Counterterrorism

On-Going

Crisis

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What's Going On

Organized foreign terrorist groups and their supporters continue to present a threat to the United States and the US Government continues to wrestle with the most effective way to handle captured terrorism suspects consistent with American values and the rule of law.

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Counterterrorism

Authoritarianism

Egypt’s Targeting Of Human Rights Defenders Is No Way to Fight Terrorism

WASHINGTON — Sentencing human rights defenders (HRDs) to long terms in prison is no way to confront terrorism, Human Rights First said today in response to the conviction of leading…

Press

An Insider View: January 6th Coup Attempt Demonstrated the Need for Proactive Human Rights Tools and DHS Leadership

A year ago the United States experienced the most existential threat to its imperfect democracy since the Civil War. The attempted coup at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th reached…

Blog

PROSECUTING TERRORISM

Federal trials protect human rights—and the United States. Military commissions at Gitmo, now in their third incarnation, are a failed experiment. Structurally shoddy and constitutionally dubious, they have produced few…

Topics

Human Rights First Statement on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11

WASHINGTON — Human Rights First’s President and CEO Mike Breen, a veteran of the war in Afghanistan, marked the 20th anniversary of 9/11, with the following statement. “Two decades after…

Press

Authoritarianism

20 Years After 9/11: Rights-Based Policies for a New Era

Reports

Human Rights First Decries Lack of Accountability in Bill for Capitol Insurrection Commission

WASHINGTON — Today, the House of Representatives passed legislation to create a bipartisan, independent, 9/11-style commission to examine the events surrounding the Capitol insurrection on January 6th. While we are encouraged…

Press

Human Rights First Demands Justice For The Assault On the Capitol

Washington – Human Rights First today urges immediate action to bring those responsible for the assault on our nation’s Capitol to justice. “In a country where the rule of law…

Press

Authoritarianism

The Biden Administration Can and Must Help Save Abdulrahman al-Sadhan

Blog

Amicus Brief – al-Hela v. Biden

Human Rights First, alongside Reprieve US and the law firm of Lewis Baach Kaufmann Middlemiss PLLC, filed an amicus curiae brief in support of the petitioner in Abdulsalam Ali Abdulrahman…

Amicus Briefs