Waterboarding by a different name...

That CIA- they are so clever.... they have claimed that they only waterboarded three prisoners. I don't know or care if that is the number because 1 is too many. However, now it turns out they "water doused" many more men--a technique akin to waterboarding and which of course is also torture. Add that to the men that they dry boarded and I think it is fair to say that the CIA (with of course the help of psychologists) ran a torture campaign that was forever changing. That of course makes it easier for the CIA and friends to claim small numbers for each technique.
By any other name it is still torture.
Read more here.

trying for accountability

Two former detainees have sued the psychologists who coordinated and oversaw their torture.... I can't help but wonder how these two war criminals will get off the hook but somehow I think they will....
Read more here. And here. and.... here.

Another Forever Detainee Cleared for Release....UPDATED

Today it was announced that the "periodic" review board  (PRB) cleared Mohammed Kamin (ISN 1045 from Afghanistan).

The prison population remains at 114: 54 are cleared, 50 are awaiting clearance, and 10 are in the military commission system (of those, 7 are in “active” “trial” proceedings while 3 have been “convicted”).

Of the 54 cleared, 43 (79.6%) are Yemenis and 11 are non-Yemenis.

Of the 50 awaiting clearance, 24 are Yemenis and 26 are non-Yemenis.

The PRB has now approved for transfer 14 of the 16 detainees for whom it has issued decisions.  Five detainees are officially in the PRB process and awaiting their first hearing or decision.  43 detainees are PRB-eligible but have not yet officially begun the process.  (For these purposes, a detainee is “officially in the PRB process” when he shows up on the PRB web page tracking individual detainees’ proceedings.)

H/O to Brian Foster for pulling together the numbers....

MORE INFO IN THIS REPORT.

Algerian detainee seeks relief from Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

   Djamel Ameziane was held at guantanamo for 12 years without charge before he was finally returned to his homeland in Algeria. Mr. Ameziane cannot find a job- no one will hire him because of the stigma of being held at Guantanamo for all of those years. Now he is asking the InterAmerican commission for help. Read more here and here.
You can read his petition here.

An Interiview with Mohammed el Gharani- from Guantanamo Speaks....

Guantanamo Speaks

Former Prisoner defies ban on Guantanamo detainees coming to the US by virtually appearing. Read the rest here and if you are in NY and not rained out try to attend this amazing piece of art and humanity. Unfortunately I couldn't get the entire picture on here so click on the link.

Clive Stafford Smith on Shaker Aamer...

"There is one matter that is beyond all doubt: various members of the US military and the UK intelligence services will start briefing against Aamer. They will do this because they know they have done him wrong, and they hate him for it. They feel a very human urge to prove that they were justified and, in their distorted morality, that can only be true if he is a very, very bad man indeed.

They always do this. In 2009, when Binyam Mohamed was released from Guantánamo, someone at the Pentagon leaked to the BBC a classified copy of the confession tortured out of him. Binyam had been sent to Morocco where a razor blade was taken to his penis every fortnight for 18 months. Naturally he told them what they wanted to hear. To the credit of the BBC – and in compliance with the UN convention against torture – ultimately the corporation decided not to defame Binyam with this statement."

Read the whole opinion piece here.

And the talking dog has long been writing about Shaker and has hosted Andy Worthington on his trips to the U.S. over the years as he came to our country to remind the American people not only of the illegality of Guantanamo but also to advocate for the release of his countryman --shaker Aamer. Read what he has to say here.

DC Circuit grants en banc in al Bahlul.....

As Steve Vladeck reported-- on Friday, the D.C. Circuit granted rehearing en banc in al Bahlul v. United States, the constitutional challenge to the Guantánamo military commissions’ authority to try domestic offenses in the military commission. In the process, the Court of Appeals vacated its major June 2015 ruling (which had held that such jurisdiction violates Article III), and set the whole matter for new briefing and argument — the latter scheduled for December 1, 2015.

Read the rest here.

Detainee Released To Morrocco faces Torture...

And the documents to prove he is innocent of any terror related activity is held as classified by my government.... This is a potential problem for many of our remaining clients and my government has thus far refused to unclassify the documents.
Read more here.

WE STAND WITH SHAKER

Andy Worthington on Shaker.... complete with a song.

Click here for the full story and the song by Andy...

Could it really be true???

The Guardian announced today that Shaker Aamer- the last British detainee- is to be released. If this is true that is wonderful news....but WTF- he has been cleared for release for at least nine years and in announcing that they are going to release him they still have to go through the 30 day waiting period before he can actually be released. And they are only releasing this man who has been cleared by all of the agencies (Defense, State, Justice--- etc) for literally years because they have now determined that Britain has robust security???
Shaker was considered a leader amongst the detainees- in negotiating with the military at Guantanamo for better conditions -- in punishment for his outspokenness Shaker was placed in solitary confinement. For years. Rumor is that his mental and physical health has markedly deteriorated because of the conditions he has been subjected to.
Shaker has never met his youngest child who was born after his "detention."
Read the story here.... and let us hope that this time the rumor is true and Shaker will be home with his family soon.

For those in the NYC area....

Mohammed el Gharani and Laurie Anderson have worked together to create the “Habeas Corpus” installation, which will be shown at the Park Avenue Armory on October 2nd through 4th.

Read more about this amazing multi media presentation here.

The release of Abdul Shalabi announced yesterday...UPDATED

Mr. Shalabi was one of the long time hunger strikers- for nine years he staged a hunger strike and for nine- years he was force fed by the military. Mr. Shalabi was recently cleared by the the military for release. You can read more about Shalabi here.
Carol Rosenberg has more here.

I will just add that Mr. Shalabi is yet another of the men who was accused of being a body guard for Osama Bin Laden... as I reported in the past all of those men at Guantanamo who were accused of being body guards were accused by other detainees- the so called jail house snitches who were tortured or otherwise convinced to lie about their fellow detainees....sigh.

The prison population now stands at 114:  52 are cleared, 52 are awaiting clearance, and 10 are in the military commission system (of those, 7 are in the “active” “trial” proceedings while 3 have been “convicted”).

Of the 52 cleared, 43 (83%) are Yemenis and 9 are non-Yemenis.

Of the 52 awaiting clearance, 24 are Yemenis and 28 are non-Yemenis.

h/o to fellow Gitmo attorney Brian Foster for keeping up with the numbers.

Another Detainee Transferred....

The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of Abdul Shalabi from the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay to the government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

On June 15, a Periodic Review Board consisting of representatives from the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and State; the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence determined continued law of war detention of Shalabi does not remain necessary to protect against a continuing significant threat to the security of the United States. As a result of that review, which examined a number of factors, including security issues, Shalabi was recommended for transfer by consensus of the six departments and agencies comprising the Periodic Review Board.

I will have more info on Shalabi when it becomes available.