Higazy and Coerced Confessions

I had forgotten about this case (via Kevin Drum). 

Here’s the background: Abdallah Higazy is staying in a hotel on 9/11. They are evacuated from the hotel and hotel officials say they found a radio used to transmit to planes in his room. Higazy is called in for questioning. So far, so good. After he denies that the radio is his, though, it gets crazy during a polygraph test:

Higazy alleges that during the polygraph, Templeton told him that he should cooperate, and explained that if Higazy did not cooperate, the FBI would make his brother “live in scrutiny” and would “make sure that Egyptian security gives [his] family hell.” Templeton later admitted that he knew how the Egyptian security forces operated: “that they had a security service, that their laws are different than ours, that they are probably allowed to do things in that country where they don’t advise people of their rights, they don’t – yeah, probably about torture, sure.”

Higazy later said, “I knew that I couldn’t prove my innocence, and I knew that my family was in danger.” He explained that “[t]he only thing that went through my head was oh, my God, I am screwed and my family’s in danger. If I say this device is mine, I’m screwed and my family is going to be safe. If I say this device is not mine, I’m screwed and my family’s in danger. And Agent Templeton made it quite clear that cooperate had to mean saying something else other than this device is not mine.”

It sounds like a case from some totalitarian country: a person under suspicion, Abdallah Higazy, is told they can confess or their family will be ‘scrutinized’. He confessed, of course. Later a pilot shows up and says the radio is his so he is released and Higazy sues the hotel and the FBI agent. A few days ago, the Court of Appeals ruled that he had a case and the case could go forward.

It then gets even more interesting, the court put the opinion online (via here), but took it down after a couple hours. The next day they put up an opinion with part of the original redacted with the threat from the FBI agent left off–because this is secret (I guess this must be a typical tactic for the FBI?).

As you think about this, remember that the only reason he was let go was that the case was publicized–the pilot only knew to come forward because of that. And remember that the whole idea of this administration is that evidence should not have to be shown. It could easily have happened that this man was sent to Guantanamo and would still be there.