Guantanamo/Detainees

Appeals Court Blocks Release of Chinese Muslims From Gitmo

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has halted the release of 17 Chinese Muslims from the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay. The three-judge panel wants the release blocked until it hears more legal arguments Nov. 24, the Washington Post reports. On Oct. 7, U.S.…

Oct 21, 2008 6:26 PM CDT

A Conversation With Gitmo Lawyer Margulies

Joseph Margulies will talk about his role in coordinating the litigation challenging the Bush administration’s post-9/11 detention policy at 5 p.m. CT on Tuesday, Oct. 21, at the ABA’s headquarters at 321 N. Clark St. in Chicago. It is the first in a series of ABA events with legal newsmakers,…

Oct 17, 2008 4:44 PM CDT

State Department Officials Consider DOJ Gitmo Filing to be Inflammatory

A Justice Department court filing describing 17 Guantanamo detainees as “a danger to the public” has reportedly stalled State Department efforts to find a country willing to accept the men. The State Department contends the legal brief harmed its efforts on behalf of the men, members of the Uighur Muslim…

Oct 16, 2008 3:36 PM CDT

Guantanamo Prosecutor Consulted Online Priest Before Quitting

A Guantanamo military prosecutor who cited “ethical qualms” before he quit had wrestled with the decision, telling an online priest about his misgivings. Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld filed a declaration with the military court last month explaining his concerns about the system for revealing exculpatory evidence to the defense. A…

Oct 15, 2008 11:17 AM CDT

Bush Administration Issued Secret Memos Approving Waterboarding

The Bush administration issued secret memos in 2003 and 2004 telling CIA officials that it approved waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques for al-Qaida suspects. The memos remain classified, but four anonymous administration and intelligence officials told the Washington Post they existed. The documents were issued in response to concerns…

Oct 15, 2008 10:52 AM CDT

Lawyers Claim Incompetent Interpreters Undermine Gitmo Proceedings

Defense lawyers for Guantanamo detainees say their trials are being undermined by incompetent interpreters. One defendant, Mustafa Ahmed al-Hawsawi, wanted to discuss the possibility of representing himself in one pretrial hearing, the Washington Post reports in an article on the problems. But his words were often mistranslated and “incomprehensible,” his…

Oct 14, 2008 12:07 PM CDT

Appeals Court Blocks Release of 17 Guantanamo Detainees

A federal appeals court has blocked a judge’s order requiring the release of 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo into the United States. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit issued a temporary stay yesterday, according to the New York Times and Washington Post. The Justice Department had opposed…

Oct 9, 2008 10:40 AM CDT

Military Officer Warned that Hamdi Nearing Insanity Due to Brig Conditions

A military officer warned that a suspected enemy combatant being held in a U.S. naval brig was nearing insanity because of isolation and sensory deprivation, according to newly released documents. Yaser Esam Hamdi, a onetime U.S. citizen who was eventually released to Saudi Arabia, was one of three men being…

Oct 8, 2008 3:06 PM CDT

Ruling Freeing 17 Gitmo Detainees a Win for Bingham and Kramer

A ruling yesterday ordering the release of 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo Bay is a victory for two law firms: Bingham McCutchen and Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. The decision by U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina, appealed in an emergency filing, ordered release of the men, known as Uighurs, into…

Oct 8, 2008 2:28 PM CDT

Judge Orders Release of 17 Gitmo Prisoners into the US

A federal judge has ruled that 17 Chinese Muslims at Guantanamo Bay who are no longer considered enemy combatants should be released into the United States by Friday. U.S. District Judge Ricardo Urbina of Washington, D.C., said the Constitution bars the government from holding the men indefinitely without cause, the…

Oct 7, 2008 5:06 PM CDT

Pashto Fluency Put Law Student in Position to Help Gitmo Detainees

Although she was still in law school, Mahvish Khan had a critical skill that most trained attorneys representing detainees at the U.S. military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay didn’t—as the daughter of two Afghan immigrants, she grew up speaking Pashto. So when she offered her services to lawyers representing Gitmo…

Oct 1, 2008 10:41 PM CDT

Gitmo Prosecutor Quits, Citing ‘Ethical Qualms’ Over Withheld Evidence

A Guantanamo military prosecutor is quitting because of “ethical qualms” about the system for turning over exculpatory evidence to the defense. Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, an Army Reserve officer, is seeking to be returned to civilian status. He filed a declaration with the military court explaining his concerns, report the…

Sep 25, 2008 11:51 AM CDT

Top White House Officials Discussed Harsh Interrogations in 2002

A picture emerges of Justice Department officials with differing views on the use of harsh interrogation techniques in early 2002 when top White House officials met to discuss the issue. The discussions on the use of harsh methods on al-Qaida suspects by the CIA took place before the Justice Department…

Sep 25, 2008 11:19 AM CDT

Sept. 11 Mastermind Quizzes Gitmo Judge About Religion, Torture Views

Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed questioned a Guantanamo judge about his religion, his reading habits and his views on torture in a hearing yesterday on his impartiality. Mohammed asked Marine Col. Ralph Kohlmann whether he was associated with Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell, asserting that “if you are in…

Sep 24, 2008 12:52 PM CDT

Mired in the ‘Heart of Darkness’: Gitmo Lawyers Leave Firms, Tap Savings

The lawyer who left Covington & Burling after dropping his pants at a news conference isn’t the only attorney whose life became consumed by litigation for Guantanamo detainees. David Remes, who represents 16 detainees in federal habeas cases, stripped to his underwear to demonstrate the full body searches conducted by…

Aug 25, 2008 1:52 PM CDT