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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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August 21st,
2009 - Judge Orders Release of Guantanamo Detainee with Ties to Bin Laden |
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Judge Orders Release of
Guantanamo Bay Detainee with Family Ties to Bin Laden By Nedra Pickler Associated Press August 21, 2009 Washington - A Yemeni man's
family ties to Osama bin Laden and admission that he met with the terrorist
mastermind in the weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks are not enough to
continue holding him at Guantanamo Bay, a judge wrote in an order released
Friday. U.S. District Judge Gladys
Kessler ruled that Muhammed al-Adahi, 47, must be released after seven years
at the U.S. detention facility in Cuba. Al-Adahi testified that in
July 2001 he took his sister to Afghanistan for a celebration of her arranged
marriage to a man the United States alleges was a bin Laden bodyguard. The
wedding was at bin Laden's house, and al-Adahi said he was introduced to bin
Laden there for the first time and then met briefly with him again a few days
later. He said bin Laden summoned him and for about five to 10 minutes asked
about the religious community in Yemen. Kessler wrote, "While
it is tempting to be swayed by the fact that petitioner readily acknowledged
having met bin Laden on two occasions and admitted that perhaps his relatives
were bodyguards and enthusiastic followers of bin Laden, such evidence -
sensational and compelling as it may appear - does not constitute actual,
reliable evidence that would justify the government's detention of this
man." Justice Department attorneys
argued the associations demonstrate that al-Adahi was an al-Qaida insider
whose brother-in-law was facilitating his rise up the ranks of the terrorist
organization. After the wedding, al-Adahi allegedly spent the night at an
al-Qaida guesthouse and trained at the Al Farouq terrorist camp for seven to
10 days before he was kicked out for disobeying orders. "This training
represents the strongest basis that the government has for detaining
Al-Adahi," Kessler wrote. But she said al-Adahi's "brief attendance
at Al Farouq and eventual expulsion simply do not bring him within the ambit
of the executive's power to detain." Al-Adahi's testimony in the
case was made via videoconference from Guantanamo Bay. Kessler had ordered
that an unclassified version of the video be publicly released, but Justice
Department attorneys revealed a month later that no recording was made
because of because of oversight and miscommunication. A lightly redacted
transcript was released. The government lawyers
apologized to al-Adahi and the court. But Al-Adahi's attorneys have asked for
sanctions, including his release, because of the violation of the court
order. Kessler wrote in a footnote to her order that she's still considering
the request for sanctions but did not otherwise mention the videotape in her
reasons for ordering his release. Al-Adahi is one of scores of
Guantanamo detainees suing in U.S. District Court in Washington for their
release. Judges there so far have ordered the release of at least 29
detainees, although many still remain at the prison since no country will
agree to take them. The judges have denied
requests for release by at least six others - most recently another Yemeni
named Adham Mohammed Al Awad who the United States argued became an al-Qaida
fighter in the weeks after the Sept. 11 attacks. U.S. District Judge James
Robertson ruled in an opinion released this week that although the case
against Awad is "gossamer-thin" and the evidence "has very
little weight," it appears he was part of al-Qaida for some time and
therefore is being legally detained at Guantanamo. Copyright 2009 Associated
Press. External link: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/wire/sns-ap-us-guantanamo-release,0,645473.story |