Claim: Local Police Responsible for Denial of Scott's Vienna Convention Rights

In correspondence with the State Department, through the offices of Congressmen Robert E. Andrews (D-NJ) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD), officials have constantly reminded us that the State Department does not have jurisdiction over Canadian law enforcement personnel. This, of course, is not exactly rocket-science. The declaration is a side-step of the main issue, which is the denial of Scott's rights as a U.S. citizen under the Vienna Convention. Had Scott been able to obtain the support of his consulate, the events that transpired could never have taken place. There would be no story to tell.

The government of Canada is responsible for seeing that local law enforcement personnel adhere to its international treaties. Furthermore, the Canadian government itself became directly responsible in January of 2001, when they made the decision to deport Scott. (see the document below)

Drug from his torture cell in the basement of Whitby Jail in January of 2001, Scott was taken upstairs, his skin blistered and peeling from being steamed, where he met with a female immigration officer. The officer stated she was there to inform him that he was being deported.

Scott: "I demanded to talk with someone from the U.S. Embassy. She leaned back in her chair, smirked, and said 'Yeah Mr. Loper, we'll get right on that.' I was then removed and taken back to the basement, where the torture continued."

Although we cannot verify for the reader that such conversation took place, what we can confirm is that the Canadian Government, at that point, verifiably KNEW that Scott Loper was a U.S. citizen, and did nothing to inform the U.S. Consulate. We are also confident that Scott's torture was evident. Yet, no attempt was made to inquire about his physical condition. He was unclean, unshaven, and his skin was blistered from being blasted with steam.

In March of 2001, Scott finally gave in, telling the corrupt cops where they could find his surveillance tapes. He was them moved to a jail cell in the main prison. Shortly afterward, on March 20th, he was asked to sign papers, including the Deportation Order below. He thought, since he was signing a deportation order, that it would all be over. Instead, he was transferred to Milbrook Prison - a provincial prison reserved for the "worst of the worst" repeat offenders.

The two documents below were only recently obtained through friendly sources in Canada.

Claim: Scott Loper waived his Vienna Convention Rights

When, in 2005, Scott began to fight back, enlisting the help of Congressmen Robert Andrews and Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, the Canadians claimed, according to Congressman Andrews, that Scott had never lived in Canada. The U.S. Consulate in Canada asked for more information, which Scott provided them.

Scott's attorney, C. Scott Shields, scheduled a meeting with Congressman Hoyer in April of 2008. Steny Hoyer did not appear. Hoyer's chief of staff, Terry Lierman, stated Congressman Hoyer would not be appearing because he had received a document from the Canadian Government, stating that Scott Loper had waived his Vienna Convention rights. When Shields asked to see the document, he was told that it was not available.

Shields made several e-mail requests to Lierman, for a copy of the unsigned "waiver". He also requested a copy of a letter sent by Congressman Hoyer, on behalf of Scott Loper, in which Hoyer requested the document from the State Department. Lierman replied that the letter was "privileged". Kenneth Durkin, then Western Hemisphere Chief of the Office of Citizens Services and Crisis Management, replied to that letter from Hoyer, in which he said he had enclosed a copy of the unsigned document.

Shields had still not received either document. In an e-mail to Lierman, dated May 7th, Shields again requested the documents:

"I wrote you last week in response to your email to me that the letter that Rep. Hoyer wrote to the State Department on behalf of Mr. Loper requesting the unsigned Waiver of Rights (dated June 3, 2003) was privileged. I specifically requested that you disclose the nature of the privilege. You have ignored this request. Perhaps you could direct me to the Majority Leader's attorney about this matter. I believe that my client is entitled to this information, and we are prepared to file a lawsuit to gain access to this constituent information.

"I have tried to be patient and understanding, but this constituent's request for information relating to him is far too important to allow the silence of the Majority Leader to continue."

In a letter to Shields from House of Representatives attorneys, dated the following day, May 8th, Shields received the Canadian document, as well as the letter from the State Department to Hoyer. He never received the "privileged" letter Congressman Hoyer sent to the State Department.

There are several things wrong with this document held up by the State Department as a "waiver" of Scott's Vienna Convention rights. First of all, it is a paper for a deportation admissibility hearing (of which Scott was not in attendance). Secondly, it is dated June 3rd of 2003, three years after his original arrest, a long shot from the requirement of notice “without delay” as described by Article 36 of the Vienna Convention. Thirdly, and by far most important, the area for Scott's signature is blank. Scott never saw this document until it was presented to him by the State Department, who, along with Congressman Hoyer, accepted it as a valid representation of a waiver. The document is anything but.

In his letter to Congressman Hoyer, State Department Western Hemisphere Chief Kenneth Durkin makes a point to mention the document is signed by a Canadian immigration official. However, Mr. Durkin fails to note that there is no signature where Scott Loper would have signed. The document, thus, is invalid on that very big point alone.

It has been five years since the first requests for information from the Canadian Government were made through the State Department. Unless the State Department is withholding information from Scott, this is the only document ever produced by the Canadian Government on any matter concerning Scott and Eddy Loper.

"We're Not Concerned"

The letter below was written by Carolee Walker, former Acting Chief of the Western Hemisphere Division of the Office of American Services and Crisis Management, on behalf of Chief Theordore Coley, who had just taken over that office.

The letter, written to Congressman Frank Wolf, is almost verbatim the letter Walker sent to Wolf just one month earlier. The earlier letter is referenced above on this page, and we have well commented on many points in that reference. The second letter is being included here to highlight a couple of important points that differ from the previous letter.

It is obvious the purpose of this letter is to inform Congressman Wolf that the State Department is not interested in defending Scott Loper's rights. Walker states they "do not believe there is any assistance we are able to provide Mr. Loper".

Also of note, with this letter, the State Department is no longer trying to pretend the document held up by the Canadians as a waiver of Scott's Vienna Convention rights has any validity. They have replaced this illegitimate excuse by saying "Mistakes happen in every country and we do not raise a high level of concern unless we determine a pattern of violations."

This begs the question - how many victims of torture and illegal and unethical law enforcement and judicial practices and violations of international treaties does it take for the State Department to determine a pattern? Once they have determined that pattern, what, if anything, do they propose to do for those upon whose torture and abuse and shattered lives that determination was developed?

In the eyes of the U.S. State Department, it seems that crimes are only punishable after they have occurred a number of times. Someone should tell them the rest of the world, outside their Washington D.C. office, does not operate on those premises.

FOIA Requests Denied - State Department Violates Federal Law

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) was established in 1966 to provide for openness and transparency in the federal government. Where it concerns an individual, it is considered the individual's right to know the nature and detail of any information the government may have on record concerning that person.

Each government agency handles Freedom of Information requests concerning that particular agency. Scott Loper has made three FOIA requests that have been denied by the State Department.

It can only be assumed that the State Department is holding information they do not want Scott Loper to see. Denying his access to that information is a violation of federal law.

One can also only assume that this points to collusion with the Canadian Government to do what Canada does best - whitewash and cover up.