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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB) |
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THE CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACCOUNTABILITY OF AMERICAN BASES (CAAB) |
http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/3046.htm
U.S. ADMITS GITMO NUMBERS PUZZLE
August 12, 2003 -- SAN FRANCISCO - The United States said yesterday it had
neither an exact count nor all the names of hundreds of people captured in
Afghanistan and now detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. Federal
lawyers made the disclosure during a court hearing in a case on behalf of
Falen Gherebi, a Libyan national believed to be in custody in Cuba.
At the appeals court hearing yesterday, a scheduled discussion over the
government's right to hold Gherebi became a debate on whether the government
even kept complete records on those held.
"They won't let him out and they won't tell us if he's there," said
Stephen Yagman, a lawyer for Gherebi's brother. "This is crazy."
The panel of judges expressed shock about the apparent lack of record-keeping
on people who have been in custody for 577 days.
Government lawyers contested that while they had attempted to keep records,
they were incomplete because some of those who were arrested had not
cooperated, and said that translating the names from Arabic had created
problems with spelling.
The White House has argued that the court does not have jurisdiction to rule
on the legal rights of the captives, since they are being held on foreign
soil, in Cuba, on land that is leased to, not owned by, the United States.
Reuters