Skip to: Content
Skip to: Site Navigation
Skip to: Search

August 20, 2008 5:25:22 PM CDT

Learn about Newser Points »

« Back to the grid | Next story »

Gitmo Drives Detainees Crazy: Lawyers

Posted Apr 26, 08 10:48 AM CDT in World 

(Newser) – Osama bin Laden's driver can't help his lawyers prepare his defense because he's been driven mad by years of isolation at Guantanamo Bay, his lawyers say. The conditions "boil his mind" and prevent a fair trial, they say, an argument that will become increasingly common as lawyers begin preparing the first war crimes trials for Guantanamo detainees, the New York Times reports.

“The issue of mistreatment of prisoners, the miserable lives they live in these cells, will come up in every case,” says one lawyer in one of 80 upcoming trials. But Guantanamo authorities say their prisoners are mentally healthier than most in the US, and that terrorists are manipulating the lawyers. “We are holding the right people, in the right place, for the right reasons, and doing it the right way,” said a spokeswoman.

Source New York Times

0 comments | Print E-mail | Digg Seed this on Newsvine Add this link to Del.icio.us StumbleUpon

Related Newser Stories

  • Gitmo Inmates May Testify for bin Laden Aide

    Jul 15, 08 5:07 AM CDT
    Gitmo Inmates May Testify for bin Laden Aide Fellow Guantanamo Bay inmates may testify at the upcoming terror trial of Osama bin Laden’s former driver, the Washington Post reports. Lawyers for Salim Ahmed Hamdan hope the testimony will prove their client was not a high-level terror operative. The military officer in charge of the case said he would allow it, and that it would probably be a boon to Hamdan. But prosecutors say the testimony could threaten national security. More »

  • Gitmo Will Be Transformed, Not Closed

    Jun 13, 08 9:17 AM CDT
    Gitmo Will Be Transformed, Not Closed The Supreme Court's ruling yesterday against the Bush administration will not shut down the Guantanamo Bay detention center. But by concluding that detainees can appeal their detention in US civilian courts, the high court stripped away its reason for being, erasing the government's claim that an offshore prison was beyond US law. The New York Times looks at both the legal and the military implications of the ruling. More »

  • 'Landmark' Gitmo Ruling Is a Blow Against Tyranny

    Jun 12, 08 6:47 PM CDT
    'Landmark' Gitmo Ruling Is a Blow Against Tyranny Today's Supreme Court decision giving Guantanamo Bay prisoners the right to challenge their detention "will be one of the most celebrated landmark rulings of this generation," Glenn Greenwald writes in Salon. By upholding habeas corpus—a rebuke to the Bush administration and complicit pols of all stripes—the court rescued one of the nation's most important principles. More »

  • Destroying Key Records Was Standard at Gitmo

    Jun 9, 08 9:30 AM CDT
    Destroying Key Records Was Standard at Gitmo Guantanamo Bay interrogators were urged to destroy notes from interviews with detainees, including Canadian Omar Khadr, documents suggest. Minimizing interrogation records “can minimize certain legal issues,” reads a Guantanamo operational manual for intelligence teams shown to Khadr’s lawyers. The case against Khadr is thought to be based largely on information from the interrogations, the Globe and Mail reports. More »

  • US Slammed for Secret 'Floating Prisons'

    Jun 2, 08 5:07 AM CDT
    US Slammed for Secret 'Floating Prisons' The US has detained terror suspects on some 17 naval ships that have been used as secret "floating prisons" around the world since 2001, according to a study by the human rights organization Reprieve. At least 50 prisoners were held on a single ship and delivered to unknown locations, reports the Guardian. More »

A Guantanamo guard watches over detainees, not pictured, in the exercise area at Camp 5 maximum-security facility in this Oct. 9, 2007 file photo at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
In this photo released by the Department of Defense, a commander gives a tour of a detainee recreation area at Camp Six, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Cuba, January 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Department of Defense, Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class, Chad J. McNeeley)
In this photo released by the Department of Defense, a commandergives a tour of a detainee holding cell at Camp Six, Joint Task Force Guantanamo, Cuba, January 13, 2008.   (AP Photo/Department of Defense, Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class, Chad J. McNeeley)
« Prev« Prev | Next »Next » Slideshow
Our editors also recommend:

Threads (1 of 2)

Tags

Guantanamo Bay  • War on Terror  • Guantanamo prisoners  • mental health  • terror suspects  • terror trial


Loading...

Premium Articles from HighBeam

Find more articles like this

Today's Most Popular


Other World Stories

What is Newser?

2008 Codie Finalist

Newser gives you more news in less time. We search for the best and most important stories all over the web, read them for you, and deliver concise and sharp summaries—along with links to the full text. Newser provides a way to stay on top of an ever-expanding horizon of news and opinion—politics, sports, business, trends, technology, personalities, crimes, and controversies. Newser keeps you not just better informed, but, with our signature graphic interface and smart condensed format, more enjoyably informed.

Learn more »