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Interpreter Shortage Signals Gitmo Gridlock

Lawyers struggle to find interpreters for cascade of cases

By Peter Fearon,  Newser Staff

Posted Aug 20, 2008 3:29 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Hundreds of cases filed by Guantanamo prisoners will be delayed by a shortage of qualified interpreters, reports the Washington Post. Lawyers are swamped with work since the Supreme Court ruled that terror suspects have the right to seek release in federal court—and they desperately need translators. Interpreters who can earn the trust of detainees, navigate cultural nuances and speak obscure dialects are rare.

"It's already difficult enough to get to Guantanamo to see a client," said a lawyer who represents two men. "Without an interpreter, the meeting can't take place." The problem was made worse recently when authorities rescinded security clearances for several Arab interpreters without explanation. Federal authorities have refused to speed the process by allowing phone calls and videoconferencing.

A guard tower is visible behind a razor-wire fence, at the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.
A guard tower is visible behind a razor-wire fence, at the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba.   (AP Photo/Randall Mikkelsen, Pool)
A detainee walks in a fenced-in exercise area in the maximum security prison at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of cases are headed for a legal logjam because of a shortage of interpreters.
A detainee walks in a fenced-in exercise area in the maximum security prison at Guantanamo Bay. Hundreds of cases are headed for a legal logjam because of a shortage of interpreters.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
Hundreds of cases filed by Guantanamo Bay detainees are headed for a legal logjam because of a shortage of interpreters.
Hundreds of cases filed by Guantanamo Bay detainees are headed for a legal logjam because of a shortage of interpreters.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, File)
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Interpreter details Guantanamo detention
National Public Radio

American credibility on trial
Salon

 
Guantanamo Bay • Department of Defense • interpreters • Center for Constitutional Rights • US Supreme Court • detainees • Judge Royce C. Lamberth

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