On this 23rd anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo I want to share a few observations. I think it is appropriate that I write this from The Hague, the home of the international criminal court.
It was almost 20 years ago that I volunteered to represent a Libyan man being held at Guantanamo. A man I knew nothing about except that my country was holding this man without any due process in violation of U S law and international law. Shortly thereafter I volunteered to represent a second man, a man from Algeria.
I, a solo practitioner, took on the second client because in my country of hundreds of thousands of attorneys few were willing to represent these men.
I wrongly thought that my country would right this injustice and the men would quickly be returned to their homes after our Supreme Court held that the men were entitled to attorneys and entitled to some process. My first client was held until 2010 before being dumped in a country that did not want him and with little support to get his life back on track. My second client was held until 2023; before he was sent back to his home country with no protections from further prosecution, despite assurances that he would be properly treated and cared for. Neither man was charged with any crime and there was no evidence that either man engaged in any wrongdoing.
Today there are only a few men left at Guantanamo that have never been charged with any wrong doing. I remain hopeful that Biden will release those men before our latest criminal president takes office. We will know soon enough.
My country not only failed to learn anything from this deviation from the rule of law but we have dug in even deeper in our illegal activities. And with our new criminal president about to take office I have little confidence that we will right this ship of ours.
And so what do we do? I, for one, intend to try to uphold the rule of law in whatever small measures a solo practitioner lawyer can do. I find some solace being in The Hague at this time, even if only for a few days. I came here in 2008 as a visiting professional at the international Court (ICC) partly to run away from my corrupt country, but also to try to help in my own small measure this then new institution, get on its feet. It has been a bumpy road for the ICC but I believe this is really the only way forward if our world is to see any real justice.
And so, tomorrow is another working day.
Today there are only a few men left at Guantanamo that have never been charged with any wrong doing. I remain hopeful that Biden will release those men before our latest criminal president takes office. We will know soon enough.
My country not only failed to learn anything from this deviation from the rule of law but we have dug in even deeper in our illegal activities. And with our new criminal president about to take office I have little confidence that we will right this ship of ours.
And so what do we do? I, for one, intend to try to uphold the rule of law in whatever small measures a solo practitioner lawyer can do. I find some solace being in The Hague at this time, even if only for a few days. I came here in 2008 as a visiting professional at the international Court (ICC) partly to run away from my corrupt country, but also to try to help in my own small measure this then new institution, get on its feet. It has been a bumpy road for the ICC but I believe this is really the only way forward if our world is to see any real justice.
And so, tomorrow is another working day.
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