SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, pictured in October 2008.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Brendan Smialowski)
Guantanamo Prisoner's Lawyers Accuse US Defence Secretary
Lawyers for a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay have accused Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, of signing a "flagrantly false" affidavit to avoid having to disclose evidence of torture.
In a sworn affidavit to a district court in Washington, Gates says the US authorities have provided Binyam Mohamed's lawyers and the British government with all the information they possess relating to Mohamed's treatment while held in secret prisons. Gates declared his affidavit to be the truth "under penalty of perjury".
Dec 23, 2008
Lawyers for a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay have accused Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, of signing a "flagrantly false" affidavit to avoid having to disclose evidence of torture.
In a sworn affidavit to a district court in Washington, Gates says the US authorities have provided Binyam Mohamed's lawyers and the British government with all the information they possess relating to Mohamed's treatment while held in secret prisons. Gates declared his affidavit to be the truth "under penalty of perjury".
Clive Stafford Smith, Mohamed's lawyer and director of Reprieve, the charity that fights miscarriages of justice and human rights abuses, has told the court that Gates's affidavit is "flagrantly false". He has asked the court whether Gates was aware Mohamed was held incommunicado for three years in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Stafford Smith says there seems to be only one explanation for the affidavit: the defence secretary has been "misadvised".
The claims refer to what US officials knew about Mohamed's treatment and where he was rendered to. They also refer to obligations under international law and US domestic law.
In a related development, lawyers for David Miliband, the foreign secretary, have rejected demands that documents in British hands that could prove the US was complicit in the torture should be disclosed to the media. In an unprecedented initiative, two British high court judges, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, invited the Guardian and other media to ask for the documents.
The moves are the latest in an increasingly bitter dispute over the fight to save Mohamed, 30, an Ethiopian national and British resident who faces a US military tribunal and the death penalty on unspecified terrorist charges.
Miliband's lawyers have told the high court that the media cannot see US documents that have been passed to the foreign secretary as their disclosure would cause "real damage" to national security.
They say the US has threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Britain if Miliband agrees to disclose the documents.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Lawyers for a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay have accused Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, of signing a "flagrantly false" affidavit to avoid having to disclose evidence of torture.
In a sworn affidavit to a district court in Washington, Gates says the US authorities have provided Binyam Mohamed's lawyers and the British government with all the information they possess relating to Mohamed's treatment while held in secret prisons. Gates declared his affidavit to be the truth "under penalty of perjury".
Clive Stafford Smith, Mohamed's lawyer and director of Reprieve, the charity that fights miscarriages of justice and human rights abuses, has told the court that Gates's affidavit is "flagrantly false". He has asked the court whether Gates was aware Mohamed was held incommunicado for three years in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Stafford Smith says there seems to be only one explanation for the affidavit: the defence secretary has been "misadvised".
The claims refer to what US officials knew about Mohamed's treatment and where he was rendered to. They also refer to obligations under international law and US domestic law.
In a related development, lawyers for David Miliband, the foreign secretary, have rejected demands that documents in British hands that could prove the US was complicit in the torture should be disclosed to the media. In an unprecedented initiative, two British high court judges, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, invited the Guardian and other media to ask for the documents.
The moves are the latest in an increasingly bitter dispute over the fight to save Mohamed, 30, an Ethiopian national and British resident who faces a US military tribunal and the death penalty on unspecified terrorist charges.
Miliband's lawyers have told the high court that the media cannot see US documents that have been passed to the foreign secretary as their disclosure would cause "real damage" to national security.
They say the US has threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Britain if Miliband agrees to disclose the documents.
Lawyers for a British resident held at Guantanamo Bay have accused Robert Gates, the US defence secretary, of signing a "flagrantly false" affidavit to avoid having to disclose evidence of torture.
In a sworn affidavit to a district court in Washington, Gates says the US authorities have provided Binyam Mohamed's lawyers and the British government with all the information they possess relating to Mohamed's treatment while held in secret prisons. Gates declared his affidavit to be the truth "under penalty of perjury".
Clive Stafford Smith, Mohamed's lawyer and director of Reprieve, the charity that fights miscarriages of justice and human rights abuses, has told the court that Gates's affidavit is "flagrantly false". He has asked the court whether Gates was aware Mohamed was held incommunicado for three years in Pakistan, Morocco, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Stafford Smith says there seems to be only one explanation for the affidavit: the defence secretary has been "misadvised".
The claims refer to what US officials knew about Mohamed's treatment and where he was rendered to. They also refer to obligations under international law and US domestic law.
In a related development, lawyers for David Miliband, the foreign secretary, have rejected demands that documents in British hands that could prove the US was complicit in the torture should be disclosed to the media. In an unprecedented initiative, two British high court judges, Lord Justice Thomas and Mr Justice Lloyd Jones, invited the Guardian and other media to ask for the documents.
The moves are the latest in an increasingly bitter dispute over the fight to save Mohamed, 30, an Ethiopian national and British resident who faces a US military tribunal and the death penalty on unspecified terrorist charges.
Miliband's lawyers have told the high court that the media cannot see US documents that have been passed to the foreign secretary as their disclosure would cause "real damage" to national security.
They say the US has threatened to stop sharing intelligence with Britain if Miliband agrees to disclose the documents.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.