Tag: Guantanamo (page 12)

Binyan Mohamed's allegations of torture while at Guantanamo are making their way through the British courts. In a joint ruling, two British Judges issued a ruling blasting the U.S. for not releasing evidence that would show if British agents were complicit in torturing Mohammed and for threatening Britain.

The ruling implies that torture has taken place in the Mohamed case, that British agencies may have been complicit, and most important of all, that the United States Government has threatened our High Courts that if it releases this information, the US Government will withdraw its intelligence co-operation with the United Kingdom on matters of security.

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Colorado Governor Bill Ritter has suggested that Supermax in Florence, Colorado would be appropriate for Guantanamo detainees.

Ritter wouldn't oppose transferring the Guantanamo Bay detainees to Supermax because it was built for just that type of high-risk inmate, Ritter spokesman Evan Dreyer said today. "If Supermax is chosen, there's no reason to take a 'not in my backyard' approach," Dreyer said.

Not quite. Supermax is for "the worst of the worst" of convicted felons. None of the remaining detainees at Guantanamo has been convicted of a crime yet. [More...]

President Obama took a great step forward today for the detainees at Guantanamo, for the rule of law and for the restoration of America's image in the world.

Yes, there's more work to be done, specifically with ensuring that the secret renditions via Ghost Air to other countries whose personnel may engage in torture are not allowed in the future, that the definition of torture includes not just what is prohibited by regulations in the Army Field Manual but also comports in all respects with the Geneva Conventions and the Convention Against Torture, that the military tribunals be dismantled entirely following the review process and that no new national security or other court system is set up to try detainees (our federal criminal and military courts are up to the task).

It's amazing to hear some of the pundits on TV tonight criticize Obama's orders and suggest Gitmo should stay open. Perhaps they have forgotten or never seen the images in this video. [More...]

Bump and Update: The Obama Administration is circulating a draft of an executive order allowing for up to a year to close Guantanamo. As the Center for Constitutional Rights says, that's too long.

It only took days to put these men in Guantanamo, it shouldn’t take a year to get them out. We are proud that President Obama made addressing Guantánamo one of his first acts in office. Yet we are disappointed that he outlined no concrete steps for closing the base and gave his administration an entire year to sort out its plans – meaning that some men could have been detained indefinitely in terrible conditions for eight full years. Surely he could do better.

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The Government of Switzerland made a generous offer today -- it is willing to consider taking Guantanamo detainees who cannot return to their home countries:

"For Switzerland, the detention of people in Guantanamo is in conflict with international law. Switzerland is ready to consider how it can contribute to the solution of the Guantanamo problem," the government said in a statement.

Switzerland said it welcomed the expressed intention of U.S. President Barack Obama to close the prison and would investigate security and legal implications of possibly taking in detainees.

Portugal and France have also expressed a willingness to consider taking detainees. [More...]

The Pentagon announced today it released six detainees from Guantanamo. All had been determined, after multiple reviews, of not being enemy combatants.

Four were sent to Iraq, one to Afghanistan and one to Algeria. The detainee returned to Afghanistan was Bizmullah. From the DOD press release:

he Department of Defense has determined – through its comprehensive review processes - that approximately 60 detainees at Guantanamo are eligible for transfer or release. Departure of these detainees is subject to ongoing discussions between the United States and other nations.

245 detainees remain at Guantanamo.

You've probably read the claims by the Defense Department that 61 of the released Guantanamo detainees have returned to terrorism.

Not so, says a new report from the Seton Hall Law School's Center for Policy and Research (and Law Prof Mark Denbeaux and attorney Joshua Denbeaux). The Denbaux' have previously authored compelling reports on the detainees and represented a few of them.

The Seton Hall Center for Policy and Research has issued a report which rebuts and debunks the most recent claim by the Department of Defense (DOD) that “61 in all former Guantanamo detainees are confirmed or suspected of returning to the fight.”

Professor Denbeaux of the Center for Policy & Research has said that the Center has determined that “DOD has issued “recidivism” numbers 43 times, and each time they have been wrong—this last time the most egregiously so.”

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In the last week, the number of Guantanamo detainees on hunger strikes has risen to from 34 to 42. There are about 250 detainees in all. Possible reasons for the increase, according to the Pentagon: Obama's inauguration and the Jan. 11 anniversary of the opening of Gitmo.

As of last Friday, 25 of the detainees were being force-fed.

US military authorities said forced feedings begin after a detainee either has gone three weeks without a meal, has fallen below 85 percent of his ideal body weight, or if a doctor has recommended it as a medical necessity to preserve an inmate's life.

The Administration defends the force-feeding. The ACLU vociferously disagrees and condemns the force-feeding as inhumane: [More...]

Today unnamed Obama advisors say Obama will order Guantanamo closed during his first week in office.

Ordering Guantanamo's prison closed is not the same thing as closing it. There's no mention of a timetable. As noted yesterday, he said on ABC's This Week not to expect it during his first 100 days.

When is a cigar not a cigar? Apparently, when it comes to closing Guantanamo. As the ACLU says in its latest press release on the anonymously-sourced promise:

“While the news from unnamed sources in the Obama transition team about the closing of Guantánamo is certainly welcome, what we need are specifics about the timeline for the shuttering of the military commissions and the release or charging of detainees who have been indefinitely held for years. Executive orders are an important first step. But we trust that President-elect Obama will provide a detailed plan for ending the Guantánamo military commissions, shutting down the Guantánamo military prison and ending President Bush’s legacy of indefinite detention. An executive order lacking such detail, especially after the transition team has had months to develop a comprehensive plan on an issue this important, would be insufficient.

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The Center for Constitutional Rights has issued a new report on closing Guantanamo. It's as easy as 1-2-3.

• Send home those who can go home
• Secure safe haven for those who cannot, and
• Charge those who can be charged and try them in ordinary federal criminal court.

The full report is available here (pdf). [More...]

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama said he would close Guantanamo during his first 100 days in office. This morning, on ABC's This Week with Stephanopoulos, he backtracked:

"It is more difficult than I think a lot of people realize," the President-elect explained. "Part of the challenge that you have is that you have a bunch of folks that have been detained, many of whom who may be very dangerous who have not been put on trial or have not gone through some adjudication. And some of the evidence against them may be tainted even though it's true.

And so how to balance creating a process that adheres to rule of law, habeas corpus, basic principles of Anglo American legal system, by doing it in a way that doesn't result in releasing people who are intent on blowing us up."

Shorter version: It will close at some point, just not as soon as he promised.[More...]

Three more Guantanamo detainees are being released and returned to Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are Mohamed Nechle, Mustafa Ait Idir and Hadj Boudella.

The transfers would be the first releases from the prison made by the Bush administration because of a court order.

....The transfer, which has not been formally announced by the Pentagon, was a signal that the administration was acknowledging its defeat in the first habeas corpus case to reach a full factual hearing since the Supreme Court ruled last June that detainees at Guantánamo had a constitutional right to contest their detentions in federal court.

Five Bosnians were ordered released by the Court. What about the other two? [More...]