tagged w/ Gitmo
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A judge ruled Thursday that one of the youngest detainees brought to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, is being held illegally and must be released 6 ½ years after the detainee from Afghanistan says he was tortured into confessing.
U.S. District Judge Ellen Huvelle's order does not end the case of Mohammed Jawad, however. Deputy Assistant Attorney General Ian Gershengorn told the judge that as the State Department negotiates with Afghanistan for his return, the Justice Department is pursuing a criminal investigation.
Judge Huvelle also ordered the Justice Department to inform Congress of its plans for returning Jawad to Afghanistan by August 6, and to produce a report on the status of his repatriation by August 24.
Gershengorn said Jawad, who confessed to throwing a grenade that wounded two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter in December 2002, may be indicted.
Jawad's age is uncertain because there are no records of his birth. He says he was about 12 when he was arrested; the military says a bone scan shows he was about 17. Jawad said he only confessed after Afghan officials threatened to kill him and his family. A military judge agreed Jawad was tortured and ruled the confession couldn't be used.A judge ruled Thursday that one of the youngest detainees brought to Guantánamo... more
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Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressured the British intelligence service not to disclose evidence of alleged US torture of a British national, Britain's foreign secretary told the UK's top court Wednesday.
Asked about the claim at a press availability by a BBC reporter Wednesday, Clinton declined to comment.
"I’m not going to comment," Clinton said when asked. "Obviously, the issue of intelligence sharing is one that is critically important to our two countries, and we have both a stake in ensuring that it continues to the fullest extent possible."
Reporters are seeking access to a secret seven-paragraph CIA summary which posits that the United States told the UK they'd trim intelligence sharing if the Brits "outed" their treatment of former Guantanamo detainee Binyam Mohamed. British judges have seen the CIA brief but have yet to release it. The country's top lawyer says release of the memo would undermine national security, a claim that judges seem skeptical of.
British foreign secretary David Milbrand said in a statement to the court that Clinton personally "indicated" that disclosing the CIA memo "would affect intelligence sharing." Milbrand's lawyer, Karen Steyn, also told the court that such a loss of spy cooperation "would put lives at risk."Secretary of State Hillary Clinton pressured the British intelligence service not to... more
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Mrs Clinton personally told the Foreign Secretary that the US government would consider the dramatic step if a short summary of the treatment of Binyam Mohamed is placed in the public domain, the High Court was told.
A hearing was told that the move could cause "serious harm" to Britain's national security and potentially put the lives of British citizens at risk.
Karen Steyn, representing Mr Miliband, told two senior judges that members of the Obama administration, including Mrs Clinton, had made clear that intelligence sharing between the two countries "would" be reconsidered if the court went ahead with plans to publish the information.
The high level intervention follows a protracted legal wrangle over whether a seven-paragraph summary of Mr Mohamed's treatment at the controversial camp on Cuba, drafted for inclusion in a High Court judgment last year, could undermine national security if it were to be published.
Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones reluctantly agreed to leave the passage out of the judgment on August 2008 because of evidence from Mr Miliband of a potential "threat" to cut off security co-operation if the classified evidence was made public.
It later emerged that this was based on communications between the Government and the outgoing Bush administration. The claims were the first time the threat has been attributed to senior members of Mr Obama's administration. Mr Obama has promised to close Guantanamo Bay and has already published detailed evidence of the treatment of some detainees there.
As a result the judges reopened the case earlier this year and have been considering an application from parts of the media to finally place the information, which is based on US intelligence evidence, into the public domain.Mrs Clinton personally told the Foreign Secretary that the US government would... more
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This is the kind of stuff you'd expect to hear about the Holocaust atrocities toward Jews. But now we hear this about U.S. atrocities toward Muslims.This is the kind of stuff you'd expect to hear about the Holocaust atrocities... more
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The Justice Department conceded Friday that it lacks the evidence to hold a teenage Guantanamo detainee as an enemy combatant after a federal judge last week ruled that his confession was inadmissible.
In a hearing last week, U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle ruled that Mohammed Jawad's confession to Afghan officials was inadmissible because it had been extracted through torture. She also questioned whether the Justice Department had any evidence to proceed with a trial to determine whether he can be held as an enemy combatant.
Huvelle called the case an "outrage" and told Justice Department lawyers that their case against Jawad had been "gutted."
"Without his statements, I don't understand your case," she told Justice Department lawyers. "Sir, the facts can only get smaller, not bigger. . . . Face it, this case is in trouble. . . . Seven years and this case is riddled with holes."
Last year, a military judge determined that Afghan police threatened Jawad's family while he was undergoing interrogation at a Kabul police station. The judge also concluded there was evidence that Jawad was under the influence of drugs at the time of his capture and forced confession.
''You will be killed if you do not confess to the grenade attack,'' the detainee quoted an interrogator as saying. "We will arrest your family and kill them if you do not confess.''The Justice Department conceded Friday that it lacks the evidence to hold a teenage... more
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An Obama administration task force set up to develop a plan for the closure of the U.S. detention facility at Guantánamo Bay will miss its first deadline this week—and put off a key report—amid continued divisions over how to resolve one of the president's thorniest policy dilemmas.
The task force, set up on Obama's second day in office, was charged with preparing a report to the president by Tuesday, July 21, outlining a long-term detention plan for detainees captured in counterterrorism operations after Sept. 11. But continued debate within the task force over the legal basis for holding detainees who are not charged with any crimes—and where to house them once they are moved from Guantánamo—has forced the task force to postpone its report by a "few months," a senior administration official told NEWSWEEK.
A separate task-force report on interrogations—also due this week—is being put off as well, said the official, who, like others quoted in this article, asked not to be named talking about private deliberations.
More at linkAn Obama administration task force set up to develop a plan for the closure of the... more
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A reference to harsh treatment at CIA prisons brought out Guantanamo's censors Thursday as an official of the war crimes court abruptly cut the sound to prevent spectators from hearing classified information.
Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier, a lawyer appointed by the Pentagon to defend 9/11 suspect Ramzi bin al Shibh, began discussing the prisoner's treatment before he was taken to Guantanamo in September 2006 when the censor hit the switch.
"The government can't hide the fact that they used sleep deprivation ..." Lachelier said before she was cut off and the sound of static filled a soundproof spectator section in the courtroom and a separate media viewing room. There is a 40-second delay in the spectator and media rooms.
U.S. authorities have cut the sound several times in the past to protect classified information and have held many hearings in private.
(more at link)
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Is the cover-up worse than the crime?A reference to harsh treatment at CIA prisons brought out Guantanamo's censors... more
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In his weekly roundup of the crazy world of 24-hour media madness, Conor Knighton looks at the crazy things people said during an anti-Dave Letterman rally. This week he also looks at Iran protests, MC Hammer's new show, Spencer and Heidi Pratt's publicity tour, 'The Real Housewives of New Jersey,' a hot threesome on a Calvin Klein billboard, the Geraldo Boat Cam, insulting the elderly, and Andy Rooney's latest complaint.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.In his weekly roundup of the crazy world of 24-hour media madness, Conor Knighton... more
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This week on infoMania The Real Housewives of New Jersey say goodbye in style, Heidi and Spencer just wont go away, home shopping networks are booming, Bryan explains why gays should abandon their quest for marriage rights, Sergio looks at the hottest music videos on YouTube, and as the world welcomes the new iPhone, Ben revisits his favorite iPhone apps.
infoMania is a half-hour satirical news show that airs on Current TV. The show puts a comedic spin on the 24-hour chaos and information overload brought about by the constant bombardment of the media. Hosted by Conor Knighton and co-starring Brett Erlich, Sarah Haskins, Ben Hoffman, and Sergio Cilli, the show airs on Thursdays at 10 pm Eastern and Pacific Times and can be found online at http://current.com/infomania/ or on Current TV. And make sure to check out our facebook profile for special features at http://infomaniafacebook.com.This week on infoMania The Real Housewives of New Jersey say goodbye in style, Heidi... more
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Eric Holder asserted on Wednesday that terrorism suspects indefinitely detained by the United States would be granted opportunities for due process, both before and during their detention. But he declined to detail how and where such appeals could take place, telling members of Congress that such specifics had yet to be agreed upon by the administration.
At a hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee, the Attorney General was pressed early and often on the Obama White House's approach to detainee policy. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.), in particular, asked why the president supported a system that would essentially transfer the Guantanamo structure (holding suspected terrorists without trial for an indefinite period of time) to another location.
Holder acknowledged that there could be a group of detainees who fell into that category. But, he added, "It will only happen pursuant to really pretty robust due process procedures."Eric Holder asserted on Wednesday that terrorism suspects indefinitely detained by the... more
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A crucial CIA Inspector General’s report from May 2004 is expected to reveal some long-hidden truths about the Bush administration’s use of torture.
According to MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, “This report is sort of the big kahuna in terms of what we have been waiting to see from the government’s own files on torture. That report, which is long and has been described by people who have seen it as ’sickening,’ apparently stopped the torture program in its tracks.”
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) recently warned in a speech on the floor of the Senate that almost everything we think we know about the Bush administration’s torture program is wrong.
“There has been a campaign of falsehood about this whole sorry episode,” Whitehouse stated. “We’ve been misled about nearly every aspect of this program. … Measured against the information I’ve been able to get access to, the storyline that we have been led to believe … is false in every one of its dimensions.”
Maddow then asked Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff whether the report will fill in the mission information to which Whitehouse referred.
“We don’t know how complete the disclosures are going to be,” Isikoff cautioned. “Will we see the complete unredacted report? That is the key question here.”
“There are three key questions to look for,” Isikoff explained. “Were there harsh interrogations that began before the … legal authorizations? … Did they go beyond what was authorized? … Did it go beyond just finding out about possible plots against the United States to provide other information, such as supplying possible evidence that could be used to justify the war in Iraq?”
Isikoff noted that there are footnotes in the torture memos already released which “quote from the Inspector General’s report that what was actually done went beyond what was authorized — that how waterboarding was conducted, the frequency with which it was conducted, and the manner in which it was conducted was beyond what the CIA told the Justice Department it was going to do when the Justice Department authorized the technique.”
Isikoff emphasized, however, that almost none of this information is being released voluntarily. It’s being slowly pried out through Freedom of Information Act requests, most of them filed by the ACLU, and “it’s become trench warfare — document by document.”
“The CIA and the intelligence community has pushed back hard,” Isikoff stressed. “People in the intelligence community never wanted this stuff out to begin with.”A crucial CIA Inspector General’s report from May 2004 is expected to reveal... more
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* Big win for liberals: In an interview set to air on Ed Schultz’s show tonight, Nancy Pelosi will make it official: She’s opposed to allowing the measure banning the release of detainee photos to remain in the final war spending bill.
“I don’t think Congress should make an exception to FOIA,” Pelosi will say, her spokesperson, Brendan Daly, confirms to me.
Meanwhile, Dem Rep Louise Slaughter confirmed today that the final bill definitely will not contain the measure, which is an amendment first proposed by Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham that would give the President the power to bar FOIA releases of detainee photos in the name of national security. It passed the Senate and was sought by the White House, but House liberals balked.
The stripping of the measure is a big victory for liberals and civil libertarians, and puts the House Dem leadership at odds with the White House on a highly sensitive national security and civil liberties issue. It also sets up a major confrontation with Lieberman.* Big win for liberals: In an interview set to air on Ed Schultz’s show tonight,... more
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The GOP is falsely insisting that there is no precedence of terrorist trials and detentions within the continental US. We are told by Republican leaders that the Democrats are "importing terrorists". Interesting choice of words, as imports refer to goods and not human beings. Yet another way to subtly dehumanize the detainees, many of whom have not been charged or even alleged of participating in terrorism.The GOP is falsely insisting that there is no precedence of terrorist trials and... more
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Be afraid. Be very afraid. We may soon have 200 very bad men in our supermax prison system. Frightening. There is no way that we could possibly contain these men unless they are held in Cuba. Cuba is like kryptonite to terrorists. If we move them to the US, we risk them flying away.
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Republicans have a response to President Barack Obama's decision to try Guantanamo detainees in federal court using the US justice system: Obama is "importing terrorists."
"This is the first step in the Democrats’ plan to import terrorists into America," Boehner said in a statement. "Without a plan to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay, the Administration has made the decision to begin transferring these terrorists into the United States, in spite of the overwhelming opposition of the American people and serious questions from Members of Congress of both parties.
"There are more than 200 of the world’s most dangerous men held at the Guantanamo Bay prison," Boehner added. "Does the Administration plan to transfer all of them into our nation in this way? Do they plan to give them the same legal rights as the American people? Just what is the Administration’s plan for closing this prison?"Be afraid. Be very afraid. We may soon have 200 very bad men in our supermax prison... more
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The first detainee from the U.S. military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to arrive in the United States has been moved to New York City to face criminal charges in connection with the bombings of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, according to the Justice Department.
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national held at Guantanamo since September 2006, arrived at the Metropolitan Correction Center in New York, which has housed several suspected terrorists during their prosecutions in the federal court for the Southern District of New York, the department said. He was due to appear in federal court today.
President Obama has pledged to close the Guantanamo prison within a year, while authorities attempt to secure alternative places for them. This has sparked a political debate within the United States, with Republican congressional leaders warning that Americans don't want terrorists at prisons near them and the Obama administration maintaining that federal facilities are secure.
"With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the murder of 224 people," Atty. Gen. Eric Holder said in statement issued this morning.
"The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case."The first detainee from the U.S. military-run prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to... more
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A former prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay says he was never interrogated about the reason the US said they’d arrested him for — even after seven years in captivity.
He also provided a graphic account of new elements of what may be considered “ad-lib” torture — guards inappropriately using hypodermic needles and IV tubes intended for forced feeding during hunger strikes.
“Boumediene described being pulled up from under his arms while sitting in a chair with his legs shackled, stretching him,” an ABC News interview account Monday reported. “He said that he was forced to run with the camp’s guards and if he could not keep up, he was dragged, bloody and bruised.
“You think that’s not torture?” he quipped. “What’s this? What can you call this? Torture or what?” he said, indicating the scars he bears from tight shackles. ‘I’m an animal? I’m not a human?’”
Boumediene was first captured and accused of being part of a plot to bomb the US embassy in Sarajevo. But charges against him were dropped by the Bosnian government. Subsequently, however, they turned him over to the US military.
The charges were dropped, and the Bosnian courts ordered him and five others freed. But under pressure from the Bush administration, the Bosnian government handed him over to the U.S. military. He was shackled and transported by military plane to Cuba.A former prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay says he was never interrogated about the... more
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A Yemeni detainee at Guantanamo Bay who died of an apparent suicide this week was not on a hunger strike at the time of his death, but he had been force-fed with a nasal tube in the past, a prison spokesman said Wednesday.
Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt said the prisoner, who the military said was found unresponsive and not breathing in his cell Monday night, had resumed eating on his own "in mid-May." He said he did not know if the longtime Guantanamo detainee had ever attempted suicide in the past.
The military has refused to reveal how they believe Mohammad Ahmed Abdullah Saleh Al-Hanashi died in his cell, other than saying it was an apparent suicide. His is the fifth apparent suicide at the isolated U.S. prison, which President Barack Obama hopes to close by Jan. 22.A Yemeni detainee at Guantanamo Bay who died of an apparent suicide this week was not... more
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HARDIN, Mont. - On Capitol Hill, politicians are dead-set against transferring some of the world's most feared terrorists from Guantanamo to prisons on U.S. soil. But at City Hall in this impoverished town on the Northern Plains, the attitude is: Bring 'em on.
Hardin, a dusty town of 3,400 people so desperate that it built a $27 million jail a couple of years ago in the vain hope it would be a moneymaker, is offering to house hundreds of Gitmo detainees at the empty, never-used institution.
The medium-security jail was conceived as a holding facility for drunks and other scofflaws, but town leaders said it could be fortified with a couple of guard towers and some more concertina wire. Apart from that, it is a turnkey operation, fully outfitted with everything from cafeteria trays and sweatsocks to 88 surveillance cameras.
"Holy smokes — the amount of soldiers and attorneys it would bring here would be unbelievable," Clint Carleton said as he surveyed his mostly empty restaurant, Three Brothers Pizza. "I'm a lot more worried about some sex offender walking my streets than a guy that's a world-class terrorist. He's not going to escape, pop into the IGA (supermarket), grab a six-pack and go sit in the park."
After Hardin's six-member council passed a resolution last month in favor of taking the Guantanamo detainees, Montana's congressional delegation was quick to pledge it would never happen.
Notwithstanding the reputation of Montanans as Second Amendment-loving gun owners, they said that putting terrorists on Montana soil could invite attacks from the detainees' sympathizers.
"These Gitmo guys, they're a scary bunch," said Sen. Jon Tester, a Democrat. "You've got to realize what you're getting into."HARDIN, Mont. - On Capitol Hill, politicians are dead-set against transferring some of... more
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The tiny town of Hardin, Montana, is offering an answer to a very thorny question: Where should the nation put terror detainees if the prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is shut down by the end of the year as President Obama has pledged?
Hardin, Montana, says the Two Rivers Regional Detention Facility should be used for Gitmo detainees.
Hardin, population 3,400, sits in the southeast corner of Montana, in the state's poorest county. Its small downtown is almost deserted at midday. The Dollar Store is going out of business. The Hardin Mini Mall is already shut. The town needs jobs -- and fast.
Hardin borrowed $27 million through bonds to build the Two Rivers Regional Correctional Facility in hopes of creating new employment opportunities. The jail was ready for prisoners two years ago, but has yet to house a single prisoner.
People here say politics in the capital of Helena has kept it empty. But the city council last month voted 5-0 to back a proposal to bring Gitmo detainees -- some of the most hardened terrorists in the world -- to the facility.
"It would bring jobs. Believe it or not, it would even bring hope and opportunity," Greg Smith, Hardin's economic development director, told CNN.
But a decision on whether it becomes a reality is a long way off. The state's congressional leaders have lined up against the plan. "Housing potential terrorists in Montana is not good for our state," Max Baucus, the state's senior Democratic senator, wrote to Smith. "These people stop at nothing. Their primary goal in life, and death, is to destroy America."
Adds Sen. Jon Tester, "I just don't think it's appropriate, that's all. I don't think they know what they're asking for."
On North Central Avenue in downtown Hardin, opinion is mixed. See where Hardin is located »
Darlene McMillen says if the detainees move in, she is moving out. A part-time waitress at a Hardin restaurant, McMillen says her opinion is based on her son's experiences serving in the military in Afghanistan. "He said the people have no respect for any human life, even their own."
Manicurist Donovan Lindsay says bringing the detainees to Hardin would bring more law enforcement, and that would make the town safer. She also believes it would generate jobs . "We are the poorest county in the state of Montana and we need all the help we can get," she says.
...click above to read the full article...The tiny town of Hardin, Montana, is offering an answer to a very thorny question:... more
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Why the hell can't Democrats stand up and say "hey Gooptards, these guys are going to be sent out to a SuperMax, not to hang out by your 7-11".Why the hell can't Democrats stand up and say "hey Gooptards, these guys are... more
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