Groups Asks High Court to Open Unusually Secret Case - January 12, 2004 Vol.5 No.1

January 12, 2004 Vol.5 No.1:

Published: 01/12/2004

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Groups Asks High Court to Open Unusually Secret Case

Public interest and media organizations this week appealed to the Supreme Court to stop the near-total secrecy surrounding the five-month detention of a Florida waiter as part of what the federal government claims to be a terrorism-related investigation. They did this through a friend of the court or an amicus brief.

The case has been handled with unusual secrecy (see Watcher, Nov. 17). The existence of the case is known outside the court system only because documents identifying the case were inadvertently and temporarily filed in the public docket and a reporter discovered the case.

This amicus brief follows an earlier brief filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. The groups argue that the high court should force the federal government to make more records in the case available to the public. Mr. Bellahouel, the Florida waiter, who has not been charged with a terrorism-related crime, is currently free after posting a $10,000 bond. He may be deported for living in the United States with an expired student visa.

Whether the government's actions are justified will remain unclear if the government is able to continue to file their arguments in secret.

See http://www.rcfp.org/news/releases/view.cgi?2004_01_02_mkbvward.txt