ACLU Sues For Bagram Records- "There is growing concern that Bagram has become the new Guantánamo"

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Documents Would Shed Light On Detention And Treatment Of Prisoners At U.S. Detention Center In Afghanistan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: [phone]; [e-mail]

NEW YORK – The American Civil Liberties Union today filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit seeking the disclosure of documents related to the detention and treatment of prisoners at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan. According to the complaint, the government should promptly make public the Bagram records, including a list of vital information about detainees being held there, the rules that govern the facility and documents pertaining to the conditions of confinement and status review process afforded prisoners.

"There is growing concern that Bagram has become the new Guantánamo – except with hundreds more prisoners, held indefinitely in reportedly harsher conditions, with no access to lawyers or courts," said Melissa Goodman, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "Yet the public is still in the dark when it comes to basic facts such as whom our military is holding there, for how long and on what grounds, and the rules that govern their detention, release and treatment. As long as the Bagram prison is shrouded in secrecy, there is no way to know the truth or begin to address the problems that may exist."

The lawsuit, filed by the ACLU and the New York Civil Liberties Union in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against the Departments of Defense, Justice and State and the CIA, aims to enforce a FOIA request for the Bagram records filed by the ACLU in April. In response to the ACLU's original request, the CIA stated that it could "neither confirm nor deny the existence or nonexistence of records responsive" to the request. In a separate response, the Defense Department informed the ACLU that it had located a 12-page list compiled by the National Detainee Reporting Center of information about individuals held at Bagram as of June 22, 2009, including their names, citizenship, length of detention and capture location. However, the Defense Department has refused to make public any portions of the list, claiming national security and privacy concerns. The Departments of Justice and State originally agreed to expedite processing of the ACLU's request, but have yet to produce any records.

Recent news reports suggest that the U.S. government is detaining more than 600 individuals at Bagram, including not only Afghan citizens captured in Afghanistan but also an unknown number of foreign nationals captured outside of Afghanistan and brought to Bagram. Some of these prisoners have been detained for as long as six years without access to counsel and only recently have been permitted any contact with their families. At least two Bagram prisoners have died while in U.S. custody, and Army investigators concluded that the deaths were homicides.

...

http://aclu.org/safefree/detention/41072prs20090922.html?s_src=front

[Orwellian_Ghost]

1. Prisoner Abuse Continues at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan

The Forgotten Guantanamo
Prisoner Abuse Continues at Bagram Prison in Afghanistan

By Matthias Gebauer, John Goetz and Britta Sandberg

US President Barack Obama has spoken out against CIA prisoner abuse and wants to close Guantanamo. But he tolerates the existence of Bagram military prison in Afghanistan, where more than 600 people are being held without charge. The facility makes Guantanamo look like a "nice hotel," in the words of one military prosecutor.

The day that Raymond Azar was taken by force to Bagram was a quiet day in Kabul. There were no attacks and the sun was shining.

Azar, who is originally from Lebanon, is the manager of a construction company. He was on his way to Camp Eggers, the American military base near the presidential palace, when 10 armed FBI agents suddenly surrounded him.

The men, all wearing bulletproof vests, put him in handcuffs, tied him up and pushed him into an SUV. Two hours later, they unloaded Azar at the Bagram military prison 50 kilometers (31 miles) northeast of Kabul.

...

http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,650242,00.html

[blindpig]

2. Meet the new boss.....

n/t

[Orwellian_Ghost]

4. bump

[Tim01]

3. Am I the only one who knew they would just move the Gitmo op to somplace else?

Come on. It was lots of pretty talk. Not much has changed.
We still are in war. We still have the Patriot Act. We still have secret prisons over seas torturing prisoners.
A lot of those type prisoners will probably be turned over to an ally country who does not have a problem torturing prisoners.

[Solly Mack]

5. K&R

[TBF]

6. K&R n/t