Terrorism

Judge Tosses Charges Against Gitmo Detainee

A military judge today threw out charges against a Guantanamo detainee who was 15 when he was captured in Afghanistan. However, Army Col. Peter Brownback said the dismissal was without prejudice, which means the government could refile charges against the Canadian man, Associated Press reports. Brownback said the government had…

Jun 4, 2007 7:03 PM CDT

Bin Laden Driver Fighting Tribunal Law

The lawyer for the man who acted as Osama Bin Laden’s driver says he will challenge the new military tribunal system in a trial that begins today. The driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, is among the first detainees charged under the new system, the Associated Press reports. He goes on trial…

Jun 4, 2007 4:15 PM CDT

Terrorism Cases Being Built on Early Plans

Prosecutors worried about the risk to life are bringing charges in terrorism cases before plots are fully developed, resulting in cases that appear to be built more on talk than action. An example, according to the New York Times, is the criminal complaint filed against four men accused of plotting…

Jun 4, 2007 3:05 PM CDT

Detainee Who Died Denied Lawyer Visits

The Guantanamo Bay detainee found dead in an apparent suicide had never been given the opportunity to see a lawyer and had never been charged with a crime. A Pentagon official told the Washington Post that the detainee was not allowed to meet with lawyers because he had not been…

Jun 1, 2007 5:29 PM CDT

UN Tribunal Controversial in Hariri Case

A vote yesterday by the U.N. Security Council to establish a tribunal to try suspects in the assassination two years ago of Lebanon’s former prime minister has drawn cheers and jeers from the international community today. The vote led to celebration in the streets of Lebanon by some supporters of…

May 31, 2007 11:36 PM CDT

Gitmo Detainee Died in Apparent Suicide

A Guantanamo detainee was found dead in his cell yesterday in an apparent suicide. The death highlights claims by detainee lawyers that the psychological condition of their clients is deteriorating, according to the New York Times. “It was simply a matter of time before this suicide,” Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, one of…

May 31, 2007 3:42 PM CDT

Deportee Without a Country to Be Released

A federal judge has ordered the federal government to free a man it seeks to deport because it took too long to find a country willing to accept him. U.S. District Judge Jerome Barry Friedman of Norfolk, Va., ordered the release of the detainee within 14 days, according to the…

May 31, 2007 3:35 PM CDT

43 Years Later, KKK Killings Trial Begins

Nearly five decades after two young black men were abducted, beaten and dumped, still alive, into the Mississippi River to drown, one of their alleged murderers is finally being tried. Jury selection began today in the case of Ku Klux Klansman James Ford Seale, who was also charged shortly after…

May 31, 2007 12:16 AM CDT

ACLU Sues Boeing Subsidiary re U.S. Rendition Aid

A subsidiary of airline giant Boeing Co. has been sued by the American Civil Liberties Union for allegedly aiding “extraordinary rendition” efforts by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. The suit, which the ACLU says it is filing today in federal court in California, claims Jeppesen Dataplan Inc. provided transportation for…

May 30, 2007 8:02 PM CDT

UK Extradites U.S. Citizen on Terror Charges

The extradition of a terror suspect from Britain to the United States is a first, prosecutors say. Syed Hashmi arrived in New York over the weekend, the New York Times reports. He pleaded not guilty to conspiring to send money and military equipment to sympathizers of al-Qaida. Hashmi is an…

May 30, 2007 3:52 PM CDT

Scientists Call Harsh Interrogations Unreliable

A science board says harsh interrogation techniques used on suspected terrorists are amateurish and unreliable. Evidence does not suggest that harsh methods work, according to a New York Times summary of the researchers’ views. The scientists were commissioned by the Intelligence Science Board and wrote a 325-page critical report. Some…

May 30, 2007 3:11 PM CDT

Terrorist Informants’ Role Questioned

Defense lawyers and friends of some accused terrorists are focusing on informants, saying they exploited and entrapped defendants for money. Those kinds of accusations have taken a toll on the informant who helped convict Shahawar Matin Siraj, a Pakistani immigrant accused of conspiracy to bomb a New York subway station,…

May 29, 2007 3:37 PM CDT

Suit Claims Feds Spied on Gitmo Lawyers

A lawsuit claims the government illegally spied on 16 lawyers representing Guantanamo detainees and seeks records of the wiretapping.

May 18, 2007 12:26 PM CDT

DOJ Won’t Limit Gitmo Lawyer Visits

The Justice Department has dropped a request to restrict lawyer visits with Guantanamo detainees, but is persisting in efforts to screen communications and limit access to evidence. DOJ lawyers said they were dropping the request for a three-visit limit in a filing yesterday with the U.S. Court of Appeals for…

May 12, 2007 3:08 PM CDT

Military Lawyer’s Career Hurt due to Gitmo Work

A Marine Corps lawyer who represented Australian David Hicks in a Guantanamo Bay case that resulted in a favorable plea deal has apparently suffered career repercussions as a result – and he is not the only one. In the aftermath of his aggressive defense of Hicks, Major Michael Mori has…

May 11, 2007 8:01 PM CDT