The Gitmo Gulag

Stories

Stories 81 - 100 of 116

<< Prev 1 2 3 4 5 6 Next >>

December 2007
- Gitmo Inmate Charges 'Ruthless' Torture by CIA
  
  New York Times | Dec 9, 07 7:15 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Attorneys representing a former US resident detained in Guantanamo have demanded a court order preventing the CIA from destroying evidence of what they call "ruthless application" of "state-sanctioned torture" of their client. The court action details specific acts of torture of Majid Khan, 27, one of 14 so-called "high-value" detainees, but the document has been so heavily redacted that all incidents have been blacked out. More »
- Britain Frees Guantanamo Four
  
  BBC | Dec 8, 07 5:54 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - Four British residents imprisoned for years at Guantanamo Bay will be released, the BBC reports. US and UK officials involved in negotiations since August came to a compromise on the fates of five men the US claimed were connected to al-Qaeda. Of the four released, three will return to the UK, while the fourth will be sent to Saudi Arabia. More »
- New Gitmo Hearing for Osama Driver
  
  Reuters | Dec 7, 07 6:30 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - The man who drove Osama bin Laden when he evacuated his compound just before 9/11 was the subject of a hearing yesterday on whether he can be tried as an unlawful enemy combatant. Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who was paid $200 a month as a driver and bodyguard for bin Laden, later heard the al Qaeda leader say he had expected up to 1,500 deaths in the attacks and was pleased that there were more, according to an FBI agent who interviewed him at Gitmo. More »
November 2007
- Gitmo Manual Leaked Online
  
  Wired | Nov 14, 07 11:03 AM CST
  
  (Newser) - A sensitive manual from the military's Guantanamo Bay facility has surfaced online, Wired News reports. It lays out exacting instructions for psychologically manipulating detainees, dealing with hunger strikes, rewarding prisoners with “comfort items” like extra toilet paper, and evading Red Cross inspectors. The administration promised the Red Cross full access, but guards are instructed in the manual to deny even visual access to certain detainees. More »
- Bush May Shut Gitmo, Give Detainees Rights
  
  New York Times | Nov 4, 07 5:50 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - Plans are quietly circulating to grant Gitmo prisoners more rights, the New York Times reports, and perhaps shut the prison down. Unnamed officials say one scheme has Washington sending a third of prisoners home, and bringing the rest to the US, some to face trials with federal judges and lawyers. Other plans include granting them habeas corpus cases or improved military hearings. More »
October 2007
- FBI Probes Terror Cases Muddied by CIA
  
  Los Angeles Times | Oct 20, 07 6:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The FBI is probing Guantanamo Bay cases that the CIA has muddied by using torture, the Los Angeles Times reports. Up to 300 FBI agents are now interviewing Al Qaeda chiefs, including mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, seeking data that's admissable in court. Says one expert, "I think there's no surprise that they have to call in the FBI to clean up the mess left by the CIA secret detention program." More »
- Secret Evidence Isn't Just for Gitmo Anymore
  
  Slate | Oct 17, 07 3:45 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Department of Justice's stated reason for a major evidence no-show is that it can’t “be reasonably recompiled," Slate ’s Dahlia Lithwick writes, a potentially dangerous precedent. Justice is thinking about redoing some military tribunals rather than present “not readily available” evidence used to brand enemy combatants—and Lithwick says illegally obtained ammo on citizens “might just disappear” too. More »
- Film Rendition Gets it Right, Says Gitmo Lawyer
  
  Reuters | Oct 17, 07 2:04 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Rendition , starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Reese Witherspoon, is a "surprisingly courageous" and accurate film, says a lawyer for Guantanamo Bay prisoners. The movie tells the story of an Egyptian man abducted and tortured by the CIA in Egypt. "Now, will we persuade the world in a moment? No," says Clive Stafford Smith, noting the media's important role in shaping public opinion. More »
- US Weighs New Hearings for Gitmo Detainees
  
  New York Times | Oct 15, 07 1:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The Justice Department has made the first official move to reevaluate the status of enemy combatants held at Guantanamo, confirming the possibility of new hearings that would represent a dramatic administration policy change. Friday's federal court filing concerns only one detainee and appears to be a maneuver to head off other inmates' challenges to their detention, the Times reports. More »
- Judge Halts Gitmo Transfer Back Home to Torture
  
  Washington Post | Oct 10, 07 3:24 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - In the first ruling of its kind, a federal judge has blocked plans by US officials to send a Guantanamo Bay terror suspect back home to risk torture and even death in a Tunisian prison. The order by a DC judge presents a major roadblock to the Bush administration's plans to ship hundreds of Gitmo detainees home. More »
- Chief Gitmo Prosecutor Steps Down
  
  Reuters | Oct 5, 07 7:50 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The US military’s lead prosecutor in trials of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay has resigned, the Pentagon announced today. Air Force Col. Davis sought a new post after the Pentagon rejected his complaint that an officer supervising his work did not have the authority to do so. “Clearly, there was a disagreement with respect to roles and authorities,” a Pentagon spokesman said. More »
September 2007
- Habeas Corpus Bill Withers in Senate
  
  New York Times | Sep 19, 07 3:59 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A bill to allow terrorism suspects to challenge indefinite detention faltered in Washington today as only 56 Senate votes could be mustered to cut off debate on the habeas corpus measure. Sixty are needed for bills to move forward for a vote in the upper chamber; supporters said they might still renew the legislation, the New York Times reports. More »
- Abuse Exposed at Guantanamo
  
  Associated Press | Sep 11, 07 8:30 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Newly obtained reports of hostility and friction at Guantanamo Bay have been released today by the AP. These transcripts of hearings, held last year, tell of interrogators denying detainees medicine and angry inmates tossing feces at guards. One Yemeni prisoner warned that more captives would commit suicide if guards didn’t stop interrupting their prayers. More »
August 2007
- Psychologists Won't Impose Gitmo Ban
  
  San Francisco Chronicle | Aug 20, 07 8:38 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The American Psychological Association has voted not to ban members from assisting with interrogations at Guantanamo and other military prisons, the San Francisco Chronicle reports. Instead, the group approved a measure listing specific procedures members won't help with, including sleep deprivation and water-boarding. "If we remove psychologists from these facilities, people are going to die," said an Army psychologist. More »
- Shrinks Fault CIA Torture Tactics
  
  Salon | Aug 15, 07 9:50 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The American Psychological Association, long chummy with the CIA, is set to condemn tactics the spy agency has been using to interrogate terror detainees, writes Salon . Members have in the past worked with the CIA to design techniques: now the group wants to distance itself by formally opposing a long list of tactics they consider torture at the organization's yearly convention this weekend. More »
- Brit Resident to Be Released From Gitmo
  
  Reuters | Aug 10, 07 5:07 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - One of five British residents has been cleared for release from Guantanamo, the US announced, following demands from authorities in London that all the prisoners be freed. The man, whose name and nationality were not disclosed, won't be returned to his homeland because of concerns he would be mistreated there, according to a US spokeswoman. More »
- UK Asks US to Release Gitmo Suspects
  
  Reuters | Aug 7, 07 4:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The United Kingdom wants the US to let go of five British residents detained at the terrorist detention camp at Guantanamo Bay. Green PM Gordon Brown made the official request, hinting that he may be distancing himself from the Bush administration and carving a more independent terror policy than Tony Blair's, Reuters reports. More »
July 2007
- Gitmo Prisoner Fights His Own Release
  
  Times (UK) | Jul 31, 07 6:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A detainee at Guantanamo Bay is doing everything he can in court—to stay in prison. Algerian Ahmed Belbacha, 38, is contesting his imminent release from the notorious detention camp because he fears he'll be tortured by Algerian security agents as a suspected terrorist—or killed by Islamic terrorists for being a former state worker, reports the Times . More »
- Court Forces US to Divulge Gitmo Info
  
  New York Times | Jul 21, 07 1:26 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A federal appeals court ruled yesterday that the US government must release information on Guantanamo Bay detainees fighting their imprisonment, the Times reports. The decision will be a boon for detainees and their lawyers, who have previously found themselves blindsided in military tribunals where evidence was hidden before the proceedings began. More »
- Bush OKs New Interrogation Guidelines
  
  Washington Post | Jul 21, 07 9:36 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - President Bush set broad new limits for questioning of CIA terror detainees yesterday, the Washington Post reports. The new regulations for "enhanced" interrogations—used to press suspects by means not allowed in US military custody—are an attempt at partial compliance with the Geneva Conventions. More »