Guantanamo/Detainees

DOJ Memo Allowed Free Speech Curbs, Military Force Against US Terrorists

Newly disclosed memos from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel sanctioned the use of military force against U.S. terrorists, curbs on free speech and the transfer of terrorism suspects to countries known to commit human rights abuses. Jennifer Daskal of Human Rights Watch told the Washington Post that the…

Mar 3, 2009 12:38 PM CST

ABA Endorses Detainee Rights

The ABA’s policymaking house of Delegates voted overwhelmingly at the midyear meeting to endorse rights of due process for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Mar 2, 2009 2:05 AM CST

Civilian Criminal Indictment of ‘Enemy Combatant’ Is Unsealed

A landmark civilian criminal court indictment of an accused “enemy combatant” who has been held without trial for years by the U.S. military was approved yesterday by a federal grand jury in Peoria, Ill., where he had been living as a student, and unsealed today. Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, a…

Feb 27, 2009 10:23 PM CST

Pentagon Review Concludes Gitmo Conditions Comply with Conventions

A Pentagon report concludes that the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions, but conditions could be improved by allowing more social interaction and time for religious observances. President Obama requested the report on his second day in office, the New York Times reports.…

Feb 23, 2009 3:49 PM CST

Appeals Court Overturns Order Releasing Gitmo Uighurs into the US

A federal appeals court has overturned a ruling that would have released 17 Chinese Muslims being held at Guantanamo into the United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said decisions about the release of detainees into the United States must be made by the…

Feb 18, 2009 7:11 PM CST

Detainee Rights Measure Passed by ABA House

The ABA’s policymaking House of Delegates this morning passed a measure calling on federal courts to grant detainees rights as habeas petitioners. It also called for individuals who are not enemy combatants to be resettled in other nations. And it urged that individuals who are charged with violations of criminal…

Feb 16, 2009 4:09 PM CST

Official Overseeing Gitmo Dismisses Charges in USS Cole Case

The Pentagon official overseeing the courts at Guantanamo has avoided a confrontation with the Obama administration by dismissing the case of a Guantanamo detainee accused of planning the deadly attack on the USS Cole. Susan Crawford agreed to dismiss without prejudice the charges against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashir, Reuters reports. The…

Feb 6, 2009 4:41 PM CST

British Court Blames US Threat for Decision to Keep Torture Evidence Secret

Two British High Court judges say they have refused to release evidence of alleged torture because of a U.S. threat to stop sharing intelligence evidence with the country. Justices John Thomas and David Lloyd Jones ruled in the case of Binyam Mohamed, a British resident who says he was secretly…

Feb 5, 2009 3:05 PM CST

A Torturous Process

Tort suits prove inadequate to challenge anti-terror policies

Feb 2, 2009 2:29 AM CST

Military Judge Refuses Delay Request in Case of Alleged USS Cole Plotter

A military judge has refused to grant a 120-day delay in the case of a Guantanamo detainee accused of planning the deadly attack on the USS Cole. The government had sought the delay in 21 pending cases while President Obama reviews the military commissions process. The judge, Army Col. James…

Jan 29, 2009 5:19 PM CST

Ex-Gitmo Detainee Becomes Deputy Leader in al-Qaida Branch

A former Guantanamo detainee has emerged as the deputy leader of al-Qaida’s Yemeni branch and is a suspect in a September bombing near a U.S. embassy. The New York Times said an Internet statement identified the Yemeni deputy as a former Guantanamo detainee. An American counterterrorism official and a Yemeni…

Jan 23, 2009 7:02 PM CST

Obama Signs Orders Closing Guantanamo, Halting Harsh Interrogations

President Barack Obama signed executive orders today closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay within a year and ending harsh interrogations of terrorism suspects. The orders also close any remaining secret prisons run by the CIA, the New York Times reports. The orders require the CIA to use the same rules…

Jan 22, 2009 4:55 PM CST

Obama Seeks 120-Day Trial Delay in All Gitmo Cases, Plans to Close Prison

In his one of his first acts in office yesterday, President Barack Obama instructed prosecutors to seek 120-day delays in all cases now before U.S. military tribunals at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba while his administration evaluates the situation. Meanwhile, his aides are working on an executive order that would close…

Jan 21, 2009 7:41 PM CST

Law Prof Who Proposed US Court to Try Gitmo Detainees Gets DOJ Nod

Two Georgetown law professors who have been critics of Bush administration legal policies have been appointed to posts in the Justice Department. Neal Katyal has been appointed principal deputy solicitor general and Marty Lederman has been appointed deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, according to the…

Jan 21, 2009 12:34 PM CST

Obama Reportedly Told CIA Brass He Won’t Launch Waterboarding Probe

The outgoing director of the CIA says Barack Obama has indicated he won’t pursue a legal probe into the agency’s use of waterboarding and other harsh interrogation practices. Outgoing director Michael Hayden said in a news conference that Obama was briefed on the CIA’s interrogation methods in a meeting last…

Jan 16, 2009 1:39 PM CST