Tag Archives: indefinite detention

Guantánamo Prisoner, Never Convicted, To Be Released After Decade-Plus Detention

‘This young man should have been released years ago’

By Nika Knight, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 5-21-2016

Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay. Photo by Kathleen T. Rhem [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

An Afghan man detained for 14 years in Guantánamo—without ever being convicted of a crime—was on Friday recommended by the Pentagon for release.

The man, known as Obaidullah, was arrested and detained in 2002, when he was about 19, but the U.S. government failed to successfully prosecute him for any crimes, AP reported. Charges were eventually made against him in 2008, but were dismissed in 2011.

“This young man should have been released years ago,” Marine Maj. Derek Poteet, who has represented him since 2010, told the Miami Herald. “He was taken from his bed at his home peacefully without resistance. He was subjected to real abuse at Bagram.” Continue reading →

‘Wholesale Destruction’ Awaits as Louisiana Public Defense System Goes Broke

Public defense offices in world capital of incarceration poised for massive shutdown by 2017, which could leave tens of thousands in jail indefinitely

By Nadia Prupis, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 3-4-2016

A spokesperson for the Orleans Parish office said defenders there had already turned away 39 cases, leaving 28 people in custody. (Photo: Sandra Cohen-Rose and Collin Rose/flickr/cc)

The public defense system of Louisiana is on the brink of financial collapse.

A new assessment by the Louisiana public defender board, obtained by the Guardian, is warning that most of the state’s district offices providing legal counsel to low-income people are set to cancel new cases or shut down completely by next summer.

The Guardian reports: Continue reading →

Pentagon Deliberately Thwarting Efforts to Close Guantanamo

Reuters exposes ‘pattern’ of obstructionism that has prevented or delayed the transfer of cleared detainees

By Lauren McCauley, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 12-28-2015

Camp 5 exercise yard, Guantánamo Bay. Photo: Michael Billings [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

President Obama’s repeated pledges to close the Guantánamo Bay detention center have been routinely and deliberately undermined by his own Department of Defense, according to a damning new investigation published on Monday.

Citing numerous administration officials, Reuters exposed a “pattern” of bureaucratic obstacles imposed by the U.S. Pentagon which have successfully thwarted efforts to transfer cleared detainees from the notorious offshore prison. Continue reading →

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The Movement Continues – Globally

Tag Archives: indefinite detention