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Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to Egypt

By Jeralyn, Section Terror Detainees
Posted on Wed Jan 05, 2005 at 11:38:19 PM EST
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Mamdouh Habib is a detainee at Guantanamo. He came here from Egypt in 2001 where he alleges he was The tortured for six months.

The court petition said that while in prison in Egypt Mr. Habib was subjected to regular beatings, electric shocks and attacks by dogs. During his imprisonment, he confessed to several crimes, and his lawyer said that those coerced confessions had been used by American military authorities at Guantánamo to deem Mr. Habib properly detained there as an unlawful enemy combatant.

Habib filed suit in November in federal court in Washington to block his transfer back to Egypt. The case was unsealed yesterday. The Times reports it is not known if the U.S. plans to send him to Egypt.

The practice of sending prisoners overseas is known as "rendition." Courts have not often addressed the issue.

the case is one of the rare instances in which the practice known as rendition, in which a prisoner is transferred to the custody of another government, may be openly considered by a federal court.

The Washington Post reported earlier this week that the State Department was working with the Pentagon to ship Guuantanamo detainees overseas to prisons that would be run by the foreign governments--and that the detainees might be kept for life.

The federal court needs to demand a response from the Government. If there are any plans to send detainees to countries that use torture, it needs to come out and it needs to be stopped.

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    Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to Egypt | 15 comments (15 topical)
    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#1)
    by ras on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 12:10:07 AM EST
    Here's the rub: if Egypt has a horrible government that does such things, then: 1. the man should not be sent back there AND 2. No weight whatsoever should be accorded Egypt's vote in the UN until they can show proof that the prepetrators of the crime are being prosecuted. Can't have one w/out the other. You can spin it if you like (e.g. moral equivalence spins) but you really can't go for #1 above w/out also supporting #2. Do you?

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#2)
    by bad Jim on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 01:49:52 AM EST
    Do conservatives actually have values? No one who is a prisoner of the United States can be detained indefinitely without charge or tortured. It's that simple. Read the Bill of Rights! It's painful to contemplate the sort of cowardice that insists that atrocities must be committed in the name of our safety. The revolutionaries who founded our country were made of sterner stuff than that.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#3)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 03:12:12 AM EST
    ras, that's an interesting way of looking at it - suppress torture by suppressing a country's vote at the UN until they cease the practice of torture. So, you support that for the US, as well? The US shouldn't have a vote at the UN until those responsible for torture at Abu Ghraib, Bagram Airbase, and Guantanamo Bay, have all been charged, tried, and imprisoned?

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 04:39:32 AM EST
    I would also suggest that the US not be allowed to vote until those responsible for the war crimes commited in the attack on Fallujah be brought to justice.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#5)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 05:14:29 AM EST
    Indeed...hand back your veto. If applied equeally, there'd be no vetos in the Security Coucil at all...wouldn't that be interesting?

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#6)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 07:00:38 AM EST
    I think that one of the main points of these renditions is to put the detainees out where there is little chance that their story will ever be told. If some, most or all of the Gitmo, DG, Abu Ghraib etc. detainees all eventually disappear, the complete story of this country's war crimes in these events disappear with them. There's nothing like covering your tracks when you are in power and can make it happen. It's interesting to wonder how the founding patriots would respond to our current King George. They didn't seem to respect their contemporary King George and I don't think they would like the current one.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#7)
    by desertswine on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 09:06:27 AM EST
    Gee whiz, it's like we didn't have any laws in this country.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#8)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 11:30:59 AM EST
    SD writes - " I would also suggest that the US not be allowed to vote until those responsible for the war crimes commited in the attack on Fallujah be brought to justice." Well, we have Saddam in custody, Sadir and Zarqwia (spelling suspect) and OBL are still on the loose. Of course we have captured others.... BTW - Of course I think you mean the US. Am I correct? If so, then you are condeming the actions of our troops, and are not supporting them.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#9)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 11:39:54 AM EST
    bad jim writes - "No one who is a prisoner of the United States can be detained indefinitely without charge or tortured. It's that simple. Read the Bill of Rights!" Actually, POW's, if that is what you want to call them, can be held until hostilities are over with. If you want to call them enemy combatants then we can try them in a military tribunal (see WWII and results thereof).

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#10)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 11:52:25 AM EST
    So, you support that for the US, as well? The US shouldn't have a vote at the UN until those responsible for torture at Abu Ghraib, Bagram Airbase, and Guantanamo Bay, have all been charged, tried, and imprisoned? ras never thought of that. Big whoopsie for him. But the cool thing is you won't be hearing from him again on this thread.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#11)
    by soccerdad on Thu Jan 06, 2005 at 12:00:06 PM EST
    ppj writes Of course I think you mean the US. Am I correct? If so, then you are condeming the actions of our troops, and are not supporting them. The rights weakest argument. Well I have a hard time supporting the use of cluster munitions, napalm, deliberate shooting of civilians, blocking the IRC from providing aide, forcing males trying to leave to go back into Fallujah, the takeover of hospitals, the bombing of clinics, the deliberate destruction of the electrical, water and sewage plants.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#12)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 06:32:51 AM EST
    PPJ:- It helps if you define your enemy, doesn't it? 'When hostilities cease' may be never - which doesn't bode well for these folks who haven't had guilt properly established.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#13)
    by Richard Aubrey on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 07:13:18 AM EST
    Rendition was Janet Reno's idea. Let's give credit where credit was due. Yup, according to the GC, POWs are held until the war is over. If that seems like an indeterminate time in the future, you could ask the other side to surrender right now and all would be well.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#14)
    by Ernesto Del Mundo on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 10:09:26 AM EST
    you could ask the other side to surrender right now and all would be well. Quit trying to build empires for our energy consumption and our politician's debt to AIPAC and all will be well.

    Re: Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to E (none / 0) (#15)
    by Richard Aubrey on Fri Jan 07, 2005 at 10:33:19 AM EST
    I'll give you credit for honesty, Ernesto. Most lefties keep this sort of thing to themselves, especially the AIPAC bit. Or between themselves, I should say.

    Guantanamo Detainee Sues to Stop Transfer to Egypt | 15 comments (15 topical)