Guantanamo/Detainees

Pentagon defers contempt sentence of chief defense counsel in Guantanamo defense ‘revolt’

A Pentagon official has deferred the contempt-of-court sentence of Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker, the lead defense counsel in the case of a Guantanamo Bay detainee that caused a revolt by defense lawyers. According to McClatchy, Baker had been sentenced to 21 days of confinement to quarters—in Guantanamo, a trailer—after…

Nov 3, 2017 6:23 PM CDT

ABA president: Justice system protections are a critical part of response to terrorist tragedy

ABA President Hilarie Bass is calling for adherence to the rule of law following the terrorist attack that killed eight people and wounded 12 on Tuesday in New York City.

Nov 2, 2017 10:40 AM CDT

Trump backs away from idea of Gitmo trial for terror suspect, calls for end to diversity lottery

President Donald Trump called for harsh punishment, quick justice and an end to the diversity visa lottery program on Wednesday as he criticized the Manhattan terrorism suspect accused of killing eight people by driving a truck on a bicycle path one day earlier.

Nov 2, 2017 8:30 AM CDT

Chief defense lawyer for Gitmo military commissions is sentenced for contempt

A Guantanamo judge has imposed a contempt sentence of 21 days’ confinement on the Marine general who is chief defense counsel for the military commissions there. The judge, Air Force Col. Vance Spath, found Marine Brig. Gen. John Baker in contempt for disobeying his orders in the case of a…

Nov 2, 2017 8:00 AM CDT

Gitmo lawyers’ resignation over classified issue is part of defense ‘revolt’ in USS Cole case

Three civilian lawyers have quit their defense of the man accused of orchestrating the al-Qaida attack on the USS Cole, part of a “defense revolt” in the case, according to a report by the Miami Herald. The reason for the resignation is highly classified, but it involves compromised attorney-client privilege…

Oct 31, 2017 3:56 PM CDT

ABA urges Supreme Court to hear case of Gitmo detainee held more than 15 years

The ABA filed an amicus brief on Wednesday that urges the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal by a Guantanamo Bay detainee who has been held without trial for 15 years. The ABA brief (PDF) says the court should review the claim by Abd al Rahim al-Nashiri that he…

Jun 1, 2017 9:21 AM CDT

Draft executive order contemplates reopening CIA prisons, interrogating terrorists outside US

Updated: A draft executive order reportedly prepared by the Trump administration calls for a review to determine whether to reopen CIA prisons overseas and conduct interrogations of high-value terrorists outside the United States. The New York Times, CBS News and the Washington Post are among the publications that obtained copies…

Jan 25, 2017 12:15 PM CST

Fired by feds over critical op-eds, former Gitmo chief prosecutor settles free-speech case for $100K

In a mixed victory over free-speech rights, a former chief prosecutor at the military tribunals at the U.S. Navy base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba has agreed to accept a $100,000 settlement from his subsequent employer, because he was fired based on his critical op-eds about Gitmo. However, the settlement…

Jun 2, 2016 1:30 PM CDT

Lawyers for admitted Sept. 11 mastermind allege secret order authorized destruction of evidence

Lawyers for admitted Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed say the military judge overseeing the case issued a secret order authorizing destruction of evidence that would have helped the defense. The defense lawyers told reporters on Wednesday that secrecy rules prevent them from revealing what kind of evidence was destroyed.…

May 12, 2016 11:27 AM CDT

Defense Department wants group to lift ban on psychologists’ participation in interrogations

The Department of Defense is asking the American Psychological Association to lift its blanket ban on psychologists participating in national security interrogations for the military and intelligence agencies. A Defense Department official says in a letter to the association that the policy, adopted last summer, “could adversely affect the recruitment…

Jan 26, 2016 6:15 AM CST

14 years after Sept. 11 attacks, families of victims and others await justice

Fourteen years after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the legal system is still dealing with those alleged to be responsible for the hijacked commercial airlines that crashed into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a field in Pennsylvania. (The fourth plane is thought to have been headed toward…

Sep 11, 2015 12:20 PM CDT

Guantanamo lawyer’s concerns about cancer cluster are being investigated

A Guantanamo lawyer’s request for an investigation into cancer deaths among those working on detainee trials has gotten the attention of the U.S. Navy. Guantanamo base spokeswoman Kelly Wirfel said in a statement that the U.S. Navy is investigating “whatever steps may be necessary” to address concerns about possible carcinogens,…

Jul 28, 2015 10:59 AM CDT

Federal appeals court narrows the type of crimes that can be tried by military commissions

A federal appeals court on Friday overturned the conspiracy conviction of Osama bin Laden’s spokesperson in an opinion that narrowed the types of crimes that can be tried by military commissions. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled in a 2-1 decision (PDF) that military commissions may…

Jun 15, 2015 7:36 AM CDT

John Paul Stevens says some held at Gitmo should get reparations from US government

Just as the U.S. government paid reparations to citizens of Japanese descent interned during World War II, it should now consider doing so to some individuals held at the U.S military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a retired U.S. Supreme Court justice says. In a Monday speech at a Washington,…

May 5, 2015 3:35 PM CDT

Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, rescued by US through Gitmo prisoner swap, is charged with desertion

Captured by the Taliban in 2009 after disappearing from his post in Afghanistan, an American soldier was then rescued last year in a controversial prisoner exchange. Now he has been charged with desertion by the U.S. Army. Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who was a private first class when he disappeared, also…

Mar 25, 2015 3:30 PM CDT