20121211 IACHR Petition FINAL
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TO THE HONORABLE MEMBERS OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS, ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES PETITION ALLEGING VIOLATIONS OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS OF JOSE PADILLA and ESTELA LEBRON BY THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA WITH A REQUEST FOR AN INVESTIGATION AND HEARING ON THE MERITS By the undersigned, appearing as counsel for petitioners UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF ARTICLE 23 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE OF THE INTER-AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS Steven M. Watt Human Rights Program American Civil Liberties Union 125 Broad Street, 18th Floor New York, NY, 10004 F/(212)-549-2654 P/(212)-519-7870 Hope Metcalf Ingrid Deborah Francois, Law Student Intern Sheng Li, Law Student Intern Alaina Varvaloucas, Law Student Intern Allard K. Lowenstein Human Rights Clinic Yale Law School 127 Wall St. New Haven, CT 06520 P/(203)-432-9404 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................................... 1 FACTUAL AND PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND ................................................................................................ 3 I. Petitioner Estela Lebron ............................................................................................................................................. 3 II. Seizure, Detention, and Interrogation of Jose Padilla ................................................................................... 3 A. Initial Arrest and Detention Under the Material Witness Act .......................................................... 3 B. Transfer to U.S. Military Custody .................................................................................................................. 5 C. Detention and Interrogation in U.S. Military Custody ......................................................................... 6 D. Access to Counsel ................................................................................................................................................ 10 E. Physical and Psychological Effects of Mr. Padilla’s Torture and Abuse ................................... 12 III. Domestic Legal Proceedings .................................................................................................................................. 15 A. Habeas Corpus Proceedings ........................................................................................................................... 15 B. Civilian Criminal Proceedings ...................................................................................................................... 17 C. Civil Damages Actions ...................................................................................................................................... 18 CONTEXT AND PATTERNS: AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF TORTURE AND ARBITRARY DETENTION IN THE “WAR ON TERROR” .......................................................................... 20 I. Creating a Legal Black Hole: Bush Executive Orders and the “Torture Memos” ....................... 20 II. Failure to Prosecute Perpetrators and the Denial of Remedies for Torture, Inhuman Treatment, and Extended Detention in U.S. Courts ................................................................................... 24 LEGAL ARGUMENT ......................................................................................................................................................... 26 I. The Commission’s Interpretative Mandate .................................................................................................... 26 II. The United States Violated Articles I, XXV, and XXVI of the American Declaration by Arbitrarily Detaining Mr. Padilla ....................................................................................................................... 28 A. The American Declaration Prohibits Arbitrary Detention .............................................................. 28 B. The United States Arbitrarily Detained Mr. Padilla ........................................................................... 32 III. The United States Violated Articles I, XXV, and XXVI of the American Declaration by Torturing Mr. Padilla and Subjecting Him to CIDT ................................................................................. 39 A. The American Declaration Prohibits Torture and CIDT ................................................................. 39 B. Mr. Padilla Was Tortured and Subjected to CIDT. ............................................................................ 44 IV. The United States Violated Ms. Lebron’s Right to Humane Treatment under Article I of the American Declaration. .................................................................................................................................. 50 A. Article I of the American Declaration Recognizes the Right to be Free from Psychological and Emotional Damage ............................................................................................................ 50 B. The United States Violated Ms. Lebron’s Right to be Free from CIDT by Causing Her Psychological and Emotional Damage ............................................................................................................ 51 V. The United States Violated Ms. Lebron’s and Mr. Padilla’s Right to Family Life Under Articles V and VI ........................................................................................................................................................ 52 VI. The United States Violated Mr. Padilla’s Right to Religion under Article III of the American Declaration. ................................................................................................................................................................... 54 VII. The United States Violated Mr. Padilla’s Right to Equality Before the Law Under Article II. ........................................................................................................................................................................ 55 A. The American Declaration Provides for Equality Before the Law. ............................................. 55 B. The Unites States Discriminated Against Mr. Padilla at Least Implicitly Based on his Race and/or Religion. ............................................................................................................................................................. 58 VIII. The Failure of U.S. Courts to Consider the Merits of Mr. Padilla’s and Ms. Lebron’s Claims Violated Their Rights to a Remedy Guaranteed under Article XVIII of the American Declaration .................................................................................................................................................................... 60 ADMISSIBILITY ................................................................................................................................................................... 63 I. This Petition Is Admissible under the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ........................................................................................................................................................ 63 A. The Commission Has the Jurisdiction and Competence to Consider this Petition ............... 63 B. Petitioner Has Exhausted All Available, Appropriate, and Effective Domestic Remedies 65 C. This Petition is Submitted within Six Months from the Exhaustion of Domestic Remedies ..................................................................................................................................................................................... 67 D. No Duplicate Proceedings Are Pending in Other International Tribunals ............................... 67 CONCLUSION AND PETITION ................................................................................................................................... 67 INTRODUCTION This petition is brought against the United States (U.S.) by Estela Lebron on her own behalf and on behalf of her son, Jose Padilla, for violating their rights guaranteed under the American Declaration on the Rights and Duties of Man (American Declaration). In 2002, U.S. agents arrested Mr. Padilla in Chicago, Illinois, designated him an “enemy combatant,” and transferred him—without judicial oversight, representation by counsel, or a hearing of any kind—into the custody of the U.S. military in Charleston, South Carolina. Mr. Padilla, a Hispanic-Muslim U.S. citizen, remained in military confinement for 43 months without being charged with a crime, the first 21 months of which he was held completely incommunicado, with the exception of a single short letter to his mother letting her know that he was alive. During his detention, U.S. agents interrogated Mr. Padilla using methods that included painful stress positions, sleep deprivation, and sensory deprivation, which caused him severe physical and psychological trauma that persists to this day. While he was detained and interrogated, the United States also refused Mr. Padilla any contact with his lawyers or family, and also interfered with his ability to practice his faith. For the entirety of his ordeal, the United States hid the truth of Mr. Padilla’s mistreatment and systematically frustrated his attempts to obtain meaningful judicial review of his detention or mistreatment by blocking communications with his attorneys. Ms. Lebron has suffered greatly as