Tag Archives: International Committee of the Red Cross

Tortured Guantánamo Prisoner Ramzi bin al-Shibh Unfit for 9/11 Trial, Says Military Judge

“This decision by the military judge today does mark the first time that the United States has formally acknowledged the CIA torture program produced profound and prolonged psychological harm,” said al-Shibh’s lawyer.

By Brett Wilkins. Published 9-22-2023 by Common Dreams

Ramzi bin al-Shibh holds a document while posing for this 2010 photo.
(Photo: International Committee of the Red Cross)

A U.S. military judge on Thursday found Guantánamo Bay prisoner Ramzi bin al-Shibh—who stands accused of being a key 9/11 organizer—unfit to stand trial because he suffers from mental illness his attorney says was caused by CIA torture years ago.

Air Force Col. Matthew McCall severed al-Shibh, a 51-year-old Yemeni, from the conspiracy case involving four other defendants who allegedly organized the cell of militants in Hamburg, Germany who hijacked American Airlines Flight 11 and flew it into the north tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan on September 11, 2001. Al-Shibh had been charged as an accomplice in the case.

Continue reading →

Saudi Bombings Kill Scores of Civilians—Including Children—in Yemen

“America is complicit in this,” said one critic of “this horrific war that Biden and his senior officials once promised to end.”

By Andrea Germanos Published 1-21-2022 by Common Dreams

Aftermath of air strile in Hodeida on January 20, 2022. Photo: Marwa Osman/Twitter

A series of Saudi-led airstrikes were blamed Friday for killing scores of people in Yemen as civilians, including children, continue to suffer deadly consequences of the U.S.-backed conflict that has lasted for years.

Overnight bombings included one that targeted a prison holding mostly migrants in the northern city of Sa’ada, an area described as being under the control of Houthi forces. Continue reading →

‘Victory for Humanity’: Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons to Take Effect as Honduras Becomes 50th Nation to Ratify

The United States has not ratified the treaty and the Trump administration is actively urging nations to withdraw from it.

By Jake Johnson, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 10-25-2020

“This is a new chapter for nuclear disarmament,” Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), said in a statement. (Photos: ICAN/Aude Catimel)

The global movement working to abolish nuclear weapons celebrated a “historic milestone” Saturday after Honduras became the 50th country to ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, pushing the agreement over the threshold required to enter into force.

Honduras’ ratification sets the stage for the international treaty to take effect on January 22, 2021 despite the refusal of the United States, the United Kingdom, Russia, and other powerful nuclear-armed nations to sign on to the agreement (pdf), which requires that signatories “never under any circumstances… develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess, or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.” Continue reading →

Occupy World Writes

The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: International Committee of the Red Cross

Saudi Bombings Kill Scores of Civilians—Including Children—in Yemen

“America is complicit in this,” said one critic of “this horrific war that Biden and his senior officials once promised to end.”

‘Victory for Humanity’: Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons to Take Effect as Honduras Becomes 50th Nation to Ratify

The United States has not ratified the treaty and the Trump administration is actively urging nations to withdraw from it.