Bush administration has misused Material Witness law to detain at least 70 terrorism suspects: Only 28 eventually charged: all but one a Muslim

Guardian Unlimited | World Latest | Groups: U.S. Misuses Material Witness Law: "Sunday June 26, 2005 2:31 PM | By MARK SHERMAN | Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration has misused a federal law to detain at least 70 terrorism suspects since the Sept. 11 attacks, two advocacy groups contend.

Administration officials defend the detentions by pointing out that judges approved material witness warrants.

The material witness law, enacted in 1984, allows the arrest and detention of witnesses who might flee before testifying in criminal cases.

Only 28 of the suspects were eventually charged with a crime, according to the American Civil Liberties Union and Human Rights Watch, and most of those charges were not related to terrorism.

Seven were charged with providing material support to terrorist organizations.

At least 30 detainees were never called to testify before a court or grand jury, the advocacy groups said in a report released Sunday. All but one of those detained are Muslim, they said.

A Justice Department spokesman, Kevin Madden, told The Associated Press that ``material witness statutes are designed with judicial oversight safeguards and are critical to aiding criminal investigations ranging from organized-crime rackets to human trafficking.''"