April 2, 2003

A briefing for the press

WASHINGTON, DC / GENEVA… The International Human Rights Law Group and the International Federation for Human Rights will brief Members of the press on The Human Rights Situation in the USA Post-9/11: the war on terrorism or the war on human rights on April 4, 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland. The briefing will take place in Press Room II at the Palais des Nations from 11:30 AM to 12:30 PM.

Speakers at the press briefing include Shakir Baloch, a post-9/11 detainee, Steven Watts of the Center for Constitutional Rights, and Angela Wright of Amnesty International.

Shakir Baloch is a Pakistan-born Canadian citizen who came to New York in 1998 to work as an ultrasound technologist and study for the U.S. medical license exams. On September 20, 2001, Baloch’s apartment was illegally searched by the police and he was taken into custody. He was incarcerated for more than five months and then sent back to Canada without his identification papers or money. During his incarceration, he was repeatedly interrogated, physically abused and threatened with extended imprisonment. Since his release, Baloch has been diagnosed with tuberculosis, contracted while in prison, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Steven Watts of the Center for Constitutional Rights (member of the FIDH) will speak about his litigation efforts on behalf of post-9/11 detainees, including Shakir Baloch. Angela Wright is the Human Rights Researcher for the U.S. at Amnesty.
The International Human Rights Law Group is a Washington, DC based international nongovernmental organization which conducts human rights advocacy, human rights lawyering and training around the world. The Law Group’s U.S. Racial Discrimination Program works with anti-racism organizations to utilize international human rights laws and mechanisms to support their advocacy.
The International Federation for Human Rights was founded in 1922 and works for the promotion and protection of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It is constituted of 116 Human rights organizations in 100 countries. It coordinates and supports their actions, and accompanies them to international fora.