A Justice Department-led task force has concluded that nearly 50 of the 196 detainees at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be held indefinitely without trial under the laws of war, according to Obama administration officials. more...
detainees
Former Detainees Boumediene and Deghayes Address President Obama on Guantánamo Anniversary
January 11, 2010, Washington, D.C. – To mark the beginning of the ninth year of detention without charge or trial at Guantánamo today, activists and lawyers of detained men held a rally, a march, and a public briefing to outline current issues related to President Obama’s Guantanamo, demand that the president make good on his pledge to close the prison, and declare their opposition to any plan for holding prisoners without charge or trial in the U.S. more...
After Years in Guantanamo Prison Without Charge, Future Even More Uncertain for Yemeni Detainees [DN!]
Although President Obama came into office last year promising to close down the infamous prison camp at Guantanamo, nearly 200 men are still imprisoned there. more...
Human Rights Activists and Detainee Lawyers to Hold March, Rally and Briefing on 8th Guantanamo Anniversary
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Eight years ago next Monday, the Guantanamo prison opened for "war on terror" detainees. On January 11, activists and Guantanamo lawyers will mark the anniversary by demanding that President Obama make good on his pledge to close the prison as first step towards restoring the rule of law. Further, the group opposes any plan for holding prisoners without charge or trial in the U.S. and denounces the White House's expansion of Bush-style detention in Afghanistan. more...
Plan to Move Guantánamo Detainees Faces a New Delay [NY Times]
WASHINGTON — Rebuffed this month by skeptical lawmakers when it sought finances to buy a prison in rural Illinois, the Obama administration is struggling to come up with the money to replace the Guantánamo Bay prison. more...
Politicians Are Portraying 'Gitmo North' as a Terrific Local Jobs Program -Don't Count On It [Alternet]
Politicians' claim that moving detainees to Illinois will create 3,000 jobs is a distraction from an ugly reality; Gitmo is not being closed, it is being moved onto U.S. soil. more...
Illinois prison likely to house detainees [Washington Post]
Despite opposition from congressional Republicans, the Obama administration is signaling that a state prison in rural Thomson, Ill., will probably become the new home for scores of terrorism suspects now housed at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. more...
Theater of pain [Sacramento News & Review]
From the very beginning of its use as a detention camp in the early days of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, legal and moral issues have surrounded the treatment of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay. Now that the U.S. government has announced its intention to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in federal court, the issue of torture is once again about to take center stage. more...
Gates blocks release of detainee abuse photos [AP]
WASHINGTON -- Defense Secretary Robert Gates has blocked the public release of any more pictures of foreign detainees abused by their U.S. captors, saying their release would endanger American soldiers. more...