Rights Group Files FOIA Requests Regarding Israel Attack on FLOTILLA Delivering Aid to Gaza

02. Jul, 2010Print This Article! Print This Article! 0 Comments

Questions Asked Regarding U.S. Knowledge of, and Response to, Attack that Killed One U.S. Citizen, Others Injured and Detained

CONTACT: press@ccrjustice.org

July 1, 2010, Washington, D.C. – Yesterday, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) filed eight Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests regarding the United States government’s knowledge of, and actions in relation to, the May 31, 2010 attack by Israel on a flotilla of six vessels in international waters seeking to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza, and U.S. policy towards the blockade of Gaza, which has entered its fourth year. The FOIA requests were made to a number of U.S. departments and agencies, including the Coast Guard, the Department of State, the Navy and the U.S. European Command.

“One U.S. citizen was killed, others were injured, detained and had their property taken, and a U.S.-registered vessel seized by Israel during its attack in international waters last month,” said CCR attorney Katherine Gallagher. “Serious questions remain unanswered about the U.S. response to the attack, its actions and policies, particularly in the context of the blockade of Gaza, internationally condemned as illegal and unjust. Citizens need to know their government will protect their rights under U.S. and international law vis-à-vis a foreign government, including Israel—the biggest recipient of U.S. aid over the last fifty years.”
Specifically, the FOIA requests seek information on what, if any, communications were made between the U.S. government and Israel prior to and after the attack; what, if any, information the U.S. shared before or after with Israel about any of the U.S. citizens abroad; what was done to secure the release of detained citizens; and what is being done to return property seized from U.S. citizens and other passengers and to ensure that such property, which includes evidence for any investigations into the attack, is not tampered with or destroyed.

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No Responses to “Rights Group Files FOIA Requests Regarding Israel Attack on FLOTILLA Delivering Aid to Gaza”

  1. Fakhrul Ferdous Reply 05. Jul, 2010 at 11:47 am

    Many thanks to CCR’s dedicated activists.

    The requests by the CCR to US GOVT. departments and agencies ,I am in doubt whether it will be entertained or answered.
    No matter we have to keep on hammering.

    They make the laws and they break it.

    The US is the No.1 terrorist country of the world.

    May ALLAh bless all the peace loving people on earth and the Palestinians.

    [Reply]

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