Obama on Closing Gitmo....Sigh.

It's hard work. hmmm, where did I hear that line before?
Click on the title for more.

Former Guantanamo Guard on Torture

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Guantanamo hunger strikes increase (Updated)

Since the report from McClatchy estimates are now up to as many as 50% of the inmates are participating in the hunger strike. It is hard to know actual numbers but it is clear that the hunger strike is picking up speed.

McClatchy is reporting that more than 10 % of the Guantanamo prisoners are now participating in a hunger strike and being force fed. Obama has to end this madness on day one. Men who have never been charged with anything are sitting in detention with no end in sight.... while the men whom the government has described as the "worst of the worst of the worst" have bogus commission trials and go home. Of course the release of Hamdan and Hicks only show that those men were not anywhere close to being war criminals but that does not help the men who are still suffering in solitary confinement and who are now in their seventh year of detention without any charges against them.
Click on the title for more.

And What Little Game is Feinstein up to?

Feinstein has long been recognized as just another Lieberman. She is in up to her ears regarding the illegal surveillance, torture, Guantanamo and the black hole sites.... so why is she now suggesting legislation to close Guantanamo? Perhaps you need to look at this article in alternet to understand just what she is up to.... and keep in mind that prominent in her proposed legislation is reliance on the army field manual. We didn't need legislation to open Guantanamo and we certainly do not need legislation to close it, especially Feinstein's idea of legislation. Just say no to Feinstein.

TOP TEN GUANTANAMO JUDGES

The talking dog and Guantanamo historian Andy Worthington came up with a list of the Top Ten Guantanamo Judges/Judicial decisions. Each came up with their own top five independently and it is worth noting that the top ten list actually only includes nine (both picked the Supreme Court). Click on the title to read the article and let us know if there is someone they missed.

For those of you in the Chicago area on Jan. 9th

Seven years ago on January 9th the doors at Guantanamo first opened. On this auspicious occasion please come and hear me talk about the illegal detentions: what it looks like today and what we can do to close it.
Click on the title for details.

This is Not A Good Day for the World

Thank you Kaptain Kanada for sending this on.

Portugal was first... but now they are lining up (Updated)

Seems old Europe wants to help our new president close Guantanamo... Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and now Great Britain have agreed to take prisoners... Things are looking good for our clients in the New Year.
Australia too!

Judge Denies Habeas Petitions for Two (updated)

Unfortunately J. Leon (the same judge that exonerated the 6 Algerian/Bosnians) denied habeas petitions for two men yesterday. The Judge refused to take into account evidence that certain statements made by the men were made after being tortured. Tough day for those men.
The ruling against the Yemeni captive, Moath Hamza Ahmed Al Alwi, can be found here. The ruling against the Tunisian prisoner, Hisham Sliti, can be found here. (thanks to Scotus for the cites)

Petition for Special Prosecutor for War Crimes

Click on the title and sign the petition to Obama's new Attorney General asking for a special prosecutor to look into our war crimes... also read the entire article and see what else you can do to help.

No Shame

Just when you think you have heard it all... there is this.
(Click on the title)

Part 2 of the Stephen Abraham Interview

Hats off to Kaptain Kanada for sending this on. In this part of the interview by Andy Worthington Abraham talks about the only Tribunal Panel he sat on... that was for my client Mr. Al-Ghizzawi. The Panel found him not to be an enemy combatant but yet he still sits at Guantanamo.
Click on the title to read the interview.

Is Gates guilty of perjury?

Andy Worthington discusses the affidavit that was provided to habeas counsel from Gates (click on the title). Maybe this comes down to the word "encountered"? One thing that is sure is that we have not received exculpatory information for our clients (information that would tend to show they are not guilty). So far we have been left to our own investigations for proving our clients innocence but it is a legal obligation that the government give us the exculpatory information. Will the "justice departments" tactics change on January 20th? One can only hope.

Harold Pinter RIP

In his lecture after receiving the Noble Prize in Literature in 2005 he spoke these words:

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law."

"How many people do you have to kill before you qualify to be described as a mass murderer and a war criminal? One hundred thousand?".

Happy Holidays?