  Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) provides that
no state shall expel, return (“refouler”) or extradite a person
to another state where there are substantial grounds for
believing that he or she would be in danger of being subjected
to torture. To make such determinations, the CAT requires states
to examine all relevant factors, including a consistent pattern
of gross or flagrant violations of human rights in the country
in question.  Since the September 11, 2001 attacks, a number of
states have taken actions that have weakened the principle of
non-refoulement by returning persons suspected of involvement in
terrorism to their home countries or sending them to third
countries for detention and interrogation despite the known
likelihood that they would be tortured. While such returns also
occurred prior to September 11, there has been a troubling
increase in the practice since that time. These transfers often
occur outside of any re