Oral Argument January 7, 2010

Maqaleh Pleadings

Fadi al Maqaleh was 20 years old when he was first detained, but is now almost 27. During the entire 6-year period while he has been in U.S. custody, he has not been permitted to see his family, and has been denied any access to lawyers or a court of law. His family only learned that Mr. al Maqaleh was in U.S. custody after he had been imprisoned for many months, and their only contact with him since then has been through heavily redacted letters and a few brief telephone conversations.

On January 7, 2010, a three-judge panel (Judges Sentelle, Tatel, and Edwards) of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit will hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the International Justice Network (IJNetwork) on behalf of three detainees who have been held without charge or trial in U.S. custody for more than six years.

While on a short business trip to Thailand, Mr. Al Bakri was abducted as part of the CIA's secret rendition and interrogation program, and likely subjected to torture during his time as a "ghost prisoner" before eventually resurfacing in U.S. military custody at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. For six months, Mr. Al Bakri's family had no idea what had become of him. "My son's wife and their three young children feared the worst," said Mr. Al Bakri's father, Muhammad. It was only after receiving a handwritten message delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) that Mr. Al Bakri's family learned that he was still alive.

Read al-Najar's Habeas Corpus Petition

In May 2002, unknown individuals broke into the home of Mr. Redha al Najar, a Tunisian citizen, who was residing in Karachi, Pakistan. Mr. al Najar was seized in front of his wife and two-year-old child, and disappeared for eighteen months. It was only after receiving a handwritten message in 2004, delivered by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), that his family learned that he was still alive. His son, who is now nine, has not had direct contact with his father since he was two-years-old. At the request of Mr. al Najar’s brother, IJNetwork filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus on his behalf in December of 2008.