Terrorism suspect files cruelty claim
A suspected Syrian terrorist who has spent seven years in mostly segregated custody in Canada is claiming that his indefinite detention without charge or trial amounts to cruelty, his lawyer said Sunday.
In a challenge filed in Federal Court on Friday, Hassan Almrei argues that his lengthy incarceration violates his constitutional rights, Toronto lawyer Lorne Waldman told the Canadian Press.
“It’s seven years, and we’re saying it’s unconstitutional,” Waldman said, speaking from Argentina. “It’s cruel and inhumane treatment.”
Almrei, who has traveled to Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and Pakistan, was arrested in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks in the U.S. He is one of five Muslim foreigners held under a national security certificate – which allows the Canadian government to detain them indefinitely as a threat to public safety based on secret evidence.
TIJUANA, Mexico
Prisoners riot after inmate deaths
Prisoners angered by the alleged deaths of inmates at the hands of guards rioted Sunday at a state penitentiary in this Mexican border city, injuring at least four prisoners.
The four suffered bullet wounds and were evacuated for treatment, Red Cross official Fernando Esquer said. It was unclear who shot them.
The riot began Sunday afternoon and quickly escalated.
Prison authorities have refused to give any information, and it was unclear how much of the compound was under the prisoners’ control.
A fire raged on the patio as evening fell, and inmates hung messages and shouted slogans from the prison’s roof and windows.
Several messages claimed that prison guards had killed at least two prisoners, beating one man to death on Saturday and killing the other last week.
ANKARA, Turkey
Ferry sinks with 100 on board
A ferry carrying some 100 people sank in the Sea of Marmara late Sunday, killing at least one person, officials said. At least 23 more were missing.
The coast guard and fishing boats pulled 72 people out of the sea that separates the Aegean and the Black Sea, a government statement said.
The 390-foot ferry, which was loaded with 73 trucks and two cars, went down shortly after leaving the northwestern port of Bandirma on its way to Istanbul.
Most of the passengers jumped into the sea, but authorities fear others may have been inside their vehicles when the ferry sank. Some of the survivors swam to shore, private Dogan news agency reported.
A 41-year-old man was confirmed dead, and 28 people were taken to local hospitals, Bandirma Gov. Selahattin Hatipoglu told private NTV television. All crew members were safe.
Police detained the ship’s captain for questioning, Dogan reported.