Stafford Smith: Gitmo is a distraction from the war of terror.

[EFerrari]

He says we're flying 40-60 people to other countries every day. That's a lot of terrorists, isn't it?



Clive Stafford Smith: U.S. Holding 27,000 in Secret Overseas Prisons; Transporting Prisoners To Iraqi Jails To Avoid Media & Legal Scrutiny

“There is a huge number of being held in Iraq and one of the intriguing aspects of this that doesn’t get much reporting is that the U.S. is bringing people into Iraq from elsewhere to hold them there simply because that keeps away from the prisoners so they can’t get any legal rights,” reports British attorney Clive Stafford Smith.

A military judge has postponed the first war crimes tribunal at Guantanamo Bay to allow a Supreme Court ruling to be made on the right of prisoners to challenge their detention in civil courts.

The trial against Osama bin Laden’s former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, was scheduled to start June 2nd. Navy Captain Keith Allred ruled on Friday that the trial should be delayed seven weeks, until July 21st, in case the Supreme Court ruling affects his case.

The court is considering a challenge to a provision of the Military Commissions Act of 2006 that denies Guantanamo prisoners the right to file petition of habeas corpus. It marks the third time the Supreme Court has examined the rights of the prisoners held at the prison camp. A ruling is expected by June 30th.

http://www.democracynow.org/2008/5/19/clive_stafford_smith

(Video at link.)

[EFerrari]

1. Kick