Clive Stafford-Smith's Witness Submission
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Guantanamo's Hidden History
Guantanamo’s Hidden History Shocking statistics of starvation June 2009 1 Author: Andy Worthington Copyright © 2009 Cageprisoners All rights reserved. Cageprisoners 27 Old Gloucester Street London WC1N 3XX Telephone: 00 (44) 7973264197 Email: [email protected] 2 INTRODUCTION Today is the third anniversary of the deaths in Guantánamo of three prisoners, Ali al-Salami, Mani al-Utaybi and Yasser al-Zahrani. The anniversary comes just two weeks after the second anniversary of the death of Abdul Rahman al-Amri, the fourth prisoner to die in mysterious circumstances, and just eight days after the death of a fifth prisoner, Muhammad Salih. The authorities maintain that the men died by committing suicide, although doubts about this explanation have repeatedly been voiced by former prisoners. However, it is also significant that all five men were long-term hunger strikers. Cageprisoners is marking this sad anniversary with a brief report about the Guantánamo hunger strikers, and the dreadful toll that prolonged starvation -- and brutal force-feeding, which is the response of the US military -- exacts on prisoners held, for the most part, without charge or trial in a seemingly endless legal limbo. Force-feeding involves prisoners being strapped into a restraint chair and force-fed twice daily against their will, through an agonizing process that involves having a tube inserted into the stomach through the nose. As Clive Stafford Smith, the lawyer for several dozen Guantánamo prisoners, explained in the Los Angeles Times in 2007, with reference to Sami al-Haj, who was released in May 2008, “Medical ethics tell us that you cannot force-feed a mentally competent hunger striker, as he has the right to complain about his mistreatment, even unto death. -
In the Supreme Court of the United States
No. ________ In the Supreme Court of the United States KHALED A. F. AL ODAH, ET AL., PETITIONERS, v. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, ET AL., RESPONDENTS. ON PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI TO THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT PETITION FOR WRIT OF CERTIORARI DAVID J. CYNAMON THOMAS B. WILNER MATTHEW J. MACLEAN COUNSEL OF RECORD OSMAN HANDOO NEIL H. KOSLOWE PILLSBURY WINTHROP AMANDA E. SHAFER SHAW PITTMAN LLP SHERI L. SHEPHERD 2300 N Street, N.W. SHEARMAN & STERLING LLP Washington, DC 20037 801 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. 202-663-8000 Washington, DC 20004 202-508-8000 GITANJALI GUTIERREZ J. WELLS DIXON GEORGE BRENT MICKUM IV SHAYANA KADIDAL SPRIGGS & HOLLINGSWORTH CENTER FOR 1350 “I” Street N.W. CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS Washington, DC 20005 666 Broadway, 7th Floor 202-898-5800 New York, NY 10012 212-614-6438 Counsel for Petitioners Additional Counsel Listed on Inside Cover JOSEPH MARGULIES JOHN J. GIBBONS MACARTHUR JUSTICE CENTER LAWRENCE S. LUSTBERG NORTHWESTERN UNIVERSITY GIBBONS P.C. LAW SCHOOL One Gateway Center 357 East Chicago Avenue Newark, NJ 07102 Chicago, IL 60611 973-596-4500 312-503-0890 MARK S. SULLIVAN BAHER AZMY CHRISTOPHER G. KARAGHEUZOFF SETON HALL LAW SCHOOL JOSHUA COLANGELO-BRYAN CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE DORSEY & WHITNEY LLP 833 McCarter Highway 250 Park Avenue Newark, NJ 07102 New York, NY 10177 973-642-8700 212-415-9200 DAVID H. REMES MARC D. FALKOFF COVINGTON & BURLING COLLEGE OF LAW 1201 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. NORTHERN ILLINOIS Washington, DC 20004 UNIVERSITY 202-662-5212 DeKalb, IL 60115 815-753-0660 PAMELA CHEPIGA SCOTT SULLIVAN ANDREW MATHESON DEREK JINKS KAREN LEE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS SARAH HAVENS SCHOOL OF LAW ALLEN & OVERY LLP RULE OF LAW IN WARTIME 1221 Avenue of the Americas PROGRAM New York, NY 10020 727 E. -
Forming and Maintaining Productive Client Relations with Al Qaeda Members and Their Supporters
FCDJ Volume V FORMING AND MAINTAINING PRODUCTIVE CLIENT RELATIONS WITH AL QAEDA MEMBERS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS 1 TRAVIS J. OWENS 1 This article is written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the California Western School of Law L.L.M. in Trial Advocacy. My thanks to Professor Justin Brooks for his contributions to my writing process and to a host of attorneys and interpreters who provided their practical insights on the substance of this article. The author is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law (J.D.) and the Naval Postgraduate School (M.A. in Security Studies: Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.). He is a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Defense or the United States Navy. 50 FCDJ Volume V I. INTRODUCTION As a Federal Defender, you have just been assigned to the case of Ahmed Warsame, a Somalian general detained for two months on a ship by the United States, questioned by intelligence services, and now indicted in federal district court. The indictment alleges, among other things, that Mr. Warsame materially supported “Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” As a defense attorney, you have represented a multitude of difficult clients - sexual predators, drug dealers with diagnosed mental disorders, and foreign nationals who speak no English and have never been in an American jail. You are respected for how you can win in court and for having brought clients to the table for deals that people thought could never be made. -
Katznelson.Pdf
THE RULE OF LAW ORAL HISTORY PROJECT The Reminiscences of Zachary P. Katznelson Columbia Center for Oral History Columbia University 2013 PREFACE The following oral history is the result of a recorded interview with Zachary P. Katznelson conducted by Ronald J. Grele on March 7 and March 13, 2013. This interview is part of the Rule of Law Oral History Project. The reader is asked to bear in mind that s/he is reading a verbatim transcript of the spoken word, rather than written prose. 3PM Session One Interviewee: Zachary P. Katznelson Location: New York, NY Interviewer: Ronald J. Grele Date: March 7, 2013 Q: I guess where I'd like to start is to talk about where you were born, and where you grew up, and where you went to school, and when you were a kid. Katznelson: When I was a kid? Q: Oh, could you hook that up to your sweater? That's why I wasn't getting the light. Okay. Katznelson: That better? Q: Yes. Katznelson: Okay. So I was born in New York City in 1973, and I grew up in Manhattan and in Chicago for a number of years. We moved to Chicago when I was just a baby and moved back to New York when I was nine. My father [Ira Katznelson] is a professor; he's now at Columbia [University]—was at Columbia when I was born, and was at the University of Chicago for a while. So I grew up in both places. I definitely consider myself a New Yorker. Most of my family's from New York—most of my family who is still alive is in New York, so this is really home. -
The Virtues and Vices of Advocacy Strategies in the War on Terror
Roger Williams University DOCS@RWU Law Faculty Scholarship Law Faculty Scholarship 4-2009 The etD ainees' Dilemma: The irV tues and Vices of Advocacy Strategies in the War on Terror Peter Margulies Roger Williams University School of Law Follow this and additional works at: http://docs.rwu.edu/law_fac_fs Part of the Criminal Law Commons, Human Rights Law Commons, International Law Commons, Law and Politics Commons, and the Legal Profession Commons Recommended Citation Peter Margulies, The eD tainees' Dilemma: The irV tues and Vices of Advocacy Strategies in the War on Terror, 57 Buff. L. Rev. 347, 432 (2009) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law Faculty Scholarship at DOCS@RWU. It has been accepted for inclusion in Law Faculty Scholarship by an authorized administrator of DOCS@RWU. For more information, please contact [email protected]. +(,121/,1( Citation: 57 Buff. L. Rev. 347 2009 Provided by: Roger Williams University School of Law Library Content downloaded/printed from HeinOnline Thu Nov 17 10:09:44 2016 -- Your use of this HeinOnline PDF indicates your acceptance of HeinOnline's Terms and Conditions of the license agreement available at http://heinonline.org/HOL/License -- The search text of this PDF is generated from uncorrected OCR text. -- To obtain permission to use this article beyond the scope of your HeinOnline license, please use: Copyright Information BUFFALO LAW REVIEW VOLUME 57 APRIL 2009 NUMBER 2 The Detainees' Dilemma: The Virtues and Vices of Advocacy Strategies in the War on Terror PETER MARGULIESt INTRODUCTION For detainees in the war on terror, advocacy outside of court is often the main event.' Analysis of advocacy through the prism of Supreme Court decisions 2 resembles surveying t Professor of Law, Roger Williams University School of Law; e-mail: [email protected]. -
A Decade Lost I ABOUT the AUTHORS
A DECADE LOST i ABOUT THE AUTHORS The Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) brings together and expands the rich array of teaching, research, clinical, internship, and publishing activities undertaken within New York University (NYU) School of Law on international human rights issues. Philip Alston and Ryan Goodman are the Center’s Faculty co-Chairs; Smita Narula and Margaret Satterthwaite are Faculty Directors; Jayne Huckerby is Research Director; and Veerle Opgenhaffen is Senior Program Director. The Global Justice Clinic (GJC) at NYU School of Law provides high quality, professional human rights lawyering services to individual clients and non-governmental and inter-governmental human rights organizations, partnering with groups based in the United States and abroad. Working as legal advisers, counsel, co-counsel, or advocacy partners, Clinic students work side-by-side with human rights activists from around the world. The Clinic is directed by Professor Margaret Satterthwaite and in Fall 2010 to Spring 2011 was co-taught with Adjunct Assistant Professor Jayne Huckerby; Diana Limongi is Clinic Administrator. All publications and statements of the CHRGJ can be found at its website: www.chrgj.org. This Report should be cited as: Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, A Decade Lost: Locating Gender in U.S. Counter-Terrorism (New York: NYU School of Law, 2011). © NYU School of Law Center for Human Rights and Global Justice A DECADE LOST 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Global Justice Clinic (GJC)/Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ) at New York University (NYU) School of Law acknowledges the following individuals for their contributions in the preparation of this report. -
Open Fung Final Thesis Submission.Pdf
THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY SCHREYER HONORS COLLEGE DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH FINDING HUMANITY AFTER DEHUMANIZATION: AN EXAMINATION OF THE ROLE OF MEMOIR IN NARRATING THE HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS AT GUANTÁNAMO BAY TAK-YIN SANDRA FUNG Spring 2012 A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for baccalaureate degrees in English and Comparative Literature with honors in English Reviewed and approved* by the following: Sophia McClennen Professor of Comparative Literature, Spanish, and Women’s Studies Thesis Supervisor Lisa Sternlieb Associate Professor of English Honors Adviser Jonathan Marks Associate Professor of Bioethics, Humanities, and Law Second Reader * Signatures are on file in the Schreyer Honors College i Abstract This thesis examines the role of memoir within the larger dialogue concerning the human rights violations committed at Guantánamo Bay. Memoirs have always held an important place within human rights narratives, and the personal histories written by former Guantánamo detainees contribute an essential individual component to conversations about the injustices of the facility. Although several other detainees have come forward with memoirs, this thesis specifically evaluates Enemy Combatant : My Imprisonment at Guantánamo, Bagram, and Kandahar by Moazzam Begg and Five Years of My Life: An Innocent Man in Guantánamo by Murat Kurnaz. Both men were detained without charge and released, albeit after enduring years of abuse, isolation, and poor living conditions. Despite the emphasis on the unique ability of memoir to connect the audience with the perspective of the work’s subject, this thesis does not argue for memoir as the most effective form of human rights narrative. Instead, the memoir should be viewed as one part of a larger conversation. -
The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: an Empirical Study
© Reuters/HO Old – Detainees at XRay Camp in Guantanamo. The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study Benjamin Wittes and Zaahira Wyne with Erin Miller, Julia Pilcer, and Georgina Druce December 16, 2008 The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empiricial Study Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 The Public Record about Guantánamo 4 Demographic Overview 6 Government Allegations 9 Detainee Statements 13 Conclusion 22 Note on Sources and Methods 23 About the Authors 28 Endnotes 29 Appendix I: Detainees at Guantánamo 46 Appendix II: Detainees Not at Guantánamo 66 Appendix III: Sample Habeas Records 89 Sample 1 90 Sample 2 93 Sample 3 96 The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empiricial Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY he following report represents an effort both to document and to describe in as much detail as the public record will permit the current detainee population in American T military custody at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba. Since the military brought the first detainees to Guantánamo in January 2002, the Pentagon has consistently refused to comprehensively identify those it holds. While it has, at various times, released information about individuals who have been detained at Guantánamo, it has always maintained ambiguity about the population of the facility at any given moment, declining even to specify precisely the number of detainees held at the base. We have sought to identify the detainee population using a variety of records, mostly from habeas corpus litigation, and we have sorted the current population into subgroups using both the government’s allegations against detainees and detainee statements about their own affiliations and conduct. -
THE RULE of LAW ORAL HISTORY PROJECT the Reminiscences Of
THE RULE OF LAW ORAL HISTORY PROJECT The Reminiscences of Clive Stafford Smith Oral History Research Office Columbia University 2011 PREFACE The following oral history is the result of a recorded interview with Clive Stafford Smith conducted by Ronald J. Grele on June 28, June 29, and June 30, 2010 in Symondsbury, England. This interview is part of the Rule of Law Oral History Project. The reader is asked to bear in mind that s/he is reading a verbatim transcript of the spoken word, rather than written prose. MJD Session One Interviewee: Clive Stafford Smith Location: Symondsbury, Dorset, England Interviewer: Ronald J. Grele Date: June 28, 2010 Q: This is an interview with Clive Stafford Smith. The interview is being conducted in Dorset, in England. Today's date is June 28, 2010. The interviewer is Ronald Grele. This is an interview for the Columbia University Oral History Research Office. I thought where we would begin is where you begin your book [Bad Men: Guantánamo Bay and the Secret Prisons], and that is with 9/11. It is pretty detailed, your first memories of 9/11 being in Louisiana. But I have a couple of questions to ask you. Smith: Sure. Q: It isn't clear in there whether or not you watched the buildings collapse. Smith: Well, when it actually happened, no. I was driving around. I was actually trying to find a pathologist who I had an appointment to meet that morning on a death penalty case. I was driving around and it was just ghostly. This was Lake Charles, Louisiana, and there was nobody, anybody. -
State of GRACE
Holidays 2002 Volume 1, Issue 1 State of GRACE The Gulf Region Advocacy Center (713) 869-4722 Special Announcements • We have moved into our new office! • We have two full-time interns from Australia! • We have hired our first full-time staff person! Happy Holidays from the Gulf Region Advocacy Center! Inside, you will find the first installments Our warmest thanks to: of what we hope will become regular The Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers’ features of our monthly newsletter: Case Association; The Harris County Criminal Updates, “Meet the Interns” and “Fall Lawyers’ Association; The Texas and from Grace.” But, I also want to use this Houston Chapters of the ACLU; and The first edition to reflect on our short but Louisiana Crisis Assistance Center. chaotic history and to thank the many folks who have made it possible. Several individuals must be mentioned by name: Jay Burnett; Rick Hagen; Troy The first six months of our existence McKinney; Cynthia Henley; Keith have been an amazing experience. Hampton; Robert McGlasson; Clive Individual Stafford Smith; David George; Annette Though GRACE had been in the Highlights: Lamoreaux; Richard Bourke; Alison planning for some time, the return of Myers; and Adaku Orgawu. Calvin Burdine [see story below] to Case Updates 1 Harris County for retrial instantly turned a Yet, we cannot rest on our laurels. We Meet Rachel & James 4 long term plan into a short-term foot must use this unique moment to: race. Initially, it looked like Calvin was in Meet Irene Aguilar 5 for a repeat of his 1984 experience, until 1) Make sure that Calvin gets a fair trial. -
The Constitutional and Political Clash Over Detainees and the Closure of Guantanamo
UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH LAW REVIEW Vol. 74 ● Winter 2012 PRISONERS OF CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL CLASH OVER DETAINEES AND THE CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO David J.R. Frakt ISSN 0041-9915 (print) 1942-8405 (online) ● DOI 10.5195/lawreview.2012.195 http://lawreview.law.pitt.edu This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. This site is published by the University Library System of the University of Pittsburgh as part of its D- Scribe Digital Publishing Program and is cosponsored by the University of Pittsburgh Press. PRISONERS OF CONGRESS: THE CONSTITUTIONAL AND POLITICAL CLASH OVER DETAINEES AND THE CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO David J.R. Frakt Table of Contents Prologue ............................................................................................................... 181 I. Introduction ................................................................................................. 183 A. A Brief Constitutional History of Guantanamo ................................... 183 1. The Bush Years (January 2002 to January 2009) ....................... 183 2. The Obama Years (January 2009 to the Present) ........................ 192 a. 2009 ................................................................................... 192 b. 2010 to the Present ............................................................. 199 II. Legislative Restrictions and Their Impact ................................................... 205 A. Restrictions on Transfer and/or Release -
Petitioner Shaker Aamer Respectfully Files This Emergency Motion to Lift
Case 1:04-cv-02215-RMC Document 58 Filed 09/26/2006 Page 1 of 17 PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED TO CSO AND CLEARED FOR PUBLIC FILING IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA SHAKER AAMER, ) ) Petitioner/Plaintiff, ) ) v. ) Civ. No. 04-cv-2215 (RMC) ) GEORGE W. BUSH, et al., ) ) Respondents/Defendants. ) __________________________________________) MOTION TO LIFT STAY AND FOR PRELIMINARY INJUNCTION ENFORCING GENEVA CONVENTIONS Petitioner Shaker Aamer respectfully files this motion to lift the stay in this case and enter a preliminary injunction enforcing the Geneva Conventions.1 Mr. Aamer has been held in complete isolation for the past 360 days. Guards have beaten Mr. Aamer, deprived him of sleep, subjected him to temperature extremes and cut off ventilation in his cell. He has not had any contact with any fellow prisoners for months. He has not seen the sun for many weeks. He is not being treated humanely. This is a clear violation of Common Article Three of the Geneva Conventions. Mr. Aamer must be removed from isolation. Counsel has now had information about Mr. Aamer declassified, immediately brought it to the attention of the Guantánamo authorities in writing without response, and thus is bringing this motion urgently. In the interim, Counsel raised the matter on two occasions with base personnel. Yet, when Counsel for Mr. Aamer visited Guantánamo Bay on September 12, Mr. 1 Petitioner believes the stay should be lifted entirely in this case. However, at minimum, the Court should lift the stay for the limited purpose of ordering the requested injunction. 1 Case 1:04-cv-02215-RMC Document 58 Filed 09/26/2006 Page 2 of 17 PREVIOUSLY PROVIDED TO CSO AND CLEARED FOR PUBLIC FILING Aamer was apparently still living in the same isolated cell in Camp Echo; unfortunately, counsel was not able to meet with Mr.