Tag: Gitmo

Watching the Shadows
Gitmo

SCOTUS lets stand Guantánamo detention

The Supreme Court denied certiorari in the case of Moath Hamza Ahmed al-Alwi, a Yemeni who has been held as an “enemy combatant” at Guantánamo since 2002. Al-Alwi was captured in Pakistan in late 2001, and the government concluded that he had fought in Afghanistan as part of a Qaeda-commanded unit. Al-Alwi denied this unsuccessfully during his original round of habeas corpus proceedings, and in 2015 initiated a new habeas case arguing that the nature of US involvement in Afghanistan had changed such that the use of military detention is no longer justified under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF). The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit disagreed, and the Supreme Court has now declined to review the appellate court’s conclusion. (Photo via Jurist)

Watching the Shadows
Gitmo

Amnesty: Gitmo prison ‘stain on human rights’

Amnesty International called the Guantánamo Bay prison camp a "stain on human rights" on the eve of the facility's seventeenth anniversary. Guantánamo currently holds 40 detainees, many of whom were tortured by the CIA before being transferred to the facility. Some of the detainees have been cleared for transfer for years, but still remain at the facility. Some have been waiting for transfer as far back as 2010. Since its opening, the Guantánamo facility has housed around 800 prisoners, many without formal charges or due process. (Photo via Jurist)

Watching the Shadows

Lithuania, Romania guilty in CIA torture case

The European Court of Human Rights found that Lithuania and Romania had violated articles of the European Convention on Human Rights by allowing secret CIA prisons to operate on their territory. Lithuania had allowed the CIA to open a "black site" on its territory, where the CIA subjected the applicant, Zayn al-Abidin Muhammad Husayn AKA Abu Zubaydah, to "ill-treatment and arbitrary detention." Lithuania must pay Husayn 130,000 euros ($150,000). The applicant in the Romania case, Abd al-Rahim Husseyn Muhammad al-Nashiri, was transported to a "black site" on that country's territory territory, and faced capital charges in the US. The court apprehended Romania for transferring al-Nashiri to the US when it was likely he would face the death penalty. Romania must pay the applicant 100,000 euros ($115,000). Both men remain interned at Guantánamo Bay. (Photo: WikimediaCommons)

Watching the Shadows

US misses transfer deadline for Gitmo detainee

The Trump administration has yet to repatriate Guantánamo detainee Ahmed Muhammed Haza al-Darbi to Saudi Arabia, effectively missing the deadline established in his 2014 plea deal. Darbi pleaded guilty and admitted to involvement in al-Qaeda operations including the 2002 attack on a a French-flagged oil tanker near Yemen. In his pre-trial agreement, it was determined that, contingent on his cooperation, he would be sent back to Saudi Arabia to serve the duration of his sentence. Feb. 20 marked four years from the close of the deal and Darbi was not repatriated to Saudi Arabia. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

Watching the Shadows

Trump executive order to keep Gitmo prison open

Donald Trump signed an executive order to continue operations at the Guantánamo detention center—not only allowing those currently detained to remain detained, but also permitting the US to bring new persons to the facility.  The order comes the same day Trump pledged "to keep open the detention facilities at Guantánamo Bay" in his State of the Union address—to applause from Republican lawmakers. It also comes nearly nine years to the day after Obama's executive order to begin the process of closing the facility. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Watching the Shadows

Military judge approves destruction of ‘black site’

Military judge James Pohl ruled that no wrongdoing occurred when he authorized the destruction of a CIA secret prison, or "black site," despite the fact that a protection order was in effect on any remains from the CIA black sites. Prosecutors, citing national security powers, obtained permission from the judge to give defense attorneys photographs and a diagram of the site as a substitute for preservation the actual facility. The question concerned the admissibility of evidence possibly extracted by torture in the 9-11 case now underway at Guantánamo Bay. From 2002-2006, prisoners at the black site were subjected to waterboarding, sexual abuse, and other forms of torture. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Watching the Shadows

Gitmo habeas claim charges Trump discrimination

Eleven Guantánamo inmates filed a writ of habeas corpus in federal court, claiming their indefinite detention is due to President Trump's anti-Muslim bias. The inmates argue they can only be legally kept at Guantánamo if their individual circumstances show they would otherwise return to the battlefield. The suit claims that Trump's declaration that all Guantánamo inmates will remain at the prison camp does not take into account circumstances, but is based on Trump's antipathy toward Muslims. (Photo: Wikimedia)

Watching the Shadows

UN expert: torture continues at Gitmo

UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer issued a statement calling on the US to end impunity for "perpetrators and policymakers responsible for years of gruesome abuse" at Guantánamo Bay and other detention facilities. He added that that he has information that Guantánamo detainee Ammar al-Baluchi, awaiting trial in the 9-11 case before a military tribunal, is still being tortured despite the banning of so-called "enhanced interrogation techniques."

Watching the Shadows

Appeals court: military judge biased in 9-11 case

A federal appeals court in Washington DC ruled  that the military judge hearing the case against the 9-11 defendants should have recused himself for making comments that revealed his bias in the matter. The case against the accused conspirators is still pending nearly a decade after it opened, beset by a long string of controversies and irregularities.

Watching the Shadows
Omar rally

Canada issues formal apology to Omar Khadr

The Canadian government issued a statement apologizing to former Guantánamo detainee Omar Khadr for violating his rights under the country’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

Watching the Shadows

Gitmo detainee files suit against psychologists

Attorneys for Guantánamo detainee Abu Zubaydah filed a lawsuit against the two psychologists who developed the harsh interrogation techniques used by the CIA after 9-11.

Greater Middle East

Yemen: US warplanes strike Qaeda targets

US warplanes and drones struck supposed al-Qaeda targets across three provinces in Yemen, killing at least 12 suspected militants and wounding multiple civilians.