Alka Pradhan
@alkapradhan.bsky.social
Int'l human rights lawyer at Guantanamo & ICC. Penn Law prof. Chai, cheese, and hotteok connoisseur. I had hot sauce in my bag long before Beyoncé. No DoD opinions here; reposts are not confirmation/denial of classified info. She/Her
Pinned
Alka Pradhan
@alkapradhan.bsky.social
· Nov 21
Alka Pradhan - Shifting the mindset to end torture and coercion
YouTube video by APTGeneva
www.youtube.com
This is a pretty good encapsulation of my work on torture prevention and litigation against use of torture evidence. I hope that practitioners/judges in every forum will read and train on the #MendezPrinciples to make our legal systems more just.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=do9U...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=do9U...
Flag at half-staff for Dick Cheney at Camp Justice, Guantanamo Bay.
Photo taken after arriving on a flight carrying ICE agents involved in the new illegal migrant detentions, which expanded the Gitmo population for the first time since 2002 - Cheney's very dark legacy.
Photo taken after arriving on a flight carrying ICE agents involved in the new illegal migrant detentions, which expanded the Gitmo population for the first time since 2002 - Cheney's very dark legacy.
November 15, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Flag at half-staff for Dick Cheney at Camp Justice, Guantanamo Bay.
Photo taken after arriving on a flight carrying ICE agents involved in the new illegal migrant detentions, which expanded the Gitmo population for the first time since 2002 - Cheney's very dark legacy.
Photo taken after arriving on a flight carrying ICE agents involved in the new illegal migrant detentions, which expanded the Gitmo population for the first time since 2002 - Cheney's very dark legacy.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
The U.S. military is being used inside the United States. There's a lot we don't know about how, why, and under what authorities.
Today, Lawfare is launching a new project–which includes a tracker and a map–to follow where and how the military is being domestically deployed.
Today, Lawfare is launching a new project–which includes a tracker and a map–to follow where and how the military is being domestically deployed.
November 10, 2025 at 11:14 PM
The U.S. military is being used inside the United States. There's a lot we don't know about how, why, and under what authorities.
Today, Lawfare is launching a new project–which includes a tracker and a map–to follow where and how the military is being domestically deployed.
Today, Lawfare is launching a new project–which includes a tracker and a map–to follow where and how the military is being domestically deployed.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
SHUTDOWN TAKEAWAY: send home as many federal employees as you want, cut off people's food stamps, let health care system career towards a cliff, but don't mess with air travel, especially with holidays looming.
November 10, 2025 at 2:24 AM
SHUTDOWN TAKEAWAY: send home as many federal employees as you want, cut off people's food stamps, let health care system career towards a cliff, but don't mess with air travel, especially with holidays looming.
And this is the theme of all the confessions in every industry, to include the cowardly law firms that cut deals with the WH.
One of the talking points I keep seeing from Democrats is that part of the deal is that it will "ensure federal workers receive back pay" but that's the existing law!
That's not something you've won in negotiations. That's just the letter of the law. You don't get to claim that as a win.
That's not something you've won in negotiations. That's just the letter of the law. You don't get to claim that as a win.
November 10, 2025 at 1:20 AM
And this is the theme of all the confessions in every industry, to include the cowardly law firms that cut deals with the WH.
This is exactly it.
Basically: I think that people who are like 'eh it's not a bad deal' are also not understanding the current stakes of what Trump and co. are doing, and the cost of not using every piece of leverage you have.
November 10, 2025 at 12:58 AM
This is exactly it.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
Schumer (NY) 202 224-6542
Booker (NJ) 202 224-3224
King (ME) 202 224-5344
Hassan (NH) 202 224-3324
Durbin (IL) 202 224-2152
Ossoff (GA) 202 224-3521
Shaheen (NH) 202 224-2841
Gillibrand (NY) 202 224-4451
Masto (NV) 202 224-3542
Warner (VA) 202 224-2023
Booker (NJ) 202 224-3224
King (ME) 202 224-5344
Hassan (NH) 202 224-3324
Durbin (IL) 202 224-2152
Ossoff (GA) 202 224-3521
Shaheen (NH) 202 224-2841
Gillibrand (NY) 202 224-4451
Masto (NV) 202 224-3542
Warner (VA) 202 224-2023
November 9, 2025 at 10:54 PM
Schumer (NY) 202 224-6542
Booker (NJ) 202 224-3224
King (ME) 202 224-5344
Hassan (NH) 202 224-3324
Durbin (IL) 202 224-2152
Ossoff (GA) 202 224-3521
Shaheen (NH) 202 224-2841
Gillibrand (NY) 202 224-4451
Masto (NV) 202 224-3542
Warner (VA) 202 224-2023
Booker (NJ) 202 224-3224
King (ME) 202 224-5344
Hassan (NH) 202 224-3324
Durbin (IL) 202 224-2152
Ossoff (GA) 202 224-3521
Shaheen (NH) 202 224-2841
Gillibrand (NY) 202 224-4451
Masto (NV) 202 224-3542
Warner (VA) 202 224-2023
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
I'm legitimately confused about the play here. No person who now is going to go without coverage in the ACA is going to just blame the GOP. They will rightly blame the Democrats too. Dems won't get "points" for "fighting" if they cave. It makes little sense.
November 9, 2025 at 10:48 PM
I'm legitimately confused about the play here. No person who now is going to go without coverage in the ACA is going to just blame the GOP. They will rightly blame the Democrats too. Dems won't get "points" for "fighting" if they cave. It makes little sense.
ICYMI - I wrote this a few weeks ago about the frustration that many of us are feeling about this very preventable chaos, in the context of my June discussion with legendary South Korean author Hwang Sokyong about how we combat selective memory in times of crisis:
www.cjlpa.org/post/on-forg...
www.cjlpa.org/post/on-forg...
On Forgetting, in a Democracy
On a sunny day in June 2025, I visited the celebrated writer Hwang Sokyong at his home in Gunsan, South Korea. Years spent investigating the history of state-sponsored torture had led me through Mr Hw...
www.cjlpa.org
November 8, 2025 at 2:56 AM
ICYMI - I wrote this a few weeks ago about the frustration that many of us are feeling about this very preventable chaos, in the context of my June discussion with legendary South Korean author Hwang Sokyong about how we combat selective memory in times of crisis:
www.cjlpa.org/post/on-forg...
www.cjlpa.org/post/on-forg...
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano looked into a few of the men killed in Trump's extrajudicial strikes on Caribbean boats.
"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"
apnews.com/article/trum...
"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"
apnews.com/article/trum...
Trump has accused boat crews of being narco-terrorists. The truth, AP found, is more nuanced
One was a fisherman struggling to eke out a living on $100 a month. Another was a career criminal. A third was a former military cadet.
apnews.com
November 7, 2025 at 1:05 PM
AP reporter Regina Garcia Cano looked into a few of the men killed in Trump's extrajudicial strikes on Caribbean boats.
"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"
apnews.com/article/trum...
"They were laborers, a fisherman, a taxi driver. Two were low-level career criminals. One was a local crime boss who contracted out smuggling services"
apnews.com/article/trum...
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
It's impossible to overstate how much of what ICE is doing on the ground reflects this completely preposterous conflation of hostile *speech* and hostile *conduct.*
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
From Bovino's deposition: (1) he calls protestors "violent" if they articulate views hostile to ICE, even if no violence is manifested; (2) he instructs his forces to attack and arrest protestors who express "hyperbolic comments," which is to say, criticism of ICE and Bovino.
November 4, 2025 at 5:19 PM
It's impossible to overstate how much of what ICE is doing on the ground reflects this completely preposterous conflation of hostile *speech* and hostile *conduct.*
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
The First Amendment protects—or, at least, is supposed to protect—the former up and until it's a "true threat," which none of this is.
This, times infinity.
You don’t have to mourn war criminals. You don’t have to issue condolences to their families.
You don’t have to launder their legacies.
Save your grief for the innocents they killed, maimed or tortured without ever seeing justice served to their executioners.
You don’t have to launder their legacies.
Save your grief for the innocents they killed, maimed or tortured without ever seeing justice served to their executioners.
November 4, 2025 at 2:08 PM
This, times infinity.
There is a straight line from the impunity of Dick Cheney to the present day.
November 4, 2025 at 1:52 PM
There is a straight line from the impunity of Dick Cheney to the present day.
Can I interest anyone in two decades worth of scholarship based on a true story, on how NOT to treat detained persons, both in and out of armed conflict?
WHOA. The AP reports that in the latest strike on a boat alleged to be carrying drug smugglers (which has never been proven), there were actually survivors, and they've been rescued.
The Pentagon has yet to formally acknowledge they have survivors in custody.
apnews.com/article/vene...
The Pentagon has yet to formally acknowledge they have survivors in custody.
apnews.com/article/vene...
US has seized survivors after strike on suspected drug-carrying vessel in Caribbean, AP sources say
The U.S. has seized survivors after a strike on a suspected drug-carrying vessel in the Caribbean, the first since President Donald Trump began launching deadly attacks in the region this summer.
apnews.com
October 17, 2025 at 6:42 PM
Can I interest anyone in two decades worth of scholarship based on a true story, on how NOT to treat detained persons, both in and out of armed conflict?
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
BREAKING: Immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras after the use of tear gas and other actions against protesters, a judge rules.
'Startled' judge orders agents in Chicago area to wear body cameras after violent clashes
A judge says federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras after the use of tear gas and other aggressive steps against protesters.
bit.ly
October 16, 2025 at 3:35 PM
BREAKING: Immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras after the use of tear gas and other actions against protesters, a judge rules.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
"One recent flashpoint for the role of US military lawyers has been the series of strikes on boats in the Caribbean, with multiple current and former JAGs telling CNN that the strikes do not appear lawful."
Important article & reporting by @natashabertrand.bsky.social via @cnn.com.
Important article & reporting by @natashabertrand.bsky.social via @cnn.com.
NEW: How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action
New details here about how the Army’s top uniformed lawyer was fired just weeks after raising concerns about the use of the military domestically and mass firings of DoD employees www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...
New details here about how the Army’s top uniformed lawyer was fired just weeks after raising concerns about the use of the military domestically and mass firings of DoD employees www.cnn.com/2025/10/15/p...
How the Pentagon sidelined lawyers while testing the legal limits of military action | CNN Politics
For weeks earlier this year, the Army’s top uniformed lawyer had been raising legal concerns inside the Pentagon about some of the new policies being rolled out dictating how the military can be used ...
www.cnn.com
October 15, 2025 at 10:22 PM
"One recent flashpoint for the role of US military lawyers has been the series of strikes on boats in the Caribbean, with multiple current and former JAGs telling CNN that the strikes do not appear lawful."
Important article & reporting by @natashabertrand.bsky.social via @cnn.com.
Important article & reporting by @natashabertrand.bsky.social via @cnn.com.
How devastating. Her writing held so much meaning for so many.
Baek Sehee, the author of I WANT TO DIE BUT I WANT TO EAT TTEOKBOKKI has passed away. She was 35.
The Korean organ donation authority reports that Sehee saved five lives through her donation of her heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys.
The Korean organ donation authority reports that Sehee saved five lives through her donation of her heart, lungs, liver, and both kidneys.
October 17, 2025 at 11:17 AM
How devastating. Her writing held so much meaning for so many.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
Trump is no longer even pretending to have any kind of argument that his murdering of people in the Caribbean Sea has any kind of statutory validity. Just straight up declaring that he has quasi-unlimited power to execute people based on (nominal) suspicion.
October 14, 2025 at 6:20 PM
Trump is no longer even pretending to have any kind of argument that his murdering of people in the Caribbean Sea has any kind of statutory validity. Just straight up declaring that he has quasi-unlimited power to execute people based on (nominal) suspicion.
It's the "again" - because we begged for accountability long before the 2020 election, to rein in executive power gone wild, and then begged again after the 2020 election, thinking it would surely, finally, happen. Nope. We are never more exceptional as in impunity.
I don't doubt that Trumpism will soon crumble and things will return to a seeming normal. But what worries me is whether we will again make the mistake of offering impunity to these degenerates because if so, we're just waiting around for fascism that sticks.
Gonna be thinking about this lede for a minute.
October 8, 2025 at 12:31 AM
It's the "again" - because we begged for accountability long before the 2020 election, to rein in executive power gone wild, and then begged again after the 2020 election, thinking it would surely, finally, happen. Nope. We are never more exceptional as in impunity.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
Very nice piece from my colleague @stevevladeck.bsky.social in today's Times on the illegality of Trump's troop deployments to American cities. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
Opinion | No, Trump Can’t Deploy Troops to Wherever He Wants
www.nytimes.com
October 7, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Very nice piece from my colleague @stevevladeck.bsky.social in today's Times on the illegality of Trump's troop deployments to American cities. www.nytimes.com/2025/10/07/o...
After spending some time in/studying Gwangju, this is a constant question in my mind.
I think the chances of an American Gwangju (massacre deliberately ordered by the dictatorship and carried out by the military) are small but that the chances of another Kent State (paranoia and stupidity and deployment of troops for unsuited role result in deaths) very high.
i do think the shutdown + massive layoffs + NG invasions may up dragging America closer to the cool zone than we would like
October 6, 2025 at 3:09 AM
After spending some time in/studying Gwangju, this is a constant question in my mind.
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
HAPPENING NOW: Judge Karin Immergut hears emergency arguments as California and Oregon seek to block President Trump's deployment of federalized California National Guard troops to Portland. 🧵
NEW: Judge Immergut schedules a hearing TONIGHT, in 45 min, to hear arguments on SECOND TRO to block federalized California National Guard from deploying in Portland, Oregon. www.courtlistener.com/docket/71481...
October 6, 2025 at 2:50 AM
HAPPENING NOW: Judge Karin Immergut hears emergency arguments as California and Oregon seek to block President Trump's deployment of federalized California National Guard troops to Portland. 🧵
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
Where are the commanding officers of those sailors in the background. How are they letting this happen?
Trump to the Navy: "We have to take care of this little gnat that's on our shoulder called the Democrats."
October 5, 2025 at 9:20 PM
Where are the commanding officers of those sailors in the background. How are they letting this happen?
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
Oh he can just unilaterally pass unconstitutional laws now huh ok
October 3, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Oh he can just unilaterally pass unconstitutional laws now huh ok
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
“Four children who are U.S. citizens were taken into custody amid the operation at the apartment complex on Tuesday until they could be placed in the care of guardians or the state, the DHS spokesperson said.”
people.com/ice-agents-o...
people.com/ice-agents-o...
ICE Agents Rappel from Helicopter in Overnight Chicago Raid, Dragging Kids from Beds to U-Hauls
Overnight on Tuesday, Sept. 30, federal agents from different agencies raided an apartment building on the South Side of Chicago, pulling men, women and children — some of them allegedly naked — from ...
people.com
October 3, 2025 at 7:34 PM
“Four children who are U.S. citizens were taken into custody amid the operation at the apartment complex on Tuesday until they could be placed in the care of guardians or the state, the DHS spokesperson said.”
people.com/ice-agents-o...
people.com/ice-agents-o...
Reposted by Alka Pradhan
BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
October 2, 2025 at 10:42 PM
BREAKING: Our client Mario Guevara, an Emmy-winning journalist detained by ICE in retaliation for livestreaming law enforcement activity, will be deported tomorrow to El Salvador.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.
Mario and his family are being punished for his reporting. This cruelty is meant to stifle our free press.