The US Department of Justice announced Oct. 9 that Kuwaiti Guantánamo Bay detainee Khaled al-Mutairi has been returned to his home country. The US government alleged that al-Mutairi had fought against American troops in Afghanistan, but in his almost eight years at the facility, no charges were ever filed. Al-Mutairi maintains that he had traveled to Afghanistan to provide monetary support for schools. In his home country, al-Mutairi will participate in a rehabilitation program set up by the Kuwaiti government, designed to help former Guantánamo detainees recover and reintegrate into civilian life. The DoJ also announced that a second detainee, whose identity has not been released, was released to Belgium. Al-Mutairi's release leaves 222 detainees who must be dealt with before the Obama administration's goal of closing the facility can be realized.

Human rights group Reprieve announced July 28 that it is suing the British government over the 2002 "rendition" of Mohammed Saad Iqbal Madni from Indonesia to Egypt. The group alleges that the UK allowed the US rendition flight of Madni to stop on the British island territory of Diego Garcia, where the Pentagon has an air base. Madni says he was tortured with cattle prods for three months in Egypt, then sent to Guantánamo Bay, where he was held for six years before being released last August without having been charged.

Members of Congress July 13 called for an investigation into a secret CIA program designed to kill al-Qaeda members. The call follows the recently publicized information that former vice-president Dick Cheney directly ordered the CIA to withhold information about the program from Congress and kept it secret for eight years.

Four Uighurs from Guantánamo Bay have been released in Bermuda where they hailed their new freedom—but the United Kingdom reproached its overseas territory, saying it should have been consulted on the move. US authorities ignored demands by China for custody of the men, who had served seven years at Guantánamo, flying them June 11 to Bermuda, which accepted them in a guest-worker program. "Growing up under communism, we always dreamed of living in peace and working in free society like this one," Abdul Nasser, speaking on behalf of the four, said in a statement released by their lawyers. Speaking to the people of Bermuda, the statement added: "Today you have let freedom ring."

James W. Von Brunn, the elderly man suspected of killing a security guard in Washington DC's Holocaust Museum June 10 is a World War II veteran with links to white supremacist groups who tried nearly 30 years ago to take Federal Reserve board members hostage, according to media reports and Web sites. A Web site maintained by Von Brunn says that in 1981 he tried to carry out a "citizens arrest" on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. (The website, Holy Western Empire, appears to be currently disabled.)

The US Supreme Court issued an order June 1 allowing the government more time to appeal a ruling that mandates release of photos allegedly depicting detainee abuse in Iraq and Afghanistan. The order, issued by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, follows a Justice Department request and grants a 30-day delay, extending the deadline to appeal from June 9 to July 9. Congress is currently considering legislation that would exempt the disclosure of certain photographs under the Freedom of Information Act in cases where the secretary of defense certifies that such disclosure would endanger US personnel. (Jurist, June 1)

Canadian Guantánamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr June 1 asked to have his US military lawyers dismissed for arguing and disagreeing among themselves. The disputes among the members of Khadr's US defense team arose from chief defense counsel Col. Peter Masciola's efforts to dismiss Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler as lead counsel for Khadr after Kuebler filed a formal complaint against Masciola alleging a conflict of interest.

The Obama administration urged the Supreme Court May 29 to reject a petition filed by 14 Chinese Uighurs held at Guantánamo Bay seeking their release. Taking the same stance as the Bush administration, the Obama White House argued in its reply brief that although the Court has the power to order the release of detainees, it cannot order them released into the US. The Uighurs are no longer officially imprisoned, but they cannot leave Guantánamo until the government finds a country willing to accept them.