Home > Programs
> Democracy
Now! > Fri., June 30, 2006
Democracy Now!
ATTN: ALL STATIONS
From: Democracy Now!
Re: Rundown 6-30-06
PRSS Channel: A67.7
Guantanamo Attorney: The Supreme Court Ruling on Tribunals
Proves “The Entire Structure of the War on Terror is
Unlawful”
Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on
Terror
Guantanamo Attorney: The Supreme Court Ruling on
Tribunals Proves “The Entire Structure of the War on
Terror is Unlawful”
In a landmark decision, the Supreme Court has rebuked the
Bush administration for forming military tribunals to try
detainees at Guantanamo Bay. In a 5-3 ruling, the court said
the military tribunals violated both the Uniform Code of Military
Justice and the Geneva Convention. We speak with Barbara Olshansky,
an attorney with the Center for Constitutional Rights which
filed two briefs in the Hamdan case, and has represented scores
Guantanamo detainees. [includes rush
transcript]
In a major defeat for the Bush administration, the Supreme
Court has ruled against the use of military tribunals to try
Guantanamo detainees. The White House established the tribunals
in the months after 9/11 for detainees captured in the so-called
war on terror. The tribunals placed several restrictions on
the suspects, including limited access to the evidence used
against them. In a five to three vote Thursday, the Court
ruled the practice violates US and international law. Chief
Justice John Roberts recused himself from the case. He had
previously taken part in a federal appeals court decision
that had rejected a challenge to the legality of the commissions.
The ruling came in the case of Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni
citizen accused of being an active member of Al Qaeda. Hamdan
has been seeking the military to either dismiss his case or
try him in a normal military tribunal or federal court. This
is former Guantanamo prisoner Moazzam Begg.
- Moazzam Begg:
"I was held next to Salim Hamdan in Guantanamo for
a period of two months and he often told me about how hard
they were working together with Charles Swift in trying
to obtain his rights. But we all remained skeptical because
we felt that it was the United States government in one
sense trying to feel good about itself in offering these
types of laws and telling the detainees that at least you
have the ability to defend yourself in this way which wasn't
true at all."
The Supreme Court ruling was hailed by human rights groups,
legal experts, and other former detainees. In a statement,
the freed British detainee Shafiq Rasul - who spent two years
at Guantanamo without charge - said: "This is another
step in our collective efforts to see that those we left behind
are treated fairly under international law."
President Bush took questions from reporters shortly after
the verdict was announced. He was at the White House in a
joint appearance Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
- President Bush, joint press conference with Japanese
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi.
For more on the Supreme Court ruling we are joined by a leading
human rights attorney:
- Barbara Olshansky, attorney with the Center
for Constitutional Rights. The Center filed two briefs
in this case, and has represented many Guantanamo detainees.
Olshansky is the author of "The Case for Impeachment."
Her forthcoming book out next month is called "Democracy
Detained: Secret Unconstitutional Practices in the U.S.
War on Terror."
Oath Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the
War on Terror
After 9/11, the U.S. military began using physicians, psychologists
and other medical personnel to assist in the interrogations
of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere. We take a look
at the role of doctors and interrogation with Dr. Steven Miles,
an expert in medical ethics and author of the new book, "Oath
Betrayed: Torture, Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror."
[includes rush
transcript]
While the issue of military tribunals and the legal status
of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay remains in the media spotlight,
another aspect of the US prison camp is largely being left
out of the discussion in the corporate media - the abuse of
prisoners at Guantanamo and the active participation of doctors
in torture.
After 9/11, the Pentagon began using so-called behavioral
science consultants, or "biscuit" teams to help
interrogators obtain information from prisoners at Guantanamo
Bay and elsewhere. These medical teams reportedly advised
the military on how to "break" detainees to make
them more cooperative.
- Dr. Steven Miles, author of "Oath Betrayed: Torture,
Medical Complicity, and the War on Terror." He is a
professor of medicine at the University of Minnesota Medical
School and a faculty member of its Center for Bioethics.
He is also a practicing physician.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
|
Listen
to the show
Help
whole
show
