Clare Morgana Gillis, an international journalist with Connecticut roots who spent 44 days in captivity in Libya this spring, is expected to testify this morning at a Senate hearing on treaty that would give citizens detained abroad access to their consulates.
The New Haven-based Gillis was detained by loyalists to Moammar Gaddafi on April 5 and held for part of the time in a women's civilian jail in Tripoli. In an article in The Atlantic published shortly after her release in late May, Gillis said her time in captivity was a mix of "uncertainty, boredom, and a constant dread that [she] might never make it home."
She will testify this morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is holding a hearing on the Consular Notification Compliance Act of 2011. The measure, introduced by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, chairman of the committee, would help U.S. officials locate missing Americans abroad and advocate for their release when they are illegally detained. Passage of the treaty would ensure U.S. compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a treaty that the U.S. is a party to.
"Clare's incredible story is an important reminder of how international rules provide American citizens with critical support and protection when detained abroad,'' U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn. and a member of the Judiciary Committee, said via email yesterday.
"By bringing the United States into compliance with its international treaty obligations, the Consular Notification Compliance Act will ensure that when American citizens are detained abroad, other nations continue to notify the United States, allow our diplomats access to those citizens to determine their condition, and provide a mechanism for negotiating for their release," he added.
While supporters say the treaty is needed to ensure the safety of U.S. citizens travelling abroad, it would also apply to foreign nationals being held in the U.S. The concept behind the Consular Notification Compliance Act came into play in the case of a Mexican immigrant named Humberto Leal Garcia, who was convicted in the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in Texas. Even though Leal Garcia's conviction was obtained in violation of the terms of the Vienna Convention, he was sentenced to death.
His lawyers, the Mexican government and the Obama administration appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, asking for a stay of execution so Congress would have time to pass the treaty. But the court on July 7 rejected those arguments and, several hours later, Leal Garcia was executed.
