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2 Dozen Gitmo Prisoners Win Court Cases

All but 3 who got hearings were found wrongfully detained

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jan 19, 2009 4:26 AM CST
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(Newser) – At least 24 detainees at Guantanamo Bay have won cases in federal court or military tribunals voiding their detention in the last 3 months. While the Bush administration has insisted that the prisoners who remain at Gitmo are "the worst of the worst," there was apparently no legal reason to detain nearly 10% of them. The timing of the decisions puts yet more pressure on the Obama administration to review all Guantanamo cases, reports the New York Times.

Since the Supreme Court ruled in Boumediene v. Bush that detainees have a right to habeas corpus, the government has lost almost every case brought before a judge or a tribunal. Last week the Bush administration repatriated an Afghan detainee who was held at Gitmo for 6 years, despite having fought the Taliban and supported the American-backed government in Afghanistan. He had been named as a terrorist, the Times notes, by Taliban collaborators who wanted his job and his car. His brother, who fought for his release, noted that he has a wife and children, including one son "who has never seen his father."

A US flag flies above a razor-wire-topped fence at the Camp Six detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay last month.
A US flag flies above a razor-wire-topped fence at the Camp Six detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay last month.   (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)
A guard demonstrates the use of a protective face shield for the media during a tour in the Camp Five detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay last month.
A guard demonstrates the use of a protective face shield for the media during a tour in the Camp Five detention facility on the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay last month.   (AP Photo/Mandel Ngan, Pool)
A woman walks through a tented area at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay yesterday. President-elect Barack Obama has said he intends to close the offshore prison.
A woman walks through a tented area at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay yesterday. President-elect Barack Obama has said he intends to close the offshore prison.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, Pool)
Protesters in orange jumpsuits demonstrate last week outside the US Embassy in London to mark the 7th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba and calling for its closure.
Protesters in orange jumpsuits demonstrate last week outside the US Embassy in London to mark the 7th anniversary of the opening of the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba and calling for its closure.   (AP Photo/Sang Tan)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 4 comments
Guest
Jan 20, 2009 12:15 AM CST
Read the article - 24 out of 27 court cases, not 24 out of 245 detainees. That's close to 90% of those tried found to be innocent. INNOCENT.
Guest
Jan 19, 2009 7:00 PM CST
OMG 10%, so out of every 100, 10 have won their cases. They other 90 really can't be all that bad can they?
Mad
Jan 19, 2009 5:58 AM CST
Even when Bush stacked the USSC in his favor they STILL whacked his pee-pee. Bush has never been on the side of rule and law and order

Tribunals reopen, with all eyes on Obama
Reuters

For the new administration, the Gitmo stakes are high
Toronto Star (Canada)

 
Taliban • enemy combatants • Guantanamo Bay • habeas corpus • Afghans • Guantanamo prisoners • Boumediene v. Bush

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