Blog of Rights

Jennifer
Turner

Allegations of Torture of Two Teen Detainees at Guantánamo

By Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program at 3:37pm

(Originally posted on DailyKos.)

Two hearings on Wednesday concerned the cases of two of the youngest prisoners of Guantánamo Bay, Omar Khadr and Mohammed Jawad, who were both teenagers when they were captured by U.S. forces.

EU Accepting Guantánamo Detainees Would Signal Global Support for Restoring the Rule of Law

By Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program at 10:32am

(Originally posted in Jurist.)

President Obama's recent executive orders to close the Guantánamo Bay prison camp within a year and to reverse many of the Bush Administration's most egregious detention and torture policies were a huge first step in restoring America's standing in the world. With his swift actions, Obama sent a message to the world that the U.S. is newly recommitted to the rule of law. In an encouraging sign, our European allies are now responding to that recommitment. On Monday, European Union (EU) Commissioner Javier Solana announced that several EU member states would likely be willing to accept former Guantánamo Bay prisoners.

A Beacon for Liberty and Justice

By Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program at 11:23am

Tuesday was the conclusion of jury selection for the trial of Canadian Omar Khadr, as 15 jury pool members were whittled down to seven selected jurors, all officers in the U.S. Army, Navy, and Marines.

Jury selection offered a glimpse into the opinions of high-ranking military officers about Guantánamo and the military commissions. Two of the prospective jury members said they believed Guantánamo should be closed, but only one of the two was selected for the jury.

The Chickens Are Coming Home to Roost

By Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program at 11:26am

(Also posted on Daily Kos.)

Friday brought another pre-trial hearing in the military commission case against Canadian Omar Khadr, the last Western national still being held at Guantánamo Bay. Now 22, Khadr was 15 when he was captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan for allegedly throwing a grenade that killed a U.S. medic, Sgt. Christopher Speer. While the media coverage of Friday's hearing focused on potential witness testimony that Khadr could not have thrown the grenade, there has been little coverage of a legal debate that threw into question the authority of the military commission here to try Khadr for Sgt. Speer's murder.

No Defendant and No Defense at Guantánamo

By Jennifer Turner, Human Rights Researcher, ACLU Human Rights Program at 7:14pm

(Originally posted on Daily Kos.)

Friday morning, a determined and defiant Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al-Bahlul (PDF) appeared before the military commission. Escorted by military police holding each of his wrists, al-Bahlul wore a tan prison uniform and flip-flops. He wasn’t carrying his "boycott" sign, which he created back in January 2006 and has held during subsequent hearings. We soon realized that this was the reason for a half-hour delay in the hearing’s start time.

Statistics image