Author Archive

Ali al-Marri, The Last US ‘Enemy Combatant,’ Receives Eight-Year Sentence

Ali al-Marri, The Last US ‘Enemy Combatant,’ Receives Eight-Year Sentence

So it’s finally over. Ali al-Marri, a legal US resident from Qatar, who was held as an “enemy combatant” on the US mainland for five years and eight months without charge or trial, was finally sentenced in a federal court last Thursday. The prosecution was seeking a 15-year sentence, following al-Marri’s guilty plea in April, when, as part of a plea bargain, he accepted that he had receiving training in al-Qaeda camps and had come to the United States on a mission for al-Qaeda on the day before the 9/11 attacks.

Six Uighurs Go To Palau; Seven Remain In Guantanamo

Six Uighurs Go To Palau; Seven Remain In Guantanamo

As first reported by the Associated Press, six of the remaining 13 Uighurs in Guantánamo have just arrived on the Pacific island of Palau, where they have been given new homes. The AP’s source said that, overnight, police were guarding the house where the men will live, in the heart of the capital, Koror.

Will Guantanamo Prisoners Be Released to Georgia?

Will Guantanamo Prisoners Be Released to Georgia?

In September, in an interview with Fox News, President Mikheil Saakashvili explained that Georgia was “absolutely” willing to host prisoners from Guantánamo. “You know, whatever we can do to help America in its war on terror, we will do,” he said.

Senate Finally Allows Guantanamo Trials In U.S., But Not Homes For Innocent Men

Senate Finally Allows Guantanamo Trials In U.S., But Not Homes For Innocent Men

After railing against Senators and Representatives for their cowardly, uninformed and unacceptable attempts to prevent President Obama from bringing any Guantánamo prisoner to the US mainland for any reason — even for trials — I’m delighted to report that, last Tuesday, the Senate finally saw sense, voting, by 79 votes to 19, as part of a $42.8 billion bill for Homeland Security, to accept that the administration can bring prisoners to the US mainland to face trials.

Musicians (Finally) Say No To Music Torture

Musicians (Finally) Say No To Music Torture

Well, that took a while. Nearly a year after George W. Bush’s Republican party was voted out of office, and at least five years after reports first surfaced that music was being used in “War on Terror” facilities in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantánamo as part of a package of “enhanced interrogation technique,” — which, in any world other than the reality-defying one inhabited by Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, would have been defined as torture — several noted musicians have spoken out to condemn the practice.

Finding New Homes For 44 Cleared Guantanamo Prisoners

Finding New Homes For 44 Cleared Guantanamo Prisoners

In a recent article, I examined the implications of an announcement that 75 of the remaining 223 prisoners in Guantánamo have been cleared for release. This came by way of a list posted in the prison, identifying the prisoners by nationality, and a statement by a military spokesman, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Brook DeWalt, who explained, “It was an opportunity to just provide better communication. There’s a lot of information out there and you get a lot of things from a lot of different angles. It helps put it in a more succinct context for them [the prisoners].”

Lawyer Blasts ‘Congressional Depravity’ On Guantánamo

Lawyer Blasts ‘Congressional Depravity’ On Guantánamo

In a recent article, “On Guantánamo, Lawmakers Reveal They Are Still Dick Cheney’s Pawns,” I spelled out my despair and disgust at lawmakers from both parties (their names can be found here, here and here), who, since May, have voted for legislation severely curtailing President Obama’s ability to close the prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba by his self-imposed deadline of January 22, 2010, and who, as a result, have sent just one resounding message to the American people and the wider world: the ghost of Dick Cheney still stalks the corridors of power.

On Guantanamo, Lawmakers Prove They Are Still Dick Cheney’s Pawns

On Guantanamo, Lawmakers Prove They Are Still Dick Cheney’s Pawns

I like to believe that, despite studying Guantánamo for four years, I still have a sense of humor, but last Thursday I lost it, after 258 members of the House of Representatives (including 88 members of President Obama’s own party) voted for an idiotic, paranoid and unjust motion proposed by Rep. Hal Rogers (R-Ken.), which was designed to “Prohibit the transfer of GITMO prisoners, period” (those were his exact words).

Seventy-Five Guantanamo Prisoners Cleared For Release

Seventy-Five Guantanamo Prisoners Cleared For Release

Last week, the Obama administration finally admitted that it might not be possible to close Guantánamo by the President’s self-imposed deadline of January 22, 2010, when defense secretary Robert Gates told ABC News’ “This Week” that it was “going to be tough” to meet the deadline. The announcement followed what appeared to be strategic leaks [...]

Judge’s Ruling Confirms Innocent Gitmo Detainee Tortured To Make False Confessions

Judge’s Ruling Confirms Innocent Gitmo Detainee Tortured To Make False Confessions

A declassified ruling by a federal court judge reveals that Fouad al-Rabiah, an innocent Kuwaiti prisoner who was ordered released from Guantanamo last week, was brutally tortured into making false confessions by U.S. interrogators and repeatedly threatened until he confessed to terrorist activities he was not involved in.

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