DOJ cuts off Guantanamo lawyer access after federal court ruling
September 24th, 2007 | by Dusty |From Jurist:
A US Department of Justice lawyer has informed lawyers representing some 40 detainees at Guantanamo Bay that they will no longer be able to visit with or send written communicatio ns to their clients. DOJ lawyer Andrew I. Warden sent an e-mail to the detainees’ counsel Friday, referencing a court ruling issued by US District Judge Ricardo Urbina last week. Urbina dismissed 16 habeas corpus challenges brought on behalf of at least 40 detainees and in doing so also rendered invalid protocols that had been established governing lawyers’ access to detainees. The DOJ has put in place a series of steps attorneys wishing to resume contact with detainees, but one detainee lawyer, Wells Dixon, called the measures “the latest example of the government’s efforts to frustrate counsel access to detainees.”
Earlier this year, the DOJ sought to restrict lawyer visits, but Guantanamo commander Rear Adm. Harry Harris later backed away from the proposal. AP has more.
Tags: Due Process, Habeas Corpus, Guantanamo
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