Interpreter Shortage Could Delay Detainee Hearings in U.S. Courts
Lawyers representing detainees at Guantanamo Bay are rushing to meet with their clients who are challenging their detention in federal lawsuits, but a shortage of interpreters could create a logjam.
About a dozen interpreters who live throughout the United States and visit Guantanamo have handled much of the critical work for the lawyers, the Washington Post reports. An interpreter must be a U.S. citizen and subjected to a background check. Many interpreters are booked through November.
Fordham University law professor Martha Rayner, who represents two detainees, spoke to the Post about the situation. “The shortage of interpreters will pose a problem, because it’s already difficult enough to get to Guantanamo and to see one’s client,” she said.
The lawsuits are a response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowing the detainees to challenge their detention in federal court.
Lawyers are asking the government to increase the hours and days they can talk to their Guantanamo clients in hopes they can maximize use of interpreters, the story says. Now visits are limited to six hours a day, in stints of three hours.
