NEW YORK - May 1 - Today cooperating attorneys with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) are headed to Guantánamo to meet with their client Saleem Adem for the first time, in response to a Friday ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Roberts ordering the Defense Department to grant the attorneys access. The ruling denied the Bush Administration's motion for reconsideration, effectively rejecting the administration's attempt to deny the detainee access to counsel for months (Adem v. Bush). Mr. Adem had been asking for legal assistance for over a year.
"Today the court affirmed what we have been arguing for years - all people have a right to counsel and due process. This case shows the Bush Administration must stop stonewalling justice and allow all detainees' access to attorneys. It is encouraging that the court is asserting its traditional role to oversee unchecked executive power," said Gitanjali S. Gutierrez, a CCR staff attorney. CCR estimates that the administration has prevented attorney meetings with at least 270 persons in Guantánamo.
Judge Roberts also rejected the administration's position that the Detainee Treatment Act stripped the court of the authority to construe rules on client access. The original ruling in Adem v. Bush was handed down by U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Kay on March 21, 2006. He ruled that Mr. Adem must be allowed to meet with his attorneys, and that the Bush Administration's efforts to delay and prevent such action could render the detainee's "right to counsel meaningless." The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), which currently oversees 450 pro-bono attorneys representing the detainees, applauded the decision as an important protection of due process.
According to recent estimates, the government is currently detaining about 490 prisoners at the Guantánamo Bay prison camp.
The above is from the Center for Constitutional Rights' "Attorneys Go to Guantanamo Today after Judge Upholds CCR Victory in Ruling to Grant Detainee Access" (via Common Dreams).
Remember Guantanamo?
Maybe not. Last Sunday, we saw people gather in DC to address Darfur. Have they addressed Guantanamo?
It's not just Guantanamo, as anyone at the Center for Constitutional Rights can tell you. Appearing on KPFA's The Morning Show Thursday, Michael Ratner noted the secret prisons and Bagram. Yet, The New York Times, on Saturday, reports on the questioning (we won't call it an investigation) the United States is facing at the United Nations for the practice of extraordinary rendention. (Or, as Albert Gonzales prefers to call it, "rendention.") Suddenly Tom Wright wants to refer to the process of "reported." And documented?
It does matter where you get your information. KPFA's The Morning Show, had Matthew Rothschild as a guest on Friday, reflecting on The Progressive and the state of the country. They had Daniel Ellsberg on Thursday talking about the need for whistle blowers to come forward. Did you read about it in The New York Times?
No. KPFA's The Morning Show airs Monday through Friday from seven to nine a.m. Pacific Time. You can listen online if you're not in the broadcast area. (Listen online for free.) The hosts are Andrea Lewis and Philip Malderi. Every half hour, Sandra Lupien does the news breaks. David Bacon provides the labor report each Wednesdays. That's only the start of the regulars. You get authors (nonfiction and fiction, Jane Smiley was a recent guest). You get film makers. You get debates and discussions on topics such as the environment and immigration. You get discussions on Iraq. The war, like sexuality and race, is not a topic the show runs from. Think of it as a smarter version of what the broadcast TV networks air each morning -- one that doesn't insult your intelligence. You get Reyna Cowan on Fridays (except during pledge drives, she'll next appear on the last Friday of this month) discussing film. You've got callers asking questions. It's a lively mix. (Never a dull listen.)
So if you're looking for a radio show that can fill your needs and haven't found one yet, consider checking out KPFA's The Morning Show, Monday through Friday, seven to nine a.m. Pacific time.