Proposed Ayotte Amendment Undermines National Security

Washington, DC –– Today, in response to an amendment introduced by Senator Ayotte to bar federal court counterterrorism prosecutions for terror suspects designated as “enemy combatants,” Human Rights First’s Raha Wala issued the following statement: “This amendment would fundamentally alter our criminal justice system and undermine national security. Why tinker with the single-most effective system we have for dealing with terrorism suspects? We cannot afford to abandon smart policy in an effort to score political points.” According to Human Rights First, federal courts have convicted more than 400 terror suspects since 9/11 compared to only six convictions before military tribunals.  Federal prosecutors have more criminal laws with which to charge terror suspects than tribunals, and the federal courts have more than 200 years of precedent to guide them, while tribunals have almost none.