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The War Profiteers - War Crimes,
Kidnappings & Torture |
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October 14th,
2009 - Gitmo Update: 38 Cases, 2 New Releases, and 1 Showdown |
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Gitmo Update: 38 Cases, 2
New Releases, and 1 Showdown By Christopher Flavelle ProPublica October 14, 2009 More than a year after the
Supreme Court ruled that Guantanamo detainees can appeal their detention in
U.S. courts, at least 17 prisoners remain in U.S. custody despite judges’
orders for their release. To help track the progress of those cases,
ProPublica launched a feature tracking each detainee’s petition. Today we
updated that feature, after a number of recent developments. Last week, the government
released two detainees. The first was a 34-year-old man named Khalid Al
Mutairi, whom a judge ordered released in July after finding the government
couldn’t support its claim that he was part of Al Qaeda. Al Mutairi was
transferred to Kuwait, his home country. The government released
another man to Belgium, but refused to identify him or his nationality,
citing a request from Belgian authorities that he be given the chance to
start a new life there. The Department of Justice did not respond to calls
asking whether the second detainee was among those ordered released by a U.S.
judge. Meanwhile, lawyers for
another detainee, Fouad Al Rabiah, who was ordered released Sept. 17, have
tried to increase the pressure on the government. A judge found the evidence
against Al Rabiah “surprisingly bare,” and ordered the government to
facilitate his release “forthwith.” But rather than wait for the government
to decide whether to appeal, Al Rabiah’s lawyers filed a motion on Tuesday
calling on the court to hold Defense Secretary Robert Gates in contempt of
the judge’s order. Al Rabiah’s lawyers contend
that the government is dragging its feet, arguing it has “refused to take any
steps to facilitate Al Rabiah’s release on the legally frivolous ground that
they are considering whether to appeal the release order.” Robert Chesney, a law
professor at the University of Texas and an expert in national security law,
said the decision to name Gates personally was “good spin” and could spur the
government to action, but the contempt motion itself “is not likely to
succeed.” David Cynamon, one of Al
Rabiah’s attorneys, disputed the suggestion that the motion is a public
relations move, saying he “fully expects” to win the motion, unless the
government releases Al Rabiah first. External link: http://www.propublica.org/feature/gitmo-update-38-cases-2-new-releases-and-1-showdown-1009 |