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AP Report: 35,000 Terror Convictions World Wide Since 9/11

By Jeralyn, Section War on Terror
Posted on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 02:10:59 PM EST
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An investigative report by the Associated Press reveals that 35,000 people around the world have been convicted of terror offenses in the past decade. There were more than 119,000 arrests.

That included 2,934 arrests and 2,568 convictions in the United States, which led the war on terror — eight times more than in the decade before.

Many of those arrested were not terrorists but people "put behind bars for waving a political sign or blogging about a protest." Martin Sheinin, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counter-terrorism says:

"Nowadays people are realizing the abuse and even the actual use of counterterror laws is bad for human rights and also bad for actually stopping terrorism."

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    AP Report: 35,000 Terror Convictions World Wide Since 9/11 | 21 comments (21 topical)

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    Yeah, well how many of the convicted (5.00 / 0) (#1)
    by Mr Natural on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 02:16:12 PM EST
    have been ten year old kids caught with a plastic gun on the playground?

    A couple of years ago I read (somewhere) that certain criticisms/boycotts of corporations could be construed and prosecuted as terrorism.  Is there any truth to that?

    None, and no (none / 0) (#11)
    by gyrfalcon on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 08:44:15 PM EST
    You need to stop reading tinfoil hat web sites. The reality is bad enough.

    Parent
    The Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act (none / 0) (#14)
    by Mr Natural on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 10:19:34 PM EST
    A letter from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) to Congress dated March 6, 2006, "on behalf of hundreds of thousands of activists and members and fifty-three affiliates nationwide," explains their opposition to AETA based on the concern that First Amendment activities such as demonstrations, leafleting, undercover investigations, and boycotts may be punishable as acts of terror under the overly vague and open-ended law.

    In 2009, four individuals were indicted under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for peacefully protesting on public property outside the homes of professors conducting research involving animal testing. While the charges were eventually dismissed, the defendants were placed under house arrest for almost a year.[12] The AETA effectively granted law enforcement officers the authority to obstruct activism and free expression merely by deciding to pursue the criminal investigation.

    Parent

    Read that Wiki post further (none / 0) (#21)
    by jbindc on Tue Sep 06, 2011 at 02:14:24 PM EST
    The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) did not oppose the bill, but expressed concerns that "minor changes [were] necessary to make the bill less likely to chill or threaten freedom of speech."[9] The ACLU requested that the bill be amended to define what was meant by "real or personal property," to narrow the definition of "animal enterprise," and to substantially reduce penalties for conspiracy convictions under the statute. The particular changes proposed by the ACLU are not present in the final version of the AETA.



    Parent
    Some of the prosecutions (5.00 / 1) (#2)
    by jeffinalabama on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 02:23:00 PM EST
    and possibly convictions have been of mass murderers. A fellow in South Alabama was charged with some terrorism statute after running amok. I've even heard the threat of a terrorism related charge-- not against me, but I was a witness-- by the police to someone who threatened a teacher, based on state laws.

    There's no good definition for terrorism being used. Also, when legislators say, "Gee, if someone threatens a professor, or harms a professor, in a state school, it's terrorism," These sorts of cases tend to weaken what terrorism is.

    More laws, more top-down social control...

    Not good.

    Maybe it was ... (5.00 / 1) (#18)
    by Yman on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 09:11:55 AM EST
    ... a charge of "making terroristic threats"?

    Here in NJ you can be charged with "terroristic threats" if they threaten to commit an act of violence with the purpose (or with reckless disregard for) "terrorizing" another person.  A very broad charge, but not what we usually think of as "terrorism".

    Just a guess ...

    Parent

    Idiotic state laws in places like (none / 0) (#12)
    by gyrfalcon on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 08:45:45 PM EST
    Alabama are a whole 'nother story.  I assumed the article was talking about federal prosecutions.

    Parent
    Except (5.00 / 0) (#3)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 04:20:47 PM EST
    bush, cheney, rumsfeld, yoo, and a few other terrorists I can think of...

    Rice, Libby, Roberts, Thomas, Scalia, O'Connor, (none / 0) (#7)
    by Angel on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 04:56:40 PM EST
    Alito....

    Parent
    "Stanley A. McChrystal" (none / 0) (#10)
    by Edger on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 07:00:57 PM EST


    Parent
    Don't forget Doug Feith... (5.00 / 1) (#20)
    by desertswine on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 12:59:38 PM EST
    who is now tutoring Rick Perry.  Geez don't these guys ever go away.  We're stuck with them until they're dead.

    Parent
    The use of vague terms ... (5.00 / 0) (#4)
    by Robot Porter on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 04:21:10 PM EST
    like "terrorism" makes for bad politics, bad governance and little justice.  In fact, it usually leads to the exact opposite of justice.

    PBS Frontline on "Top Secret America" (5.00 / 1) (#13)
    by gyrfalcon on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 08:48:56 PM EST
    airs this Tuesday night.  It's mostly about the reporting by Dana Priest and William Arkin about the unimaginably huge new and utterly secret anti-terrorism establishment of the U.S. government that's grown since 9/11.

    They did a short version of this in a magazine-type edition of Frontline a few months ago and I found it jaw-dropping.

    They have a big article in the (5.00 / 1) (#17)
    by Anne on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 08:46:50 AM EST
    Sunday Washington Post, too; well worth reading, assuming you get a little Pepcid on board first, because it will turn your stomach.

    Parent
    denominator? (none / 0) (#5)
    by diogenes on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 04:51:26 PM EST
    If the US has 300 million people then in the last decade 2538 convictions equals fewer than one in one hundred thousand thousand per decade, or fewer than one in one million per year.  

    And what is your point? (5.00 / 0) (#6)
    by jeffinalabama on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 04:56:23 PM EST
    Let one in "fewer...than a million" be arrested and convicted for this tripe?

    Division isn't the answer here, nor is it the question.

    Parent

    well, (none / 0) (#9)
    by bocajeff on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 06:14:20 PM EST
    it's imporant when considering what the convictions were for (see the broad definition of terrorism as noted above), how many were actual convictions for what people would consider to be terrorism of some sort (anything from an anti-abortion bomber to some of the WTO rioting), and then when you see what the actual real numbers are it may not be that big of a deal or might be a huge deal.

    Then again, more people will be killed this year by drunk drivers or some other thing that we somehow find "acceptable" that we'd rather talk about this subject.

    Parent

    So if there were 35,000 (none / 0) (#16)
    by observed on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 08:39:37 AM EST
    journalists in prison for violating states secrets laws, that would be ok too?

    Parent
    "Nobody could have predicted" that (none / 0) (#8)
    by BobTinKY on Sun Sep 04, 2011 at 05:51:50 PM EST


    Declare Victory and Go Home (none / 0) (#15)
    by john horse on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 08:15:03 AM EST
    Maybe its time to do what Senator Aiken once suggested we do in  Vietnam.  With 119,000 arrests and 35,000 convictions for terror we should just "declare victory and go home."

    You know its hard to fight a two front war - simultaneously fighting terrorism and human rights.  In times such as these, don't we have better things to do with our limited resources?

    The military is being prepared for (none / 0) (#19)
    by Militarytracy on Mon Sep 05, 2011 at 10:41:46 AM EST
    RIF, reduction in force.  General Crutchfield recently addressed the entire post because it will affect everyone.  A lot of civilian jobs are disappearing and maybe more will have to further down this road.

    Is there any reduction in force for Shadow Spying?  Or is it all so secret they don't even have bookkeeping and budgets and such nonsense?

    AP Report: 35,000 Terror Convictions World Wide Since 9/11 | 21 comments (21 topical)

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