Pathétique

As Andy Worthington notes in this article it has become harder and harder to main a sense of humor.... and of late it has only been my sense of humor (and of the absurd?) that has kept me focused....

Click here for Andy's look at the US congress... and click on the title for some background music.

More hidden torture tapes

The order by this Judge is particularly disturbing given the allegations that the judge concedes in the opinion... I guess we are supposed to be happy for the crumbs.

As the prisoner involved in this decision actually made accusations regarding one of my two clients I am grateful for the tiny crack that allows some of the light in...but disgusted by a judiciary that continues to fear opening the window to the known and widespread abuse. Exactly what is it they are afraid of?

Click on the title for more.

From Roger Fitch and our friends down under at Justinian

Roger Fitch Esq • October 2, 2009

Our Man in Washington

Roger Fitch traces the last gasp of the Guantánamo military commissions … Government continues to ignore court orders … Habeas appeals abound … And civil torture suits gather pace

McClatchy News has more on Kiyemba I, while Andy Worthington reports the significance of the DC Circuit’s Kiyemba II mandate.

The first of only eight habeas cases lost on the merits by Guantánamo detainees is now on appeal to the DC circuit, while the government is appealing a few of the 30 it has lost.

CLICK ON THE TITLE FOR MORE

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Did you say X-Ray?

I don't even know where to start with this one.... so many of are clients are accused of saying damaging things to interrogators in the early years at Guantanamo and our attempts to get actual tapes of the conversations to review the translations are often denied by the judges as "fishing expeditions"....

click on the title to read about one of the five arabic translators at the base in 2002-2003.

big sigh....

Len Goodman writing at In These Times

Len Goodman is a fellow habeas counsel from Chicago (and also coincidently a sole practitioner). Click on the title to read why Len is, and all of us should be, concerned about Obama's "preventive detention plan."

75 cleared to go....

I am not allowed to say whether or not both or either of my clients are on this list. Ironically the Government posted this list of the numbers of released by country at the prison but they refused to give this same information to the habeas counsel. Transparency.

Click on the title for more.

One of the (many) heartbreaking stories from Gitmo

Click on the title to read...

Three released yesterday...

Alla Ali Bin Ali Ahmed, a Yemen native, was returned to his homeland. A federal court in May ruled that Ahmed could no longer be detained at the military detention in Cuba facility and ordered him released.

The two other detainees, whose names were not disclosed for security reasons, have been sent to Ireland. In July, the Irish government agreed to accept the two Uzbek prisoners, one of at least four European nations that have said they would take detainees.

Andy Worthington has more....click on the title.

Talking Dog interviews Lt. Col. Stephen Abraham

The talking dog interviews another in a long line of military attorneys who have helped shed light on Guantanamo. Col. Abraham is well known for his declaration before the Supreme Court in the Boumediene case, a declaration that led the way for the supreme court to reverse its earlier decision not to hear the Boumediene case. Col. Abraham is perhaps lesser known for his role in my own client's case (Al-Ghizzawi): he sat on the original Combat Status Review Tribunal panel for Mr. Al-Ghizzawi, that was the panel that determined that Mr. Al-Ghizzawi was not in fact properly designated as an "enemy combatant." Unfortunately, and unbeknown to the panel members the military decided to review Mr. Al-Ghizzawi again, this time with the "rubber stamp" panel.... you can read more about that sinister move here.

Click on the title to read the talking dog's interview of Stephen.

Part 2 of the Interview

Again from Chicago's own North and Clark.

Click on the title for the link directly to the interview.

Order for Rule to Show Cause Against Government, entered

Last month I filed a Motion in the District Court for a Rule to Show Cause against the Government for its blatant and intentional violation of an Order entered by the Court that applied in every pending habeas case. Today one of the judges ruled and agreed with me. You can find the order here. (Tip of the hat to the talking dog....for finding the order on the public docket..a docket I didn't even know existed.) Although the Government violated the Order in every case it seems that at least for now we are going to have to deal with this case by case...but we will.

And my apologies to the punctuationists of the world...I couldn't help myself.

SEPTEMBER 24

In honor of national punctuation day I will refrain from posting....

Another Interview

This time from Chicago's own North and Clark.

Click on the title for the link directly to the interview.

Torture doesn't work.... (Upated with better link....)

Just in case you were wondering...

click on the title to read a paper by Prof. Shane O'Mara at Trinity College.

Tip of the hat to EmptyWheel

and to the anonymous Lee.