Guantanamo/Detainees

John Yoo’s Constitutional Arguments are Worth a Hearing, Law Dean Says

It has become almost a truism, to a significant portion of the legal community, that former U.S. Department of Justice attorney John Yoo was way off target when he authored legal memos supporting interrogation methods some consider tantamount to torture. But the dean of the law school at which Yoo…

Apr 11, 2009 12:36 AM CDT

CIA Closing Secret Overseas Prisons

CIA director Leon Panetta says the agency no longer operates any secret overseas prisons and won’t use private contractors to conduct interrogations. Panetta told of the closings in a letter to CIA workers, according to the New York Times and the Washington Post. The prisons are thought to be located…

Apr 10, 2009 11:18 AM CDT

Judge Reinstates Gitmo Lawyer Fired By U.S.

In a one-page ruling this week, a military judge thwarted attempts by the Pentagon to fire the lead attorney for Omar Khadr, the last western prisoner held prisoner at Guantanamo Bay. Army Col. Patrick Parrish ruled Tuesday that the chief defense counsel for the Guantanamo war crimes trials lacked authority…

Apr 9, 2009 12:15 PM CDT

Does Bybee’s ‘Easy Personality’ Explain Why He Signed ‘Torture Memos’?

Some acquaintances wonder why Judge Jay Bybee signed two memos approving harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects when he led the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel in 2002. The Recorder (sub. req.) partly answers the question, saying the federal appeals judge’s “easy personality” may provide a clue. That personality may…

Apr 8, 2009 12:57 PM CDT

‘Holy Hell’ Breaks Lose Over Possible Disclosure of Torture Memos

U.S. security officials are working to overturn a decision by Attorney General Eric Holder to release three 2005 Justice Department memos approving harsh interrogation techniques. National security aide John Brennan is leading the effort to block disclosure of the documents, Newsweek reports. “Holy hell has broken loose over this,” one…

Apr 3, 2009 6:02 PM CDT

Afghan ‘Enemy Combatants’ Can Argue Detention in US Courts, Judge Rules

After being held for six years without trial as “enemy combatants” at a United States military base airfield in Afghanistan, three prisoners in the war on terror can challenge their detention in U.S. courts, a federal judge in Washington, D.C., has decided. The government, which had sought to distinguish the…

Apr 2, 2009 9:02 PM CDT

Judge Orders Release of Gitmo Detainee

A federal judge on Tuesday ordered the release of a detainee who has provided incriminating information against other men confined at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle ordered the government to “take all necessary and appropriate diplomatic steps to facilitate the release” of…

Apr 1, 2009 11:35 AM CDT

Gitmo Inmates Could Be Housed in Alexandria Jail Near Luxury Digs

A maximum security jail in Alexandria, Va., near high-priced condominiums and a luxury hotel could house Guantanamo inmates if they are tried in federal courts there. The Obama administration has indicated that the detainees could be tried in cities such as Alexandria and New York, the Washington Post reports. That…

Mar 31, 2009 11:03 AM CDT

Lawyer Challenges Former AG to Face Spanish Torture Charges

A human rights lawyer says former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five other former Bush administration officials should come to Spain to face accusations that they approved the torture of terrorism suspects. Lawyer Gonzalo Boye helped bring the complaint before Spain’s investigative judge Baltasar Garzon, known for his pursuit of…

Mar 30, 2009 12:45 PM CDT

Alexandria re Trying Detainees: Not in My Backyard

There’s growing concern in suburban Alexandria, Va., that the Obama administration will move some Guantanamo Bay detainees to stand trial in the federal courthouse there. “We would be absolutely opposed to relocating Guantanamo prisoners to Alexandria,” Mayor William D. Euille (D) told the Washington Post. “We would do everything in…

Mar 25, 2009 3:13 PM CDT

ACLU and Lawyers Guild Seek Differing Probes of Ex-Administration Lawyers

Two liberal legal groups are seeking ways to penalize administration officials and lawyers who authorized harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects. The American Civil Liberties Union has asked Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged torture at secret prisons run by the CIA, the Washington Post…

Mar 18, 2009 5:50 PM CDT

Secret Red Cross Report Says CIA Detainees Were Tortured

A secret report by the International Committee of the Red Cross concludes some al-Qaida detainees were tortured by the CIA and subjected to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.” The Washington Post obtained a copy of the report from Mark Danner, a journalism professor and author. The story says the report…

Mar 16, 2009 11:51 AM CDT

Obama Eliminates ‘Enemy Combatant’ from DOJ Legal Lexicon

In a U-turn from the language of the Bush administration, the White House has eliminated the use of the term “enemy combatant” concerning terrorism suspects being held at the U.S. military detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At the same time, the White House may also have strengthened the legal…

Mar 13, 2009 9:41 PM CDT

Should Yoo Be Punished for Memos? Experts Disagree, DOJ Opposes Liability

Critics are calling for punishment of the Justice Department author of several memos backing harsh interrogation techniques and broad presidential powers. They raise the specter of prosecution, civil liability and ethics sanctions against John Yoo, now a law professor in California. But Yoo is getting backing from current lawyers in…

Mar 9, 2009 11:50 AM CDT

CIA Destroyed 92 Interrogation Videotapes

Federal prosecutors have revealed the CIA destroyed 92 videotapes of its interrogations of terrorism suspects. Prosecutors investigating the destruction gave the count to a Manhattan federal court hearing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit brought by the American Civil Liberties Union, the New York Times reports. The story says the…

Mar 3, 2009 12:58 PM CST