Judge Orders U.S. to Defend Detentions

[Tatiana]

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/national/AP-Guantanamo-Detainee.html?pagewanted=print&position=

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A federal judge ordered the Bush administration on Thursday to explain its detention of a Libyan at a U.S. military prison in Cuba by next week, the first such demand since the Supreme Court ruled in June that foreign detainees can use American courts to challenge their confinement.

U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton set a deadline of next Tuesday for the government to lay out why he should not order the release of Salim Gherebi, who is among nearly 600 men from about 40 countries who have been held with little or no contact with the outside for two years or more.

<snip>

In a brief order, Walton said that if government lawyers cannot meet the Tuesday night deadline or are concerned about ``revealing classified information that might jeopardize national security,'' they can request more time. The judge said he must be told by Friday if the government will seek to have the case dismissed.

more...

[Judi Lynn]

1. This is really GOOD!

From the article:

Walton said military officers should not try to persuade Gherebi, who was captured in Afghanistan, to waive his legal rights in the meantime.

Gherebi's attorney, Stephen Yagman of Venice Beach, Calif., said in a statement that he was pleased that a judge had told the Bush administration ``to follow the law.'' Walton was named to the bench by President Bush.

Great early morning post. Good news for a new day. THANKS!

[Tatiana]

3. LOL, it's Friday!

Walton being appointed by GW Bush is only icing on the cake. This just goes to show that there are judges that still seek to uphold the Constitution in this country.

We will, hopefully, see more cases like this one. Of course, we'd have to have an accurate list of all the detainees, which I doubt Rumsfeld & co. are apt to turn over.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

2. This should have happened two years ago

If there is a valid reason to keep someone in detention, it was obvious then. I still don't understand why they have stubbornly held onto folks that knew nothing but were swept up with the fighters, unless it was because: 1. Bush is using Gitmo as a trial balloon to see how many rights he can strip away from people; 2. Bush is truly on a crusade to destroy Islam, so all Muslims are guilty because of their faith; 3. Bush figures that brown skinned people all look alike, and so all behave the same way and are therefore all guilty of something.