William Fisher

In a stunning reversal, Britain’s government admitted Wednesday that it participated in the "extraordinary rendition" to Afghanistan of two terror suspects captured in Iraq. British Defense Secretary John Hutton told Britain’s House of Commons that the two individuals were captured by British forces in Iraq, transferred to U.S. detention and later moved to a U.S. … Continue reading “Britain Admits Complicity in U.S. Rendition”

While human rights and legal advocacy groups applauded President Barack Obama’s decision to close the military prison at Guantánamo Bay within a year, many immediately raised another thorny question: "What about Bagram?" The answer came as a shock. In a brief filing in federal court last week, lawyers from Obama’s Department of Justice said they … Continue reading “What About Bagram?”

A leading human rights organization charges that, contrary to recent U.S. government reports that found prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, being treated humanely, they are in fact “deteriorating at a rapid rate” due to “harsh conditions that continue to this day, despite a few cosmetic changes to their routines.” The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) … Continue reading “Gitmo Report Contradicts Govt. Claims of ‘Humane’ Detention”

As U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder prepared for his first trip to the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, next week, human rights advocates suffered a stinging defeat when a federal appeals court ruled that 17 Chinese Muslims scheduled for release from the Caribbean detention center could not enter the U.S. and must remain in … Continue reading “Court Passes the Buck on Fate of Chinese Muslims”

With growing public support for a public investigation of crimes that may have been committed by the administration of former president George W. Bush in waging its "global war on terror," policymakers and legal experts are deeply divided on how to proceed – and President Barack Obama seems ambivalent about whether to proceed at all. … Continue reading “Democrats Divided Over ‘Reckoning’ for Bush”

Three human rights groups have released documents that they say reveal close cooperation between the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in rendering terrorism suspects to secret prisons, creating "ghost prisoners" by concealing their identities from the Red Cross, and delaying their release to counter negative publicity about their treatment … Continue reading “Lawsuit Sheds More Light on Terror War Abuses”

A prominent British-American lawyer who represents an Ethiopian-born Guantánamo detainee is charging that U.S. Defense Department officials are intentionally concealing evidence of his client’s rendition and torture from President Barack Obama. The lawyer is Clive Stafford Smith, director of the legal charity Reprieve. He says he sent a letter to Obama through the Defense Department … Continue reading “Rendition Case Enters ‘Bizarre’ Realms of Secrecy”

President Barack Obama has cast doubt on his promise to put an end to secret government by allowing his Justice Department to follow a path frequently taken by his predecessor. Before a federal appeals court in San Francisco Monday, lawyers from the Obama Department of Justice invoked the same "state secrets privilege" used by the … Continue reading “‘State Secrets’ Privilege Not Gone With Bush”

Legal experts and human rights advocates are challenging the public to remember Guantánamo’s "child soldiers" when the detainees there are characterized as "the worst of the worst." Since the iconic detention center in Cuba opened in 2002, some 22 juveniles have been imprisoned there. And contrary to the U.N.’s Rights of the Child protocol, all … Continue reading “The Children of Guantánamo”

A prominent law professor says the U.S. Defense Department is issuing questionable data on the number of Guantánamo detainees who have been released "and then returned to the battlefield" because the government "is now in a position where they have to find some bad guys – even if they have to invent them by naming … Continue reading “Study Challenges Claims of Gitmo Recidivism”