William Fisher

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”

While applauding President Barack Obama’s recent executive orders banning torture and other harsh interrogation practices, medical authorities are calling attention to a little-reported section of the Army’s Field Manual on Interrogation that they say still allows the use of tactics that can constitute torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment under U.S. and international law. … Continue reading “Close Torture Loopholes, Physicians’ Group Urges”

While the decision of President Barack Obama to close the prison at Guantanamo Bay Cuba and end the practice of interrogation techniques that violate international law made front-page news throughout the United States, press reaction in the Middle East was far less extensive – but generally favorable. One reason is that, while in the U.S., … Continue reading “Muslim World Hails End of a Despised Symbol”

Human rights groups are hailing reports that President-elect Barack Obama plans to issue an executive order on his first full day in office directing the closing of the Guantánamo Bay detention camp in Cuba. But they are urging him to provide details on when and how it will be done and what will happen to … Continue reading “Fate of Guantánamo Detainees Still Murky”

While millions know that the administration of George W. Bush has left Barack Obama with the job of closing the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, relatively few are aware that the new president will also face a similar but far larger dilemma 7,000 miles away. That dilemma is what to do with what has … Continue reading “Bagram: Worse Than Guantanamo?”

On the heels of a bipartisan Congressional report blaming high-level officials of the George W. Bush administration for employing harsh interrogation techniques on detainees captured in the "global war on terror", many of the world’s most respected civil libertarians are calling for the establishment of an independent commission to investigate the alleged abuses. One of … Continue reading “‘Bad Apples’ Didn’t Fall Far From the Tree”

The virtually total impunity from prosecution accorded to private contractors in Iraq may be coming to an end. Under the new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) approved by the Iraqi government last week, US contractors will be subject to Iraqi law for the first time. Moreover, some observers believe that Iraq may be able to … Continue reading “Immunity Recedes for Private Contractors in Iraq”

As a group of retired military leaders prepared to urge US President-elect Barack Obama to quickly put an end to the harsh interrogation practices inflicted on security prisoners, a new United Nations report charged that Iraqi authorities were committing "grave human rights violations" in their treatment of thousands of detainees. "Grave human rights violations … … Continue reading “Ret. Officers Urge Obama to Expunge ‘Stain of Torture’”

Seventeen Chinese Muslims who have been imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay for seven years will now have to wait still longer to discover whether a U.S. appeals court will confirm or reverse a judge’s earlier decision that they be immediately released into the United States. Monday, a split federal appeals court refused to allow the immediate … Continue reading “Freedom Recedes for Uighurs at Guantanamo”

Leading human rights groups reacted with outrage Tuesday to media reports that the administration of President George W. Bush has decided not to close the iconic prison at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Quoting anonymous senior Bush administration officials, the New York Times reported that the issue would in effect be "kicked … Continue reading “Next President Will Inherit Guantanamo Dilemma”