[JURIST] A few weeks before passing the Protect America Act 2007 [S 1927 materials; JURIST report], members of Congress were briefed by intelligence officials that intercepts of foreign-based communications had declined to 25 percent of previous levels due to oversight by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) [official backgrounder], the New York Times reported Saturday. Just days before the passage of the surveillance bill, US House Minority Leader John A Boehner (R-OH) [official website] publicly disclosed a ruling from the FISC that Boehner said restricted the ability of intelligence agencies [JURIST report] to intercept communications between suspected terrorists in foreign countries because the court required a warrant when communications passes through US-based telecommunication systems. The NYT reported that intelligence officials also told members of Congress that there was increased "chatter" between suspected terrorists.

In January, the Bush Administration announced it would begin submitting all domestic surveillance requests [letter, PDF; JURIST report] to the FISC for review and approval under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) [text; JURIST news archive]. The new law, which gives the executive branch expanded surveillance authority for a period of six months while Congress works on long-term legislation to "modernize" FISA, is already facing a legal challenge from the Center for Constitutional Rights [advocacy website]. CCR alleges that the law violates the Fourth Amendment [press release; JURIST report] because it removes judicial oversight for spying and "leaves it to the executive branch to monitor itself." The New York Times has more.

[JURIST] The American Bar Association (ABA) [profession website] is considering a resolution [draft text, DOC] urging President George W. Bush to reconsider his July 20 executive order [text] on interrogations, which two ABA committees say allows the Central Intelligence Agency [official website] to be exempted from Common Article 3 [text] of the Geneva Conventions. The proposed resolution also urges the US Congress to enact legislation to supersede the executive order, and ensure that all foreign persons under the custody of the United States are treated in a manner that conforms with Article 3 and US Army Field Manual on Intelligence Interrogation of September 2006 [FM2-22.3, PDF text]. The resolution is among many being considered [recommendations, DOC] by the ABA at its 2007 San Francisco Annual Meeting [profession website]. The ABA will vote on the resolution next week.

US Director of National Intelligence Mike McConnell [official profile] defended the executive order and the administration's policy in July, insisting that the "United States does not engage in torture" [transcript, JURIST report]. The executive order bans cruel and inhuman treatment [JURIST report] of terror suspects, but does not specify what interrogation techniques are permissible. AP has more.

[JURIST] The Cuban government on Friday paroled dissident Francisco Chaviano Gonzalez [Amnesty backgrounder], after the former president of the Cuban National Council for Civil Rights served 13 years in prison. Chaviano was sentenced to 15 years in prison in May 1994 for allegedly "revealing state security secrets" and "falsifying public documents" by documenting cases of refugees who disappeared or died trying to flee Cuba.

The Cuban Commission for Human Rights and National Reconciliation, which made the announcement of Chaviano's release, estimates that the number of political prisoners in detention has dropped by over 20 percent since acting president Raul Castro [BBC profile] assumed the duties of Cuban President Fidel Castro [BBC profile] on July 31, 2006. The commission said that Chaviano was one of the "longest-held prisoners of conscience in the world." AP has more.