Federal Judge Orders Release of 17 Gitmo Detainees
A Federal District Court judge, in a major blow to the Bush administration's detention policies, has ordered the release of 17 detainees from the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The New York Times reports the men are ethnic Uighurs, a Muslim minority in western China, and have been held at the prison since 2002 under the required classification of "enemy combatants." Judge Ricardo Urbina has ordered them brought to court on Friday, at which time they are to be released into the care of supporters in the Washington, D.C., area.
The Bush administration - which has long associated the Uighur detainees with terrorist groups in Afghanistan, where they fled to escape Chinese rule - recently conceded that it will no longer try to prove that the 17 men are enemy combatants. Judge Urbina dismissed the Justice Department's arguments on detaining the men as an attempt to assert an executive power of detaining individuals indefinitely without court review. That, said the judge, is "not in keeping with our system of government."
The government, which accuses the men of having received weapons training in Afghanistan around the time of the Sept. 11th attacks, is seeking a stay of the judge's order, on the grounds that the men should not be released into the United States.
Federal officials meanwhile are on the defensive on a second front regarding the rights of detainees and prisoners, as a result of a Freedom of Information Act release of documents and e-mail discussing the treatment of inmates at U.S. military brigs in Norfolk, Va., and Charleston, S.C.
The Associated Press reports the documents and e-mails were obtained by a human rights group at the Yale University Law School and the American Civil Liberties Union, which contend that the federal government has violated the constitution's prohibition of cruel treatment. It is alleged that military personnel at brigs where two American citizens and a U.S. resident were held were ordered to give the men the same treatment as detainees at Guantanamo Bay -- in essence, depriving them of their constitutional rights.
None of the men were ever charged with a crime. Another document reveals the testimony of a brig officer who talks about months of harsh interrogations and sensory deprivation treatment of one of the prisoners and warns Pentagon officials that he feared the inmate was in danger of losing his sanity.
Detention policies in the war against terror have ignited a long-standing, contentious battle, and public attitudes are fairly divided on the issue. While 57 percent in one poll say they support the government holding suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay without a trial, responses are evenly split when the question wording changes. In a Fox News poll in 2006, 43 percent said it's fair to hold accused Taliban or al Qaeda terrorists at Guantanamo Bay without charging or trying them, while 44 percent said it's unfair. Likewise, responses are mixed when asked if holding prisoners at Guantanamo Bay has made the U.S. safer from terrorism; 34 percent said it has "somewhat" and 45 percent said it has not.
In our last edition of the Confidence in U.S. Foreign Policy Index, 41 percent said it's "partially justified" to say that the U.S. is so concerned with its own security that it sometimes abuses prisoners in the war on terrorism. Compare that to 34 percent who say it's not justified at all and 18 percent who say it is "totally justified."
Tags: ACLU, Afghanistan, al Qaeda, Bush, China, citizen, detain, detention, enemy combatant, federal court, FOIA, Gitmo, Guantanamo, human rights, judge, military, muslim, prison, Taliban, terror, terrorist, Uighur 
Holding these people this long is rediculous and they should be set free or give them an attorney . When God comes to judge the world what do you think he will do to the ones who are beatings, withholding water , food from these prisoners to obtain information they have no clue to answer as they are a different people than the taliban or al quida . I do agree to the questioning of all prisoners but not this long . They have been held longer than many of the germans who were traitors to their own country and came here taking jobs in the secret service , ole yeah , the germans had the questioning and torture down to a science and so did the vietnamese . Sure , Mc cain was shot down and was a prisoner but had the opportunity to be free but turned down the release but why ? He could have came out and have blown the whistle of how our troops where really being treated . It is a very mixed up world and the fininacial aspect of our nation is falling apart at the seams and no one seems to know what to do next to help the situation. First , get rid of the leaches , the ceo's who take millions and are worth pennies or less . People wake up and smell the roses before we reach a point of no return . If you think it is difficult now , wait till this winter when we will have old people die in their homes without heat due to the lack of money to pay their heating bills . Also , look through Palin and see who she really is and what she stands for . Look at her life and what has changed in her last job when she fired one of her workers because he would not fire another colleague. To go around firing someone without having the nerve and courage to do it herself , Palin put it on the shoulders of another man with her web attached to his every move in trying to keep her out of the spotlight but it didnot work as the bible tells us explicitly that anthing said in secret , to keep the people from knowing , will be exposed to the world and it has already for palin. The only reason Mc Cain chose Palin was that she is a woman which surprised everyone . Just think Palin is from alaska , what in the world does she have in common with the people on the mainland ? Nothing but a pain in the butt lying like a dog and words being planted into her speeches . I wonder if she can write a thesis ? I am voting Obama for President and i am very tired of looking at the president we have been under for the last 8 years and has almost totally destroyed our way of life as no one can get a loan on a home , thousands have been evicted due to preditory lending knowing fully well the loan could not be paid back . These bankers should be and need to be prosecuted as banking is their livelihood and know better to overspend in a volitale market we had . Everyone should not get excited but stay calm and we all together can work this out to a viable solution without making the ceo's millionaires and should be prosecuting them to the fullest letter of the law as George W. Bush has put it so many times in the past . That statement has caught up with george and i know he hates it now . Looking back is easy , but looking forward , now that takes wisdom and i have no idea except one person to fill that job is Barack Obama for change at last , finally at last we have someone to stand up against the rich in this country and the greedy who would not help anyone but that is ok, those kind will recieve their reward right after they die . God does not want for anyone to loose their sould but many are selling theirs for money and power . So let it be as the beatles sang it in the 60/s . Whats next on the agenda ? We need the federal government to stay out of the states way in making their own laws and enforcing those lawas as they see fit . One law on the books is the Marijuana law which should be legal throughout the states as there are no bad side affects when one uses it for medical useus such as taking it before a cancer treatment and help keep the weight on the sick . What astonds me the most is the plant has been here since creation and God said in the book of Genesis that all the herds were good , everything was good according to God our creator but let the politicians get cancer and see what they use ???? The very same thing as most use , cannabis should be used prior to a cancer treatment as one physican said as he was taking his son to get his treatment and he had his son smoke a small amount . After the treatment , the boy wanted a big mac , fries , shake and what is wrong with this picture ? The law was made for man , not man for the law . Seems the entire government looks at it that way due to our president who defends the letter of the law as he has said too many times and that if federalism to the max . I have never seen a president use so many laws on the books to avoid truth coming out of places like Iraq and Afganistan . If we dont take this election by the democrats or whatever you want to call yourselves wake up quick as the election is only weeks away . Do we need another George w. Bush ? HELL NO