Guantanamo/Detainees
Detainee’s Tunisian Transfer Blocked
Posted Oct 10, 2007, 05:36 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A federal judge has barred the government from transferring a Guantanamo detainee to his home country of Tunisia, where he says he could be tortured or killed.
Judge Gladys Kessler of Washington, D.C., issued an injunction barring the transfer of Mohammed Abdul Rahman until the U.S. Supreme Court rules in another Guantanamo case, the Washington Post reports. Her decision of last week was unsealed yesterday.
The decision appears to be the first to block the repatriation of a detainee.
Kessler said the pending Supreme Court case, Boumediene v. Bush, had “cast a deep shadow of uncertainty” over previous rulings that restricted detainee rights, the New York Times reports. The case seeks to establish a right by detainees to file habeas corpus challenges to their confinement in federal courts.
Jennifer Daskal of Human Rights Watch praised Kessler's action. "Having a court step in and order the administration not to transfer a detainee to what is likely torture sets a precedent for other courts and other judges to do the same thing," she said.
Related Stories
- Former Mexican Drug Czar Got $450K to Keep Traffickers Informed, Authorities Say
Nov 21, 2008, 11:44 am CST - 5 Gitmo Detainees Held Unlawfully, Federal Judge Says
Nov 20, 2008, 01:30 pm CST - Obama to Bring Gitmo Detainees to US Courts, Associated Press Says
Nov 10, 2008, 01:28 pm CST - Top Military Official: More Troops Needed in Afghanistan
Nov 7, 2008, 04:36 pm CST
Related Topics
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Comments
Be the first to comment.