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Spiegel Online reporter Marc Pitzke interviewed Barbara Olshansky about the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Boumediene v. Bush. The following excerpt has been translated from the German online edition by Birgit Calhoun of the Crown Law Library:
Symbol for Everything that is Wrong in the Fight Against Terror
Boumediene and his suffering companions have been incarcerated “in a legal black hole” in Guantanamo, said Guantanamo attorney Jonathan Hafetz, who wrote an “amicus brief” – a supporting expert opinion brief – to the Supreme Court for the men. The treatment of the men “is a symbol for all that is wrong with the American attempt at fighting terror.”
The oral argument at the Supreme Court started on December 5, 2007. It lasted 80 minutes. From that observers deduced that the highest court would reject the complaint. After that the judges stayed silent until yesterday.
Lakhdar Boumediene is now allowed to file an appeal against his further stay in Guantanamo in front of a regular U.S. District Court in Washington. Guanatnamo-attorney Barbara Olshansky said in tears that “the trial is going to go forward in a few days, no later than next week.”
At that point Boumediene will have started his 89th month of incarceration.