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MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2009
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Judge: US Must Reveal Charges Vs. Gitmo Prisoners

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(AP) – A federal judge today ordered the US to publicly reveal unclassified versions of its allegations and evidence justifying the continued imprisonment of more than 100 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay. The Justice Department had been filing unclassified versions of its legal documents under seal, so that they could only be seen by judges, attorneys and government officials.

Department officials described the practice as necessary to protect national security after they discovered that some unclassified records initially filed publicly mistakenly contained classified information. Saying the public has a right to access the records, District Judge Thomas Hogan ordered DoJ to publicly file its unclassified records or show the court what specific information it wants to keep protected, with a colored highlighter, by July 29.

A detainee walks inside the open-air yard at the Camp Four detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
A detainee walks inside the open-air yard at the Camp Four detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.   (AP Photo)
A Guantanamo detainee paces inside the exercise yard at the Camp Five detention facility.
A Guantanamo detainee paces inside the exercise yard at the Camp Five detention facility.   (AP Photo)
The sun rises over the Guantanamo detention facility.
The sun rises over the Guantanamo detention facility.   (AP Photo)
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As long as public access does not come at the expense of the litigation interests of petitioners or national security, the court believes the public has a common law right to access the returns. - Judge Thomas Hogan

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4 comments
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lumina
Jun 1, 09 3:32 PM CDT
About bloody time!!! Reply
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TRU2TM3
Jun 1, 09 3:44 PM CDT
Score one for the good guys. Reply
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+2
TerrifiedCitizen
Jun 1, 09 3:51 PM CDT
I agree with this judge, but it has raised a thought in my mind. It would seem that any judge who maintains affiliation with a political party after appointment is automatically guilty of leaving the door open to such a connection biasing decisions on cases containing political overtones. Reply
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IN RESPONSE:
Reader64481089
Jun 2, 09 11:28 AM CDT
On the surface it may appear that way but the majority of Judges are elected using the two party system and thus they are labeled as Republican or Democrat no matter what else happens, it however is not an issue UNTIL seen fit by a political party to make it an issue. Just another piece of "insurance" to be drug out on cases that may have some political power or draw.
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