Legal Commentary

Pentagon Report: Guantanamo Complies With Geneva Conventions

By Jeralyn

In the fox guarding the hen house department: A report on Guantanamo President Obama requested on his second day in office has been completed.

A Pentagon report requested by President Obama on the conditions at the Guantánamo Bay detention center concluded that the prison complies with the humane-treatment requirements of the Geneva Conventions.

The report is by Adm. Patrick M. Walsh, the vice chief of naval operations.

In related news, Attorney General Eric Holder is setting up a task force to review the cases of the 245 detainees still held at Gitmo. Here's who's on it: [More...]

The group, which is to include representatives of military, intelligence and other agencies, is to be led by a career federal prosecutor, Matthew G. Olsen, who has been a senior Justice Department lawyer dealing with national security issues.

Not a defense lawyer among them? Why?

Here's a twist:

The Pentagon has long insisted that no detainees are held in solitary confinement. Military officials have said instead that the prisoners are held in “single-occupancy cells.”

I'd like to know the difference between "solitary confinement" and being held 23 hours a day in one's "single occupancy cell."

Here's who probably could tell me:

According to one official, the report noted that some detainees had difficulty communicating from cell to cell, a contention that many detainees’ lawyers have also made.

Could it be the reason defense lawyers aren't on the new task force is that DOJ doesn't want to hear what they have to say?

Full post as published by TalkLeft on February 21, 2009 (boomark / email).