U.S. District Judge Orders Release of Kuwaiti Detainee from Gitmo

By GottaLaff

(click on image to enlarge)

I got some great news via an e-mail from Lt. Col. Barry Wingard today. First, he said the following:

Looks like DOJ has lost its 27 of 32 cases it has reviewed under "any evidence" to justify detention standard, never mind a specific crime or "beyond a reasonable doubt.

Yeah, about that...

And then the very, very good news about one of the remaining Gitmo detainees (not Fayiz al-Kandari):

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
July 29, 2009

U.S. District Judge Orders Release of Kuwaiti Detainee from Guantanamo

Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rules there is insufficient evidence to continue the detention of Kuwaiti citizen Khaled Al-Mutairi

WASHINGTON, DC – A federal judge today ordered the release of Kuwaiti citizen Khaled Al-Mutairi from the Guantanamo Bay prison, where he has been held for nearly eight years without any charges being filed against him. The U.S. government had its chance under the rule of law to demonstrate the basis for Al-Mutairi’s detention during his habeas corpus hearing, but a judge ruled that the government lacks sufficient evidence to continue his detention. Al-Mutairi was taken into U.S. custody in Pakistan in 2001.

“The Government is directed to take all necessary and appropriate diplomatic steps to facilitate the release of Petitioner Al Mutairi forthwith,” U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly wrote in her order.

“Since his imprisonment, all that Khaled Al-Mutairi and his family have asked for is a fair hearing before an independent, impartial court to test the evidence against him. After more than seven long years of imprisonment, justice has finally been served for Khaled,” said David Cynamon, lead attorney for the Kuwaiti detainees and a partner at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. “We now want the U.S. Government to follow the court order and promptly return Khaled to Kuwait. That is what the rule of law is all about.”

“While he will never regain the years he has lost, we look forward to his return to his family and his country with open arms,” said Khalid Al-Odah, head of the Kuwaiti Family Committee and father of Guantanamo detainee Fawzi Al-Odah. “But we cannot forget Kuwait’s three remaining sons who await their fair hearings that the U.S. Supreme Court has promised.”

Al-Mutairi was taken into custody in Pakistan in 2001 after he traveled to Afghanistan to build a mosque and to provide funds for schools and orphans. His family has long been actively engaged in charitable works.

“We must remember that Khaled Al-Mutairi is just one of the four Kuwaitis remaining in Guantanamo. Our work is not done until all of these men receive the fair hearings to which the Supreme Court held they are entitled more than a year ago,” Cynamon added.

There were originally 12 Kuwaitis in Guantanamo Bay. In 2005 and 2006, the United States returned eight of them to Kuwait, where that country’s courts charged, tried and cleared them of wrongdoing.

Three additional Kuwaitis remain in Guantanamo, where they, like Khaled al Mutairi, have been imprisoned for nearly eight years. The court has scheduled habeas corpus hearings for Fawzi Al-Odah and Fouad Al Rabiah to take place in August. Fayiz al-Kandari’s habeas corpus hearing is scheduled for September 2009.

A copy of Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s order is attached to this release. An unclassified version of Judge Kollar-Kotelly’s opinion is expected to be available within a few days.

About the Kuwaiti Family Committee:

The Kuwaiti Family Committee’s mission is to seek justice for the remaining Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo Bay. The organization is led by Khalid Al-Odah, the father of Guantanamo detainee Fawzi Al-Odah, and includes in its membership approximately 100 relatives of the prisoners. They are only asking for due process of law for their fathers, brothers, and sons, including speedy proceedings either to release them or to charge and try them in a fair process.

Kahled Al-Mutairi's story is so similar to Fayiz's, isn't it? An innocent man doing charity work gets swept up, imprisoned for 8 years, and most likely abused and/or tortured (again, like Fayiz) for absolutely no good reason.

His family suffered, and continues to suffer, for absolutely no good reason. Lives have been damaged, or ruined completely, for absolutely no good reason.

This continues today.

All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you'd like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer's book The Dark Side. You'll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I'm all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz's story here, at Answers.com.