Guantanamo/Detainees

ABA Prez Defends Lawyers Dubbed ‘Al Qaeda Seven’

Updated: ABA President Carolyn Lamm on Thursday criticized efforts to smear the reputation of Justice Department lawyers who at one point represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay. “Impugning the character of lawyers who have sought to protect the fundamental rights of unpopular clients is a divisive and diversionary tactic,” Lamm said…

Mar 4, 2010 10:10 PM CST

Obama to Help Pick Site for Khalid Sheik Mohammed Terror Trial, Military Tribunal Possible

Responding to political backlash, President Obama plans to insert himself into the decision about where to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the accused mastermind behind the 9-11 terror attacks. The president initially delegated the task of selecting a trial site to Attorney General Eric Holder in an effort to keep the…

Feb 12, 2010 11:25 AM CST

UK Court-Ordered Release of CIA Docs Summary Supports Torture Claim

An appeals court in the United Kingdom has required the British government to release an unredacted version of a seven-paragraph document summarizing U.S. intelligence information about the 2002 interrogation of a terrorism suspect subsequently detained by the U.S. military at Guantanamo Bay and released last year. The release of the…

Feb 10, 2010 11:15 PM CST

‘Boy Soldier’ Faces Gitmo Tribunal, Could Be First Under Obama Administration

The youngest detainee at Guantanamo Bay—Omar Khadr, who was 15 when he is alleged to have thrown a grenade that killed a U.S. Special Forces medic in Afghanistan—is a lightning rod for criticism of the Obama administration over whether it’s proper to try a child soldier. His age and circumstances…

Feb 10, 2010 11:30 AM CST

Ex-AG Mukasey: DOJ Indecision on 9-11 Trials Looks ‘Like Amateur Night’

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey slammed the Justice Department today for indecision on where to try five accused Sept. 11 plotters. In an appearance on Fox and Friends, Mukasey showed little patience when asked about an apparent flip-flop on a Manhattan venue, the Huffington Post reports. “It makes it look…

Feb 2, 2010 4:37 PM CST

Some Gitmo Detainees Will Be Held But Not Tried; Prosecution Hurdles Cited

The Obama administration has decided to continue to hold about 50 dangerous Guantanamo detainees without trial because their prosecutions are considered too difficult. There are fewer than 200 detainees still at Guantanamo, the New York Times reports. An anonymous administration official told the newspaper that about 50 detainees will continue…

Jan 22, 2010 12:34 PM CST

Meet David Raskin, Top Prosecutor Likely to Handle Case Against Accused 9/11 Mastermind

When Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other terrorism suspects arrive in New York for trial from the U.S. military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, David Raskin, at least figuratively, is likely to be there to greet them. The 45-year-old assistant U.S. attorney is expected to be lead prosecutor in case…

Jan 12, 2010 10:02 PM CST

DC Circuit Upholds Broad US Power to Detain Terrorism Suspects

A federal appeals court has taken a broad view of the government’s power to detain Guantanamo terrorism suspects. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled today that the president’s power to detain terrorism suspects is not limited by international law, SCOTUSblog reports. Instead, domestic law applies. “The…

Jan 5, 2010 5:57 PM CST

4th Circuit Upholds Moussaoui Guilty Plea & Life Term in 9/11 Attacks

A federal appeals court has affirmed the conviction and life sentence for co-conspirator Zacarias Moussaoui, despite claims that he didn’t receive a fair trial concerning his guilty plea to six criminal conspiracy charges in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. “Moussaoui, having pled guilty, has waived all nonjurisdictional errors leading…

Jan 4, 2010 11:24 PM CST

Common Ground

The ABA and the Obama administration are thinking more alike on detainee policy

Jan 2, 2010 1:30 AM CST

New Date for Transfer of Gitmo Detainees: 2011 at the Earliest

President Obama’s Jan. 22 deadline for the closing of the Guantanamo detention facility will likely be missed by at least a year. Lack of money is the problem, the New York Times reports. Obama has decided the federal government should buy an Illinois prison to house the detainees that carries…

Dec 23, 2009 12:35 PM CST

Judge Says Street Gangs More Deadly than Some Gitmo Detainees

A federal judge speaking today at an ABA breakfast said he’s not worried about the court system’s ability to handle the trial of Guantanamo detainees. U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, the chief federal judge in Washington, D.C., said street gangs are “more murderous” than some Guantanamo detainees, the Associated Press…

Dec 17, 2009 3:47 PM CST

Gitmo Military Trials Will Move to Nation’s Heartland

Relying on an unidentified senior administration official, the Chicago Tribune reports that the White House plans to hold in the nation’s heartland future military commission trials of individuals now being held by the U.S. military as terrorism suspects. The official tells the newspaper that President Barack Obama plans to transfer…

Dec 15, 2009 11:01 PM CST

Supreme Court Turns Down Case Alleging Gitmo Torture

The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal by four former Guantanamo prisoners that alleged they were tortured and subjected to religious discrimination. The court announced today that it was rejecting the appeal, according to Fox News and Reuters. The former inmates, all British citizens, had claimed they…

Dec 14, 2009 5:30 PM CST

Judge Holds US in Contempt for Not Videotaping Gitmo Detainee Testimony

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., held the U.S. Department of Defense in civil contempt of court today for disobeying a prior court order that required “the appropriate agency” to preserve a videotape of a detainee’s testimony in a closed-door habeas corpus hearing. Although Mohammed al-Adahi couldn’t appear in open…

Dec 10, 2009 11:16 PM CST