Guantanamo

WASHINGTON -- Nov. 17, 2009 – Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy Tuesday joined 56 other Senators to defeat an amendment to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act that would have prohibited the use of funds to construct or modify prison facilities to hold individuals currently being detained at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Leahy has opposed similar measures designed to curb the tools and resources available to the Federal Government to bring charges against detainees held at Guantanamo Bay. The amendment was opposed by the Attorney General, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Homeland Security.

Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee,    » read more »

Voices continuing support for the President’s pledge to shutter Guantanamo

November 13, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- Today, Congressman Joe Sestak (PA-07) expressed his continuing support for the Administration’s pledge to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba by January, 2010. In response to the announcement that Khalid Sheik Mohammed -- the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks -- and four co-defendants will be tried in federal court in New York instead of a military commission, the Congressman issued the following statement:    » read more »

WASHINGTON, DC (November 14, 2009) -- Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-IL, released the following statement in response to proposals that Guantanamo Bay deatainees will be relocatoted to a prison in Illinois.

“The Guantanamo Bay facility is a recruiting tool for Al Queda and a mark against the morals of the United States. In closing ‘Gitmo’ and moving some detainees to Illinois, we strengthen our national security, create thousands of jobs, and bring long overdue justice to those who have committed atrocities against the United States.

"Our American criminal justice and penal systems are fuIly capable of handling these individuals. In fact, today there are 340 domestic and international terrorists in U.S. prisons, including 35 in Illinois.    » read more »

Decisions on Accused 9/11 Plotters, Alleged Mastermind of USS Cole Attack & Others

November 13, 2009 -- WASHINGTON – The Departments of Justice and Defense today announced forum decisions for ten detainees at Guantanamo Bay whose cases were previously charged in military commissions, including five detainees accused of conspiring to commit the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks and a detainee accused of orchestrating the attack on the USS Cole.    » read more »

Speech of Attorney General Eric Holder

Washington, D.C. -- Friday, November 13, 2009 -- Good morning. Just over eight years ago, on a morning our nation will never forget, nineteen hijackers working with a network of Al Qaeda conspirators around the world launched the deadliest terrorist attacks our country has ever seen. Nearly 3,000 people lost their lives in those attacks, and in the years since, our nation has had no higher priority than bringing those who planned and plotted the attacks to justice.

One year before, in October 2000, a terrorist attack on the USS Cole killed seventeen American sailors.

Today we announce a step forward in bringing those we believe were responsible for the 9/11 attacks and the attack on the USS Cole to justice.    » read more »

Ahmed Ghailani Transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for Prosecution on Terror Charges

June 9, 2009 -- Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility since September 2006, arrived early this morning in the Southern District of New York to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya.

After a thorough review of his case by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force, Ghailani was recently referred for criminal prosecution in the Southern District of New York pursuant to a March 12, 2001 superseding indictment against him.    » read more »

Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee Holds Hearing To Examine ‘Prolonged Detention’

WASHINGTON -- June 9, 2009 – A Senate Judiciary Committee panel Tuesday morning will consider the consequences of ‘prolonged detention’ of detainees held in U.S. custody. The Subcommittee on the Constitution, chaired by Senator Russ Feingold (D-Wis.), will hear testimony from a panel of six witnesses. Member statements, witness testimony, and a live webcast of the hearing are available online.

Full Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) issued the following statement at the hearing.

Statement Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),

Chairman, Committee On The Judiciary,

Hearing On “The Legal, Moral, and National Security    » read more »

Lincoln says “no” to funds for closure of Guantanamo

May 22, 2009 -- Washington – U.S. Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-Ark.) today said a funding bill passed by the Senate late Thursday provides critical resources to protect our troops fighting overseas along with funding for critical health care needs and for services that help reservists transition back to their families and communities once they return home.

“Our troops fighting in Afghanistan and Iraq, including over 1,000 activated reservists from Arkansas in addition to those serving on active duty, deserve every resource we can provide to keep them safe and ensure they are prepared to meet the demands of their missions,” Lincoln said.    » read more »

May 15, 2009 -- Military commissions have a long tradition in the United States. They are appropriate for trying enemies who violate the laws of war, provided that they are properly structured and administered. In the past, I have supported the use of military commissions as one avenue to try detainees, in addition to prosecution in Article III courts. In 2006, I voted in favor of the use of military commissions.    » read more »

March 13, 2009 -- In a filing today with the federal District Court for the District of Columbia, the Department of Justice submitted a new standard for the government’s authority to hold detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Detention Facility.

The definition does not rely on the President’s authority as Commander-in-Chief independent of Congress’s specific authorization. It draws on the international laws of war to inform the statutory authority conferred by Congress. It provides that individuals who supported al Qaeda or the Taliban are detainable only if the support was substantial. And it does not employ the phrase "enemy combatant."    » read more »

January 21, 2009 -- (Washington, DC) - US President Barack Obama is expected to issue an executive order on January 22, 2009 to close the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay. Obama's decision to order Guantanamo's closure two days after taking office signals the high priority the new president places on reforming the United States' approach to curbing terrorism, Human Rights Watch said.

"With the stroke of a pen, President Obama will make great progress toward restoring America's moral authority," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel at Human Rights Watch. "By shutting down a global symbol of abuse, he will deprive terrorists of a powerful recruitment tool."    » read more »

August 26, 2008 -- The Department of Defense announced today the transfer of two detainees from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Algeria. These detainees were determined to be eligible for transfer following a comprehensive series of review processes.

The transfer is a demonstration of the United States’ desire not to hold detainees any longer than necessary. It also underscores the processes put in place to assess each individual and make a determination about their detention while hostilities are ongoing – an unprecedented step in the history of warfare.    » read more »

Federal Court Rules Unconstitutional Guantánamo Trial Of Salim Hamdan Can Proceed

NEW YORK, 7/17/2008 – Despite acknowledging questions about the constitutionality of the Guantánamo military commission system, a D.C. federal district judge ruled today that the military trial of Yemeni national Salim Hamdan can proceed.

Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said that any review of the fairness of Hamdan's case should occur after his military trial and not before. Hamdan is accused of being Osama bin Laden's driver.

The following can be attributed to Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project:    » read more »

Washington -- 23 June 2008 -- A U.S. federal appeals court has struck down the U.S. military's classification of a Guantanamo Bay detainee as an enemy combatant. This is the first time the U.S. court system has overruled the Bush administration's designation of a detainee since the Guantanamo facility began operations in early 2002.

Guantanamo protesters, Barcelona: Photo by Quim (CC)    » read more »

The court's latest rebuke of Guantanamo Bay won't close the prison down. But it's a step toward curbing Bush's unilateral tactics.

Jun. 13, 2008 | For the third time in four years, the U.S. Supreme Court has slammed the Bush administration's detention policies at Guantánamo Bay – locking up terrorist suspects indefinitely and beyond the law.

Guantanamo protesters, London: Photo by Val Kerry (CC)    » read more »