Guantanamo

Ahmed Ghailani Transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for Prosecution on Terror Charges

June 9, 2009 -- Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility since September 2006, arrived early this morning in the Southern District of New York to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya.

After a thorough review of his case by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force, Ghailani was recently referred for criminal prosecution in the Southern District of New York pursuant to a March 12, 2001 superseding indictment against him.    » read more »

Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Holds Hearing To Examine ‘Prolonged Detention’

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – A Senate Judiciary Committee panel Tuesday morning will consider the consequences of ‘prolonged detention’ of detainees held in U.S. custody. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), will hear testimony from a panel of six witnesses. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast of the hearing are available online.

Full Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following statement at the hearing.

Statement Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Committee On The Judiciary,

Hearing On “The Legal, Moral, and National Security    » read more »

Lincoln says “no” to funds for closure of Guantanamo

May 22, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) today said a funding bill passed by the Senate late Thursday provides critical resources to protect our troops fighting overseas along with funding for critical health care needs and for services that help reservists transition back to their families and communities once they return home.

“Our troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, including over 1,000 activated reservists from Arkansas in addition to those serving on active duty, deserve every resource we can provide to keep them safe and ensure they are prepared to meet the demands of their missions,” Lincoln said.    » read more »

May 15, 2009 -- Military commissions have a long tradition in the United States. They are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered. In the past, I have supported the use of military commissions as one avenue to try detainees, in addition to prosecution in Article III courts. In 2006, I voted in favor of the use of military commissions.    » read more »

March 13, 2009 -- In a filing today with the federal District Court for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government’s authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

The definition does not rely on the President’s authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress’s specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial. And it does not employ the phrase "enemy combatant."    » read more »

January 21, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) - US President Barack Obama is expected to issue an executive order on January 22, 2009 to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Obama's decision to order Guantanamo's closure two days after taking office signals the high priority the new president places on reforming the United States' approach to curbing terrorism, Human Rights Watch said.

"With the stroke of a pen, President Obama will make great progress toward restoring America's moral authority," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. "By shutting down a global symbol of abuse, he will deprive terrorists of a powerful recruitment tool."    » read more »

August 26, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of two detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Algeria. These detainees were determined to be eligible for transfer following a comprehensive series of review processes.

The transfer is a demonstration of the United States’ desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary. It also underscores the processes put in place to assess each individual and make a determination about their detention while hostilities are ongoing – an unprecedented step in the history of warfare.    » read more »

Federal Court Rules Unconstitutional Guantánamo Trial Of Salim Hamdan Can Proceed

NEW YORK, 7/17/2008 – Despite acknowledging questions about the constitutionality of the Guantánamo military commission system, a D.C. federal district judge ruled today that the military trial of Yemeni national Salim Hamdan can proceed.

Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said that any review of the fairness of Hamdan's case should occur after his military trial and not before. Hamdan is accused of being Osama bin Laden's driver.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:    » read more »

Washington -- 23 June 2008 -- A U.S. federal appeals court has struck down the U.S. military's classification of a Guantanamo Bay detainee as an enemy combatant. This is the first time the U.S. court system has overruled the Bush administration's designation of a detainee since the Guantanamo facility began operations in early 2002.

Guantanamo protesters, Barcelona: Photo by Quim (CC)    » read more »

The court's latest rebuke of Guantanamo Bay won't close the prison down. But it's a step toward curbing Bush's unilateral tactics.

Jun. 13, 2008 | For the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has slammed the Bush administration's detention policies at Guantánamo Bay – locking up terrorist suspects indefinitely and beyond the law.

Guantanamo protesters, London: Photo by Val Kerry (CC)    » read more »

13 June 2008 -- "The Carter Center and I welcome the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush, restoring the constitutional rights of habeas corpus for Guantanamo detainees. This hallmark decision represents a victory for the rule of law and will improve the United States' image as a champion for human rights and freedom across the world, as well as ensure that individuals in Guantanamo will be afforded an adequate treatment as guaranteed by our nation's Constitution.

It is my hope that this decision will mark an end to an era of indefinite detentions, torture, coerced evidence, and other egregious violations of civil rights in the name of the war on terror, and that compliance with the ruling will be expedited."

Source: The Carter Center

June 12, 2008 -- Chicago, IL - "Today's Supreme Court decision ensures that we can protect our nation and bring terrorists to justice, while also protecting our core values. The Court's decision is a rejection of the Bush Administration's attempt to create a legal black hole at Guantanamo - yet another failed policy supported by John McCain.

Barack Obama mural, Brooklyn: Photo by Shira Golding (CC)    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, DC— Anthony Coley, spokesman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy, today issued the following statement on the Supreme Court’s decision in Boumediene v. Bush.

“When Congress passed the Military Commissions Act in 2006, Senator Kennedy called the Act ‘fatally flawed’ and said ‘its evisceration of the writ of habeas corpus for all non-citizens is almost surely unconstitutional.’ Today, the Supreme Court agreed, and rejected the Bush Administration’s blatant attempt to create a legal black hole beyond the reach of the rule of law.”    » read more »

June 12, 2008 -- Washington, DC – Former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement today after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its opinion in Boumediene v. Bush, which held that Guantanamo Bay prisoners have the right to contest their detention in federal courts:

Guantanamo Bay protest outside US Supreme Court: Photo by takomabibelot (CC)

“Today, our nation’s highest court again rejected the Bush Administration’s expansive view of executive power.    » read more »

May 20, 2008 -- “The Inspector General credits the FBI for maintaining a higher standard in the interrogation of detainees. In a majority of circumstances, agents at the FBI appear to have adhered to a clear policy in the treatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, and in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I still wish that Director Mueller had been more forthcoming when I asked him about these matters at our May 2004 hearing. Had he done so, he might have helped paved the way for Congress to investigate allegations of abuse sooner. The Republican majority refused to subpoena documents relating to the interrogation and treatment of detainees. The Bush administration has delayed four years in providing them. This remains a sorry chapter in our nation’s history.    » read more »