A Guantanamo prisoner is quietly released: the low-profile finale to an ignominious tale- Jim Warren

[Bozita]

James Warren
The Real Deal
Jun 12 2009, 12:27AM
A Guantanamo prisoner is quietly released: the low-profile finale to an ignominious tale


You surely don't know the name nor should you, really. But Jawad Jabbar Sadkhan Al-Sahlani was quietly given his freedom Thursday by the U.S. Government and finally allowed to exit the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

"Our client, Jawad Al-Sahlani, was released from GTMO today," Chicago lawyer Jeffrey Colman informed me late in the evening. "He should never have been there."

His client was never charged with a crime after being labeled an enemy combatant as a result of claims he'd been associated with the Taliban. He denied the charges and was not allowed to call witnesses to refute the claims. Nobody ever alleged he was with al-Qaeda or was involved in any hostilities against us or any of our allies.

The decision to transfer him to the custody of the Iraqi government was made by a task force created by President Obama and came days before a federal court hearing in Washington on a habeas corpus petition by his attorneys, all of whom worked for free. They are Bill Wertheimer of Detroit and three lawyers from Chicago's Jenner & Block, namely Colman, Sapna Lalmalani and Sarah Crane. Colman was nominated for the federal bench by President Clinton but never made it due to Senate Judiciary Committee wrangling unrelated to the merits of his selection.

-snip-

His lawyers' version of events is straightforward: Al-Sahlani and family fled Iraq and Saddam Hussein in 1996, sought refuge in Iran and Pakistan. The family sought asylum in Pakistan but could not obtain it, sought to return to Iran but were left stranded by guides in Afghanistan. He was turned over to U.S forces in January, 2002, for a ransom after, his lawyers alleged, he couldn't pay a bribe to supporters of a notorious warlord. He wound up in Guantanamo.

Nearly six years ago, the U.S. military recommended he be released from Guantanamo after apparently lengthy interrogations. The Bush administration would not do so.

-snip-

more... http://correspondents.theatlantic.com/james_warren/2009/06/a_guantanamo_prisoner_is_quietly_released_the_low-profile_finale_to_an_ignominious_tale.php

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[RaleighNCDUer]

2. No doubt, that 'notorious warlord' is now a valued ally and member

of the Afghani government.

What the FUCK are we doing there?

[babylonsister]

3. Rec'd. So sad that so much of this man's life was wasted, by us.

How could he not harbor ill will towards us? I'd be furious.