Gitmo WhistleBlowers Silenced By Military

[kpete]

2 ordered not to discuss Gitmo claims
By MIRANDA LEITSINGER, Associated Press Writer

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press, lawyers and a military spokeswoman said Saturday.

Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.

Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press.

A spokeswoman for the Marines confirmed the order, saying Vokey's supervisor — Col. Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel — had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts."

more at:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061015/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/guantanamo_abuse_probe

[Hugin]

1. They're not putting a gag order on Bar Bragging and instead...

Clamping down on the detainee attorneys?

Yup, Habeas Corpus is dead... Well, not really, but, they are doing their best
to kill it.

[hootinholler]

4. This is not a Habeas issue..

It's a free speech issue, and actually I understand the order *if* and *only if* there's a real investigation and not a Powell style investigation.

-Hoot

[Nikki Stone 1]

2. If we had any doubt...

:kick:

[dubykc]

3. I would have thought

the Marines' chief defense counsel, Col. Carol Joyce, would have already reviewed Sgt. Heather Cerveny's SWORN statement.

Any investigation into the barroom bragging will go nowhere, Marines historically look out for their own.