Djamel Ameziane v. United States

Court	Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, United States
Case number	P-900-08
Decision title	Report No. 17/12 (Admissibility)
Decision date	20 March 2012
Parties	Djamel Ameziane United States
Categories	Torture
Keywords	admissibility, arbitrary detention, cruel and degrading treatment, deliberate deprivation of medical attention, Guantanamo Bay, human rights, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, torture
Links	Report No. 17/12 (Admissibility)
Other countries involved	Algeria

Summary

Djamel Ameziane is an Algerian national who has been detained at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 2002. On 6 August 2008, a petition was launched to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on behalf of Djamel Ameziane alleging that Ameziane, while in US custody, has been subjected to torture, cruel and degrading treatment and if he would be transferred back to Algeria, he would be at risk of serious harm. On 20 August 2008, the IACHR issued an Urgent Precautionary Measure, requesting the US to take all measures necessary to ensure that Ameziane would not be subjected to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment.

The IACHR examined the admissibility, and on 20 March 2012, it concluded that the petition filed on behalf of Ameziane is admissible. The Commission established that it had personal and temporal jurisdiction. With respect to territorial jurisdiction, it found that the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man allowed for an extraterritorial scope where the person concerned was subject to the control of State party to the Declaration despite the fact that the person was physically present on the territory of a different State. The Commission found no other procedural obstacles that would prevent it from proceeding to the merits phase of the case, and therefore, found the case to be admissible.

Procedural history

Djamel Ameziane has been held at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (Cuba) since 2002. On 24 February 2005, Djamel Ameziane petitioned for a writ of habeas corpus in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On 30 June 2009, the District Court found in favour of Ameziane’s request for the disclosure of certain protected information.

On 8 January 2010, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit overturned a previous decision by the District Court. An unredacted version was issued on 5 October 2012.

On 6 August 2008, Ameziane filed a complaint against the US before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), alleging torture, inadequate medical treatment and denial of other human rights. Consequently, the IACHR issued an urgent precautionary measure on 20 August 2008, in which it urged the US to take all necessary measures to ensure that Ameziane would not be subjected to torture, inhumane or degrading treatment.

Related developments

On 5 December 2013, Ameziane is forcibly repatriated to Algeria. In September 2015, Amezian filed a Merits brief with the IACHR, urging it to declare that the United States violated his human rights and to recommend relief.

Legally relevant facts

On 6 August 2008, a petition was launched on behalf of Djamel Ameziane by the Center for Constitutional Rights and the Center for Justice and International Law. The petition alleges that Ameziane, while in US custody, has been subjected to torture, cruel and degrading treatment and if he would be transferred back to Algeria, he would be at risk of serious harm (paras. 1-2).

On this basis, the petition alleges that Ameziane’s rights under the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man have been violated. The petition also alleges that Ameziane’s case is admissible since Ameziane is exempt from a prior exhaustion of domestic remedies considering the lack of decision on the merits of his habeas corpus petition filed in February 2005 and the municipal law bars him from pursuing any action for the harm he allegedly suffered (para. 3).

On 20 August 2008, the IACHR granted a precautionary measure in favor of Ameziane, requesting the United States to ensure that Ameziane would not be subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and he would not be transferred to a country where he would be in danger of being mistreated (para. 6).

Core legal questions

Is the claim adduced on behalf of Ameziane admissible before the IACHR?

Specific legal rules and provisions

Articles I, III, V, XI, XVIII, XXV, and XXVI of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man.
Article 31 and 34 of the Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.

Court's holding and analysis

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) found that it had jurisdiction ratione personae (para. 27), and jurisdiction ratione temporis (para. 28). With respect to its jurisdiction ratione loci, the IACHR found that the duty, imposed by the American Declaration, to protect the rights of any person within its territory “may, under given circumstances, refer to conduct with an extraterritorial locus where the person concerned is present in the territory on one State, but subject to the control of another States, usually through the acts of the latter’s agents abroad.” (para. 30). The IACHR found that “Guantanamo Bay falls under the jurisdiction of the United States” (para 34) and the “Inter-American Commission is competent ratione loci to take cognizance of the petition inasmuch as it alleges violations of rights protected by the American Declaration said to have occurred within the jurisdiction of the United States” (para. 35).

The IACHR was also satisfied that the procedural rules on admissibility, including the exhaustion of domestic remedies (para 36 et seq.), the timeliness of the petition (para. 44 et seq.), duplication of proceedings (para 46), and colourable claims (para. 47 et seq.) impose no bars to the admissibility of the claim. The Commission concluded that “the petition is not manifestly groundless or out of order and concludes … that it should be declared admissible” (para. 50).

Further analysis

J. Wells Dixon, 'IACHR Guantanamo Case a Hallmark for Human Rights', Jurist, 27 April 2012.
Center for Constitutional Rights, Ameziane v. Obama / Ameziane v. United States

Instruments cited

American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man, Adopted by the Ninth International Conference of American States, Bogotá, Colombia, 1948.
Rules of Procedure of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, IACHR 137^th session, 28 October – 13 November 2009, modified 2 September 2011.

Related cases

US District Court for the District of Columbia, Jamel Ameziane v. George W. Bush et al., Case 1:05-cv-00392-ESH, Petition for Writ of Habeas Corpus and Complaint for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief, 24 February 2005;
US District Court for the District of Columbia, Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al., Case No. 05-392, Transcript, 30 June 2009, in US District Court for the District of Columbia, Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al., Appellants’ Appendix, 8 October 2009, p. 53;
US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama et al., No. 09-5236, 6 October 2010;
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Djamel Ameziane v. United States, Petition and Request for Precautionary Measures, 6 August 2008;
Organization of American States, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, Letter of Santiago A. Canton, Ref: Djamel Ameziane, Precautionary Measures no. 211-08, United States, 20 August 2008.