My Friends the Dutch....

It seems that the Dutch are inching a little closer to taking two detainees from Guantanamo. When I was living in the Netherlands a few years back I lobbied hard for the settlement of two men (pulling hard for one of the men to be my client) but the Government would not budge. Seems now that they are considering taking two men--- but only if Obama gets off his butt and pushes harder for closer of the gulag.

"The Hague (AFP) - The Netherlands will only consider a US request to take in two detainees from Guantanamo Bay once Washington has taken "meaningful steps" to close the notorious military jail, the Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders said Monday."

READ MORE HERE.

A day late....

Yesterday I forgot to link to the talking dog's page for his annual summary of all things September 11- from his vantage point in New York city where he was on that day and remains today.
So here it is.

Lest we forget....

Steven Biko died 39 years ago today. Read more about his life and death here.

a comment about Hassan and the other men released....

Perhaps it is to keep up the false pretense that all of the men that have been held at Guantanamo are "bad" but I have to mention this very disturbing fact which was highlighted in my last post: each and every man that has been released from Guantanamo under the Obama administration has been "cleared" by all of the government agencies. In other words, these men should not be treated as criminals when they are finally on the plane to be set free. Mr. Al-Ghizzawi was treated in the same fashion as Mr. Hassan.... as have all of the other men cleared and released.
This has been my country's last inhumane measure before these men are finally free and I am deeply ashamed.

A botched translation led to this man being held at Gitmo for 14 years....

One of the many incredible stories of the men at Guantanamo....

As for Hassan, on June 12, 2015, Gitmo guards came into his cell at night. Once again they took off his clothes and put him in a diaper. Once again they stripped him of his senses with a blindfold and earmuffs, and once again they led him onto a plane for a long journey. Only this time, when the plane landed,he was in Oman. The country had welcomed him on humanitarian grounds. Reprieve and the U.S. government wouldn’t comment on his exact whereabouts in Oman, and local reporters say the government in Muscat has warned them away from trying to interview former Gitmo detainees. But more than a decade after he arrived at Gitmo, Emad Hassan was finally free, and nothing seemed lost in translation.

Read the entire story here....

A policy no more....

A few months ago I reported about the loosening of some of the rules regarding the release of notes taken by attorneys with their clients. Under a new policy that was announced in January the government allowed notes to go uncensored that detailed the torture of Majid Khan as told by Mr. Khan to his attorney. (You can read that here.)
It was apparently a short lived policy. Abu Zubaydah's attorney tried to have declassified 116 pages that delayed the horrific torture that Abu Zubaydah was (and continues to be) subjected over his 14 years of "detention." My government does not want us to see those details and so we only know a small summary of those details-- for example--that Abu Zubaydah was water boarded 83 times in a single month- lost an eye, was kept in small coffin like boxes...--
So much for that policy. You can read more here.

From Roger Fitch and our friends down under at Justinian...

The American Psychological Association has decided to do the right thing and stop assisting US government interrogations, following a damning independent investigation. TheGuardian and Just Security have more.  

Only one person voted against the change - Larry James, a former member of the Behavioural Science Consultation Team (BSCT), military psychologists who collaborated in the brutal interrogation of helpless prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantánamo. 

James: wants to keep psychologists on the interrogation teams

Many "Biscuits" have had ethics charges brought against them, and one of them took themilitary Fifth Amendment.  

Following cancellation of the CIA's contract with the firm of torture-architect psychologists James Mitchell and Bruce Jessen, West Coast civil rights figure Stephen Yagman has filed suit under the False Claims Act for recovery of the $81 million Mitchell-Jessen were paid for their (dirty) work.  

READ THE REST HERE

Another small step towards justice for Maher Arar

As the Globe and Mail pointed out over the weekend Canada's RCMP has indicted the Syrian who allegedly tortured Canadian Maher Arar. Of course the torture was done at the behest of my government and I doubt that the Canadian's will actually go after any of those responsible in my country- at least not while Bush wanna be Stephen Harper is Prime Minister....

"So Mr. Arar must be particularly pleased that the RCMP has now charged a Syrian man in absentia with the very crime of torturing him. Whether or not the charge against a Syrian intelligence officer named George Salloum, whereabouts and condition unknown, leads to a trial in Canada, its existence alone is a critical step in Mr. Arar’s determined efforts to clear his name, and a deserved slap in the face of those who continue to deny him justice."

Read the rest here.

Happy labor day...........

Meanwhile... back on the home front.

The administration is apparently looking for prisons in this country to house the remaining detainees.

And the states that are being looked at are freaking out. Read more here, here and here.

And this from the Onion......

Guantanamo's new senior facility....

By any other name... it is still torture

CIA whistleblower John Kiriakou speaks out again on the torture conducted by the CIA of its prisoners:

It’s plain and simple: The CIA tortured its prisoners. They can call it anything they want. It’s still torture. 
And that's a crime against humanity.

Read the rest here.

The President isn't even trying to move the cleared for release men out of Guantanamo.....

According to Secretary of defense Carter, "there has been no pressure from the White House to transfer detainees at a faster rate, Carter said. "I see it exactly as the president does," he said.

Read the rest here.

Meanwhile in science 'military style'.... the Navy claims asbestos is safe.

I reported last month about the cancer cluster at the base by attorneys and staff working on the military commission cases. The Navy now admits that there are carcinogens at the commission site but no one should worry.

 "A public health team found evidence of carcinogens at the war crimes court compound at the U.S. Navy base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, but has concluded so far that the buildings are safe for occupancy, the Navy said Friday."

I am guessing those stricken with cancer and other serious illnesses do not agree.

Read the rest here and here.

But maybe this is an underlying reason for the judge once again continuing the hearings for those being tried in the commission.... 

and excelerated efforts to find new lodgings for the men. Read more here, here and here.

Obama claims he wants to close the place....

He just doesn't want to release the men that his administration has already cleared for release... and he is afraid to say it in a public filing.

[JURIST] The US Department of Justice (DOJ) [official website] on Friday submitted a sealed document [The Guardian report] in opposition to the habeas corpus petition of Tariq Ba Odah, despite a 2009 government security review that cleared Ba Odah for transfer. In a public disclosure, the US government reported it "remains committed to promptly securing an appropriate location to which petitioner Ba Odah can be transferred." Ba Odah is represented by Omar Farah of the Center for Constitutional Rights[official website; case backgrounder]. After the government's filing, Farah announced [WSJ report] that he was disappointed by the inconsistencies between the original plan to close Guantanamo and the government's execution of that plan. In June, Ba Odah submitted doctor's statements into court records which argue Odah's medical condition has reached the point of irreparable harm. Amnesty International (AI) [official website] filed a statement [press release] on the Ba Odah Habeas case, reporting on the prisoner's 'concerning' medical condition and his ongoing hunger strike.

READ THE REST HERE...and Here.