Newsgroup: it.politica.pds
Titolo: Espoeratori di democrazia

ACLU The American Civil Liberties Union
The USA PATRIOT ACT and Government 
Actions that Threaten Our Civil Liberties
New legislation and government actions take away our freedom
With great haste and secrecy and in the name of the "war on
terrorism," Congress passed legislation that gives the Executive
Branch sweeping new powers that undermine the Bill of Rights and are
unnecessary to keep us safe. This 342-page USA PATRIOT Act was passed
on October 26, 2001, with little debate by Members of Congress, most
of whom did not even read the bill. The Administration then initiated
a flurry of executive orders, regulations, and policies and practices
that also threatened our rights.
 
The USA PATRIOT Act: 
Expands terrorism laws to include “domestic terrorism” which 
could subject political organizations to surveillance, wiretapping, 
harassment, and criminal action for political advocacy. 
Expands the ability of law enforcement to conduct secret 
searches, gives them wide powers of phone and Internet 
surveillance, and access to highly personal medical, financial, 
mental health, and student records with minimal judicial oversight. 
Allows FBI Agents to investigate American citizens for criminal 
matters without probable cause of crime if they say it is for
"intelligence purposes." 
Permits non-citizens to be jailed based on mere suspicion and to 
be denied re-admission to the US for engaging in free speech. 
Suspects convicted of no crime may be detained indefinitely in six 
month increments without meaningful judicial review.
 
What rights are being threatened?
First Amendment - Freedom of religion, speech, assembly, 
and the press. 
Fourth Amendment - Freedom from unreasonable searches 
and seizures. 
Fifth Amendment - No person to be deprived of life, liberty or 
property without due process of law. 
Sixth Amendment - Right to a speedy public trial by an 
impartial jury, right to be informed of the facts of the accusation, 
right to confront witnesses and have the assistance of counsel. 
Eighth Amendment - No excessive bail or cruel and unusual 
punishment shall be imposed. 
Fourteenth Amendment - All persons (citizens and noncitizens) 
within the US are entitled to due process and the 
equal protection of the laws. 
New Federal Executive Branch Actions
-  8,000 Arab and South Asian immigrants have been 
interrogated because of their religion or ethnic background, 
not because of actual wrongdoing. 
- Thousands of men, mostly of Arab and South Asian origin, 
have been held in secretive federal custody for weeks and 
months, sometimes without any charges filed against them.
The government has refused to publish their names and 
whereabouts, even when ordered to do so by the courts. 
- The press and the public have been barred from immigration 
court hearings of those detained after September 11th and 
the courts are ordered to keep secret even that the hearings 
are taking place. 
- The government is allowed to monitor communications between 
federal detainees and their lawyers, destroying the attorneyclient 
privilege and threatening the right to counsel. 
-  New Attorney General Guidelines allow FBI spying on religious 
and political organizations and individuals without having 
evidence of wrongdoing. 
- President Bush has ordered military commissions to be set up to 
try suspected terrorists who are not citizens. They can convict
based on hearsay and secret evidence by only two-thirds vote.
-  American citizens suspected of terrorism are being held 
indefinitely in military custody without being charged and without 
access to lawyers.
What can be done?
This lack of due process and accountability violates the rights
extended to all persons, citizensand non-citizens, by the Bill of
Rights. It resurrects the illegal COINTELPRO-type programs of
the ‘50’s, ‘60’s, and ‘70’s, where the FBI sought to disrupt and
discredit thousands of individuals and groups engaged in legitimate
political activity.
The American Civil Liberties Union, along with thousands of
organizations and individuals concerned with protecting our civil
rights and civil liberties, is campaigning to ensure that our
rights are not a casualty of the war on terrorism.
Join us in this effort to regain our hard-won freedoms.
• Support a resolution in your city rejecting the USA PATRIOT Act,
joining your city with othersacross the country in upholding the Bill
of Rights. 
• Contact your elected representatives and the President to express
your opposition to the USA PATRIOT Act.
• Send letters to local newspapers. Organize discussions in your
schools, organizations and religious institutions.
Become a member of the ACLU.
Because freedom can't protect itself. 
For more information, go to 
www.aclu.org/safeandfree
 


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