LIFE AFTER GUANTANAMO

I read with sorrow the life of Hedi Hammami- a Tunisian that was held in Guantanamo for 8 years before being released to the country of Georgia in 2010. Mr. Hammami and my client Al-Ghizzawi were released to Georgia at the same time- there was also a third man released to Georgia at the same time. I met the other two men when I went to visit my own client in the days following their release. All of them were hopeful they could get their lives back together and the country of Georgia was a very gracious host but none of the men felt comfortable in that country. I think my client lasted the longest- 4 years. Hedi left for Tunisia first- about a year and a half after his release to Georgia and the third man left for his home country shortly after Hedi.

The New York Times has a follow up on the struggles of Mr. Hammami in Tunisia.
Read the story here.

ON STRIKE

NEW YORK—The National Lawyers Guild (NLG) is organizing a day of action for the legal community to express our solidarity with the growing movements against the new regime and its white supremacist agenda. On February 17 at 1 PM EST, lawyers, legal workers, law students, and law professors will gather in front of courthouses across the country in coordination with the nationwide #GeneralStrike planned for the same day.

“We are facing unprecedented attacks on our most fundamental human rights and are seeing the unfolding of authoritarianism before our eyes. The legal community has no choice but to show up, to defend our communities and to fight back by holding our institutions accountable,” said NLG President and LatinoJustice PRLDEF Associate Counsel Natasha Lycia Ora Bannan.

In the three weeks since Donald Trump has taken office, we have seen a flurry of executive orders targeting immigrants and intensifying law enforcement; racist, unqualified millionaires appointed to the nation’s highest positions; assaults on the press, and “alternative facts” presented as truth. However, we have also witnessed communities engaging in profound organizing and direct action—from the streets to airports and schools—to reject the current administration and disrupt business as usual. On February 17, we’re taking the resistance to courthouses.

“It is crucial for the legal community to come together to provide support for resistance movements against the current administration. We must fight back against the legitimization of racial and religious bigotry, xenophobia, Islamophobia and misogyny that violate the core principles of democracy,” said NLG Executive Director Pooja Gehi.

UGH......

Well as we welcome the 4th week of the Trump presidency I guess the only question is, Why did this take so long?

"Eleven Republican senators are calling on President Donald Trump to expand the use of the Guantanamo Bay prison facility.

The group, led by Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, is also urging the new administration to suspend the review board set up by the Obama administration to approve prisoner transfers out of the facility.

"We want to express our support for maintaining and expanding the utilization of the detention facility during your administration by detaining current and future enemy combatants who pose a threat to our national security," the senators write."

Read the rest here.

Rumor has it that Trump is readying a new executive order....

And that the executive order is about his plans for Guantanamo, and like everything else he has done this is not good!

We will have to wait to see but reportedly his plan is to start sending ISIS prisoners to Gitmo so he can torture them and learn "information."

I blame Obama for not holding any of the war criminals accountable thereby leaving the door open for the next criminal president-- Trump.

Andy Worthington has more on the executive order here.

STILL AT A LOSS...

as to what to do. I mean fuck he has only been president for two weeks and look at this mess.

Presidential score card....

My friend thetalkingdog is trying to keep track of the lunatic... but face it, this is a difficult task.

Oh, I don't twitter but you might want to keep track of this twitter account:

Oh my....

Seems the CIA has named its first female CIA officer to be a deputy chief. Is this how we want to shatter that glass ceiling??  Seems she once ran a CIA prison in Thailand where the prisoners were waterboarded. Oh and she also helped to destroy the video tapes of the waterboarding  after a court order to preserve the tapes. I guess she is the perfect choice for trumps CIA.


Read more here.

From Our Friends Down Under at Justinian

From Roger Fitch.... *   *   *

Gitmo: 41 left

January 11^th marked the 15^th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay prison and, in the parallel universe that is Gitmo, it seemed perfectly natural that two men held in mistaken identity were among the last of the men released by the Obama administration. One of these was the only one still held who had been captured by Americans on a battlefield.

The final Gitmo transfers began in late December and continued right up to Obama's last day in office. 

The final count as the clock ran out on 20 January was 41 prisoners; the cost of maintaining them now works out to $US 10.85 million each per year.  

The Post reported on the five men cleared for release who were still at Guantánamo when the Obama administration expired. There were last minute court challenges in Washington on behalf of two of those stranded, but both (here and here) were unsuccessful.    

Among those released on the last day was the only remaining European prisoner, Ravil Mingazov.  

Mingazov is the former Russian ballet dancer-soldier that Fitch once paired for exchange with the US ballet-dancing soldier Bowe Bergdahl. Rejecting Fitch's advice, the Pentagon exchanged five other Guantanameros for Bergdahl, who now faces a court martial for desertion in Afghanistan.

Bergdahl is currently seeking dismissal of the charges in light of the highly prejudicial comments on his case made by the new commander-in-chief - unless the 25^th Amendment facilitates another person playing that role. 

Read the rest of this here -- including a comprehesive look at my new president.