuse - Human Rights Watch

elief from deportation under a federal statute implementing the Convention against
Torture. 307 Upon his September 2001 arrest, and during the trial, newspapers gave
extensive coverage to his situation, labeling him a high-profile suspect, with leads
referring to him as “No. 27 on the FBI’s list of terror suspects after Sept. 11.” 308
An immigration judge in Detroit denied al-Marabh’s asylum claim under the Convention
Against Torture. 309 Upon returning to Syria, al-Marabh was questioned and detained by
Syrian authorities. He has subsequently reported that he has been under surveillance. 310
The U.S. government has persisted in alleging he is a terrorist, leaking secret documents
to the press as late as June 2004. 311 Since these documents were released, U.S. advocates
who had been in touch with al-Marabh have lost contact with him. 312
307
United States Policy with Respect to the Involuntary Return of Persons in Danger of Subjection To Torture,
Pub. L. No. 105-277, Fiv. G, Title XXII, § 2242, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681-2. Under the Convention against
Torture, the United States may not return anyone to a country where they face the likelihood of torture. Art. 3.
308
“Despite Fears of Terror Ties, Suspect Goes back to Syria,” New York Times, June 3, 2004. International
newspapers reported that al-Marabh was “reputed to be a close associate of Osama bin Laden” and described
al-Marabh as the “the object of a nationwide terrorism manhunt.” David Ashenfelter, “Former Terror Suspect
Testifies in Court Hearing; Deposition Held for 4 Facing Federal Charges,” Detroit Free Press, March 14, 2003;
Paul Gustafson, “Accused Terror Supporter on Trial; Secrecy Shrouds the Detroit Trial of a Former Minnesotan
Who is Accused with Three Others of Providing Help and Resources to Terrorists,” Star Tribune, March 19,
2003. Press accounts on al-Marabh were headlined “Attack on America—Faces of the Hijackers—FBI Believes
Plotters Planned to Seize Six Airliners,” “FBI Alleges Plot for Attack,” and “Terror Detainee Spends 8 Months in
Solitary.” Paul Kelso, Nick Hopkins, John Hooper, Richard Norton-Taylor, “Attack on America—Faces of the
Hijackers—FBI Believes Plotters Planned to Seize Six Airliners,” The Guardian, Sept. 19, 2001; Steve Fainaru,
“Terror Detainee Spends 8 Months in Solitary.” Washington Post, June 12, 2002.
309
Although al-Marabh was never criminally charged with terrorism, the immigration judge found al-Marabh to be
ineligible for relief under the Convention against Torture because he posed a danger to national security. The
immigration judge further held that even if al-Marabh were eligible, he should not be granted relief under
international law in part because “the documentary evidence fails to prove a risk of persecution [in Syria] as
there is no evidence indicating anyone similarly situated has been persecuted or harmed in Syria.” However,
the U.S. State Department has consistently reported on torture in Syrian prisons. In the 2001 country report, the
State Department observed: “[d]espite the existence of constitutional provisions and several Penal Code
penalties for abusers, there was credible evidence that security forces continued to use torture, although to a
lesser extent than in previous years. Former prisoners and detainees report that torture methods include
administering electrical shocks; pulling out fingernails; forcing objects into the rectum; beating, sometimes while
the victim is suspended from the ceiling; hyperextending the spine; and using a chair that bends backwards to
asphyxiate the victim or fracture the victim's spine.” U.S. Department of State, “Syria,” 2001 Country Reports on
Human Rights Practices, March 4, 2002, available online at:
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/nea/8298.htm, accessed on June 17, 2005. See also: Human Rights
Watch, “Still at Risk: Diplomatic Assurances No Safeguard against Torture,” Vol. 17, No. 4(D), April 2005;
Human Rights Watch, “Human Rights Watch Report to the Canadian Commission of Inquiry into the Actions of
Canadian Officials in Relation to Maher Arar,” June 7, 2005, available online at:
http://www.hrw.org/backgrounder/eca/canada/arar/, accessed on June 17, 2005.
310
HRW/ACLU interview with Adem Carroll, director, Islamic Circle of North America, April 2004 (Interview with
Adem Carroll).
311
John Solomon (Associated Press), “Detroit suspect plotted terror, FBI told; Indictment attempts prove
unsuccessful,” Detroit Free Press, June 3, 2004 (“Nabil Almarabh, the on-again, off-again Detroit terrorism
suspect who was deported to Syria in January, actually plotted terrorism, a Jordanian informant told the FBI.”).
312
Interview with Adem Carroll.
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