Judge claims he has no jurisdiction...

So today we witnessed another example of our fine judges in DC who refuse to even try to do anything related to the men we are illegally holding at Gitmo-
calling the condition of detainee Madhwani "self manufactured" (because he is engaged in a hunger strike)  judge Hogan refused to intercede.
Just go to the back of the bus boys and quit complaining.......
you can read more here.

Gitmo is Killing Me....

Gitmo Is Killing Me
By SAMIR NAJI al HASAN MOQBEL
Published: April 14, 2013

GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba

ONE man here weighs just 77 pounds. Another, 98. Last thing I knew, I weighed 132, but that was a month ago.

I’ve been on a hunger strike since Feb. 10 and have lost well over 30 pounds. I will not eat until they restore my dignity.

I’ve been detained at Guantánamo for 11 years and three months. I have never been charged with any crime. I have never received a trial.

I could have been home years ago — no one seriously thinks I am a threat — but still I am here. Years ago the military said I was a “guard” for Osama bin Laden, but this was nonsense, like something out of the American movies I used to watch. They don’t even seem to believe it anymore. But they don’t seem to care how long I sit here, either.

When I was at home in Yemen, in 2000, a childhood friend told me that in Afghanistan I could do better than the $50 a month I earned in a factory, and support my family. I’d never really traveled, and knew nothing about Afghanistan, but I gave it a try.

I was wrong to trust him. There was no work. I wanted to leave, but had no money to fly home. After the American invasion in 2001, I fled to Pakistan like everyone else. The Pakistanis arrested me when I asked to see someone from the Yemeni Embassy. I was then sent to Kandahar, and put on the first plane to Gitmo.

Last month, on March 15, I was sick in the prison hospital and refused to be fed. A team from the E.R.F. (Extreme Reaction Force), a squad of eight military police officers in riot gear, burst in. They tied my hands and feet to the bed. They forcibly inserted an IV into my hand. I spent 26 hours in this state, tied to the bed. During this time I was not permitted to go to the toilet. They inserted a catheter, which was painful, degrading and unnecessary. I was not even permitted to pray.

I will never forget the first time they passed the feeding tube up my nose. I can’t describe how painful it is to be force-fed this way. As it was thrust in, it made me feel like throwing up. I wanted to vomit, but I couldn’t. There was agony in my chest, throat and stomach. I had never experienced such pain before. I would not wish this cruel punishment upon anyone.

I am still being force-fed. Two times a day they tie me to a chair in my cell. My arms, legs and head are strapped down. I never know when they will come. Sometimes they come during the night, as late as 11 p.m., when I’m sleeping.

There are so many of us on hunger strike now that there aren’t enough qualified medical staff members to carry out the force-feedings; nothing is happening at regular intervals. They are feeding people around the clock just to keep up.

During one force-feeding the nurse pushed the tube about 18 inches into my stomach, hurting me more than usual, because she was doing things so hastily. I called the interpreter to ask the doctor if the procedure was being done correctly or not.

It was so painful that I begged them to stop feeding me. The nurse refused to stop feeding me. As they were finishing, some of the “food” spilled on my clothes. I asked them to change my clothes, but the guard refused to allow me to hold on to this last shred of my dignity.

When they come to force me into the chair, if I refuse to be tied up, they call the E.R.F. team. So I have a choice. Either I can exercise my right to protest my detention, and be beaten up, or I can submit to painful force-feeding.

The only reason I am still here is that President Obama refuses to send any detainees back to Yemen. This makes no sense. I am a human being, not a passport, and I deserve to be treated like one.

I do not want to die here, but until President Obama and Yemen’s president do something, that is what I risk every day. Where is my government? I will submit to any “security measures” they want in order to go home, even though they are totally unnecessary.

I will agree to whatever it takes in order to be free. I am now 35. All I want is to see my family again and to start a family of my own.

The situation is desperate now. All of the detainees here are suffering deeply. At least 40 people here are on a hunger strike. People are fainting with exhaustion every day. I have vomited blood.

And there is no end in sight to our imprisonment. Denying ourselves food and risking death every day is the choice we have made.

I just hope that because of the pain we are suffering, the eyes of the world will once again look to Guantánamo before it is too late.

Samir Naji al Hasan Moqbel, a prisoner at Guantánamo Bay since 2002, told this story, through an Arabic interpreter, to his lawyers at the legal charity Reprieve in an unclassified telephone call.

A version of this op-ed appeared in print on April 15, 2013, on page A19 of the New York edition with the headline: Gitmo Is Killing Me.

The International Red Cross admits its concern

Although normally the ICRC refrains from making any comments about its work at Guantanamo but the statement issued saturday claiming they are continuing to monitor things at the base "with concern" suggests things are as bleak as we have been guessing. Of course the big bad military waited until the ICRC left before it engaged in its latest brutal tactics and it is my hope that the delegation turns around and heads right back to the base before the deaths start.
Jim White over at emptywheel has a nice update on what we know now- including the improvised "weapons" that the men supposedly used when being roughed up by the military yesterday which included mops, brooms and empty water bottles wrapped in towels...seems like a threat to me! I guess we are lucky that the men were not shot and killed in response to the threat imposed on our military....

Talking Dog interviews Michael Mone

Another great interview- as you will read in this interview one of Michael's clients was released to Ireland back around the same time my client was released to Georgia- I had to laugh at the time when one of the first things offered to the men released to Ireland was cooking lessons- being of Irish descent I can tell you that the Irish have never been known for their culinary abilities- but all joking aside that was one of the many thoughtful things done for the men to make sure they could live independently.

Read the interview here.

Things are escalating at Guantanamo today...UPDATED

This press release just came from the powers to be at Gitmo... What this means is that the men are now all being held in isolation- in Camp 6 they had been held in communal living arrangements....All we know is that there was a major conflict yesterday and of course the other thing we know is that nothing the military says is to be believed...I would also note that all of this seems to have taken place hours after the International Red Cross left Guantanamo.

Guantanamo Bay, Cuba –The commander of Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) ordered the transition of detainees from communal to single cell living at Camp VI to ensure the health and security of those detainees. The commander ordered this change at 0510, 13 April 2013. This action was taken in response to efforts by the detainees to limit the guard force’s ability to observe the detainees by covering surveillance cameras, windows, and glass partitions. Round the clock monitoring is necessary to ensure security, order, and safety, as detainees continued a prolonged hunger strike by refusing regular camp-provided meals.

 In order to reestablish proper observation, the guards entered the Camp VI communal living spaces to transition detainees into single cells, remove obstructions to cameras, windows and partitions, and to assess the medical condition of each detainee. Some detainees resisted with improvised weapons, and in response, four less-than-lethal rounds were fired. There were no serious injuries to guards or detainees. 

The mission of Joint Task Force Guantanamo is to provide for the safe, legal, and humane care and custody of detainees. All detainees will continue to be treated in a safe, legal and humane manner.

New York times has a tiny bit more here...

Perhaps they will claim they didn't want to go there anyway....

We can only hope more countries will ban these war criminals.....

MOSCOW -- Russia on Saturday named 18 Americans banned from entering the country in response to Washington imposing sanctions on 18 Russians for alleged human rights violations. The list released by the Foreign Ministry includes John Yoo, a former U.S. Justice Department official who wrote legal memos authorizing harsh interrogation techniques; David Addington, the chief of staff for former U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney; and two former commanders of the Guantanamo Bay detention center: retired Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller and Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson. The move came a day after the United States announced its sanctions under the Magnitsky Law, named for Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested in 2008 for tax evasion after accusing Russian police officials of stealing $230 million in tax rebates. He died in prison the next year, allegedly after being beaten and denied medical treatment. Neither Washington nor Moscow put high-ranking or politically prominent figures on their lists, perhaps aiming to limit the effect on U.S.-Russian relations that have deteriorated, despite President Barack Obama's initiative to "reset" relations with Moscow. The Magnitsky law infuriated Russian authorities, and parliament quickly passed a retaliatory measure than banned Americans from adopting Russian children. Russia also has banned U.S. funding for any non-governmental organization deemed to be engaging in politics. "I think that both sides showed a definite restraint because in Washington and in Moscow there were hotheads demanding to inflate the list to an unthinkable size," parliament member Vyacheslav Nikonov, who focuses on foreign affairs, was quoted as saying by the news agency Interfax. The ITAR-Tass news agency quoted Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov as saying there also is a "closed part" of the list of banned Americans and that the United States knows of its existence. The U.S. law in turn allows the administration to compile a separate classified list of Russian officials subject to visa bans. The public U.S. list includes Artem Kuznetsov and Pavel Karpov, two Russian Interior Ministry officers who put Magnitsky behind bars after he accused them of stealing $230 million from the state. Two tax officials the lawyer accused of approving the fraudulent tax refunds, and several other Interior Ministry officials accused of persecuting Magnitsky, also were on the list. Absent were senior officials from Russia's President Vladimir Putin's entourage whom some human rights advocates had hoped to see sanctioned. Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich said in a statement Saturday that the U.S. sanctions struck "a strong blow to bilateral relations and joint trust." The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said it had no immediate comment. Also on Russia's list are 14 Americans whom Russia says violated the rights of Russians abroad. It does not give specifics of the alleged violations, but includes several current or former federal prosecutors in the case of Viktor Bout, the Russian arms merchant sentenced in 2012 to 25 years in prison for selling weapons to a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist group. A federal judge, one FBI agent and four U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents also are on the list. Some of them were involved in the case of Konstantin Yaroshenko, a Russian pilot convicted for drug smuggling. "It's important that the criteria on which the Russian list was composed differ fundamentally from the Americans'. On the Russian list, including the closed part, are people actually responsible for the legalization of torture and indefinite detention of prisoners in Guantanamo, for arrests and unjust sentences for our countrymen," Ryabkov was quoted as saying.

Hot off the presses....

Rear Adm. Richard W. Butler, will be assigned as commander, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, U.S. Southern Command, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Butler is currently serving as deputy director, Air Warfare Division, N98B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, Washington, D.C.

Rear Adm. John W. Smith Jr., will be assigned as commandant, Joint Forces Staff College, National Defense University, Norfolk, Va.  Smith is currently serving as commander, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, U.S. Southern Command, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

As one of my astute colleagues noted (hoped?) perhaps Butler will have better luck reining in Army Col. Bogdan or at least make him drink the water publicly.......

In other news...

Read this important article by Jim White over at Emptywheel which discusses not only the visit by the International Red Cross's (ICRC) President to the White House to discuss the alarming hunger strike situation at Guantanamo (following a visit by the ICRC to Guantanamo) but also a story that I somehow missed-military defense emails were turned over to the prosecution. This of course compromises every military commission proceeding- sigh.

Guantanamo in the news...

Thanks to the center for constitutional rights for keeping me and the other Gitmo attorneys up to date on the coverage of the hunger strike and other Gitmo news. The center has been the umbrella organization for the volunteer attorneys. If you have any spare change donate to them.

Here is the latest....

GTMO News Roundup 4/12/13

Aljazeera: Guantanamo inmates on mass hunger strike (video)

The Atlantic: The Guantanamo Tribunals Can't Continue On Like This

Politics (UK): Petition on last Briton in Guantanamo hits crucial 100K mark

Press TV: Activists urge US govt. to shut Gitmo (video)

The Real News: Wikileaks Releases Kissinger Cables and Two Decisions in Manning Trial

Russia Today: Gitmo vs Govt: Force-feeding via tubes in nostrils 'humane'? (video)

   

4/11

AFP: Protesters demand Obama close Guantanamo Bay prison

Eurasia Review: As Guantánamo Hunger Strike Continues, Activists Rally Nationwide In US

Firedoglake: ‘The Nightmare Has Started Again,’ According to Hunger Striking Guantanamo Prisoner

The Guardian: Three key lessons from the Obama administration's drone lies   

Miami Herald: Red Cross chief: End political blockage on Guantánamo

Reuters: Guantanamo pretrial hearing delayed as legal files vanish

Russia Today: 'Gitmo prisoners treated like guinea pigs by amateur staff' (video)

New York Times: Hearing in Cole Attack Is Delayed Again, This Time by E-mail Security Issue

Washington Post: Guantanamo dogged by new controversy after mishandling of e-mails

4/10

Between the Lines: Indefinite Detention Without Charge or Trial Triggers Widespread Guantanamo Prisoner Hunger Strike (audio)

Musical interlude....

I haven't done one in a while- thank you whoever posted this in response to my article at Michael Moore's web page.

Talking Dog Interviews Matt O'Hara

As I mentioned yesterday the Dog has been on a wild run- with new interviews of Gitmo attorneys on a daily basis- today's is fellow Chicagoan Matt O'Hara. Another fine interview by the Dog and it makes me proud to be in such great company.
Read the interview here.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights- Guantanamo "is in clear breach of International law."

NAVI PILLAY SAYS GUANTANAMO DETENTION REGIME IS IN “CLEAR BREACH OF
INTERNATIONAL LAW” AND SHOULD BE CLOSED



The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay on Friday urged all branches of the United States Government to work together to close the Guantanamo detention centre, saying “the continuing indefinite incarceration of many of the detainees amounts to arbitrary detention and is in clear breach of international law.”

“I am deeply disappointed that the US Government has not been able to close Guantanamo Bay, despite repeatedly committing itself to do so,” Ms. Pillay said.  “Allegedly, around half of the 166 detainees still being held in detention have been cleared for transfer to either home countries or third countries for resettlement.  Yet they remain in detention at Guantanamo Bay.  Others reportedly have been designated for further indefinite detention. Some of them have been festering in this detention centre for more than a decade.  This raises serious concerns under international law.  It severely undermines the United States’ stance that it is an upholder of human rights, and weakens its position when addressing human rights violations elsewhere.”

Commenting on the current hunger strike by Guantanamo detainees, Ms. Pillay said that “a hunger strike is a desperate act, and one which brings a clear risk of people doing serious lasting harm to themselves.  I always urge people to think of alternative, less dangerous, ways to protest about their situation.  But given the uncertainty and anxieties surrounding their prolonged and apparently indefinite detention in Guantanamo, it is scarcely surprising that people’s frustrations boil over and they resort to such desperate measures.”

Ms. Pillay noted that four years ago she warmly welcomed President Obama’s announcement immediately after his inauguration that he was placing a high priority on closing Guantanamo and setting in motion a system to safeguard the fundamental rights of the detainees.  She welcomed a White House spokesman’s reiteration of this commitment last week (27 March), citing Congressional legislation as the prime obstacle.

“Nevertheless, this systemic abuse of individuals’ human rights continues year after year,” she said.  “We must be clear about this: the United States is in clear breach not just of its own commitments but also of international laws and standards that it is obliged to uphold. When other countries breach these standards, the United States – quite rightly – strongly criticizes them for it.”

“As a first step,” Ms. Pillay said, “those who have been cleared for release must be released. This is the most flagrant breach of individual rights, contravening the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.*  Last September's death of Adnan Latif -- the ninth person to die in detention at Guantanamo -- was a sobering reminder of the problems with the Guantanamo detention regime under which individuals are detained indefinitely, in most cases without charge or trial.  It is time to bring an end to this situation.”

Ms. Pillay said she was deeply concerned over the continued obstacles the National Defence Authorization Act of 2013 has created for the closure of the detention facility, as well as for the trial of detainees in civilian courts, where warranted, or for their release.  The Act was signed into law by President Obama on 3 January despite previous threats to veto its renewal.  The High Commissioner has repeatedly maintained that those Guantanamo detainees who are accused of crimes should be tried in civilian courts, particularly as the military commissions – even after improvements made in 2009 – do not meet international fair trial standards. 

“Anyone who is deprived of his or her liberty by arrest or detention is entitled, under international human rights law, to regular review of the lawfulness of their detention and to be released if the detention is not lawful,” she said.  “Any ensuing judicial proceedings must scrupulously respect due process and fair trial standards.”

So long as Guantanamo remains open, she added, the authorities must make every effort to ensure that detainees’ rights are observed.  “No one is suggesting that the United States should be ‘soft’ on people who have planned or carried out crimes or atrocities. Indeed, international law requires that there must not be impunity for such crimes.  Nevertheless, human rights are universal and apply to all persons, including those suspected of having committed the most serious crimes such as acts of terrorism,” she said.  “Under human rights law, people deprived of their liberty must be treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent dignity.”

The High Commissioner also called on the United States Government to extend an invitation which would allow full and unfettered access to the United Nations Human Rights Council experts, including the opportunity to meet privately with detainees.

*See: http://www.ohchr.org/EN/ProfessionalInterest/Pages/CCPR.aspx

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights has been ratified by 167 States, including the United States of America

Talking Dog interviews Carlos Warner

I'm having trouble keeping up with the dog....but here is another great interview.

Talking dog interviews Matthew Melewski....

Wow the dog has been busy! Today interview is from habeas attorney Matthew Melewski. I would just add that each interview adds to both the humanity of certain American's and the inhumanity of this nation....
Read the interview here....

A Hunger Strike has taken over Guantanamo

You can find my latest article about the hunger strike at Guantanamo at Michael Moore's webpage...
click here to go directly to that article...