U.S. to Free Hamdi, Send Him Home
Saturday, September 25, 2004 at 06:39PM
TheSpook
Bush's Fake War on Terror:
- Unjustly held for 3 years - not allowed to speak to an Attorney or family members -Never Charged with a Crime
Yaser Esam Hamdi, who was held in solitary
confinement as an "enemy combatant" for nearly three years and never
charged with a crime, will be released from custody and flown home to
Saudi Arabia, government officials announced yesterday. Hamdi, a United
States citizen, will leave on a military aircraft, probably by the end
of the week, said Frank W. Dunham Jr., the federal public defender
representing him. The Justice Department said only that Hamdi's release
"is currently being arranged." The U.S. military captured Hamdi with
pro-Taliban forces in Afghanistan in 2001. He was sent to Guantanamo
Bay along with other detainees until authorities learned that he was
born in Louisiana and was a citizen. He has been held in military brigs
ever since. Hamdi's detention came to symbolize the legal clash over
the government's anti-terror efforts. In June, the Supreme Court ruled
that Hamdi had the right to contest his detention in court. The Court
held that Hamdi must be charged with a crime or released. "This is
tremendously embarrassing to the government," said Shayana Kadidal, an
attorney with the New York-based Center for Constitutional Rights,
which filed legal briefs on Hamdi's behalf. [more
]
- Freeing Mr. Hamdi - where is the Outrage? the media coverage? [more
]
Article originally appeared on (http://brownwatch.com/).
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