An appeals court in Paris Feb. 24 overturned the terrorism convictions of five French nationals formerly detained at Guantánamo Bay. Arrested in Afghanistan in 2001, the men spent up to two years in US custody at Guantánamo. Sent back to France in 2007, where they were sentenced to prison on terrorism-related charges, although they were not imprisoned as they had already served time before the trial. The Paris appeals court ruled that the men had been improperly questioned by the French intelligence services while they were at Guantánamo, making the charges baseless. The men acknowledged spending time at Afghan military training camps, but said they never put their combat skills to use. (EuroNews, Feb. 24)

The US Justice Department announced Feb. 24 that notorious international arms smuggler Monzer al-Kassar, AKA "Abu Munawar" AKA "El Taous" was sentenced today to 30 years in prison for conspiring to sell millions of dollars worth of weapons to be used to kill US nationals in Colombia. Al-Kassar's associate and co-defendant Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. US District Judge Jed S. Rakoff imposed the sentences in Manhattan federal court.

Released Guantánamo Bay detainee Binyam Mohammed was returned to the UK Feb. 23 after being held for nearly seven years. Mohamed had immigrated from Ethiopia to the UK prior to his arrest, and it is not yet known whether he will be permitted to remain in the country, whose government he has repeatedly accused of being involved in his alleged torture. Mohamed recently ended a hunger strike, and British authorities declared him healthy enough to travel last week. The UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said that his return comes in response to a longstanding request for the return of UK residents held at Guantánamo.

A report prepared for the Pentagon by US Navy Admiral Patrick Walsh concluded that the Guantánamo Bay detention center meets the requirements of the Geneva Conventions, according to Feb. 20 statements from US officials who have reviewed the document. The report, which has not been released, was prepared by the Pentagon in response to President Barack Obama's Jan. 22 executive order requiring the closure of the facility within one year. The report is believed to contain recommendations to alleviate solitary conditions in the prison by increasing the ability of detainees to speak with each other and congregate in communal spaces. The report also approved certain controversial tactics used at the facility, including the force-feeding of inmates engaged in hunger strikes, and the placement of high-risk detainees in isolation.

The Obama administration told a federal judge Feb. 20 that US military detainees in Afghanistan have no legal right to challenge their imprisonment there, embracing an argument of former President Bush's legal team. In a two-sentence filing, the Justice Department said that the new administration had reviewed its position in a case brought by prisoners at the US Air Force base at Bagram, just outside Kabul, and concluded that the Bush policy was correct. "Having considered the matter, the government adheres to its previously articulated position," wrote Michael F. Hertz, acting assistant attorney general.

A panel of the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit Feb. 18 reversed an October district court order that called for the release of 17 Uighur detainees from Guantánamo Bay into the US. Lawyers for the detainees argued that the Uighurs' continued detention was improper, but the DC Circuit agreed with the government's position that admission of aliens into the US was a decision for either the executive or legislative branch, and that the detainees were not denied a statutory or constitutional right by being excluded.

From the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), Feb. 12:

Rights Groups Release Documents Obtained in FOIA Case Relating to
Secret Detention, Extraordinary Rendition, and Torture Program
New York and Washington — Documents obtained through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit confirm Department of Defense involvement in the CIA's ghost detention program, revealed three prominent human rights groups today. The groups—Amnesty International USA (AIUSA), the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), and the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice (CHRGJ)—today released documents obtained from the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and U.S. Department of State (DOS), resulting from their lawsuit seeking the disclosure of government documents that relate to secret detention, extraordinary rendition, and torture. At a public press conference, the groups revealed that these documents confirm the existence of secret prisons at Bagram and in Iraq; affirm the DOD’s cooperation with the CIA's ghost detention program; and show one case where the DOD sought to delay the release of Guantánamo prisoners who were scheduled to be sent home by a month and a half in order to avoid bad press.

A team of British officials flew into Guantánamo Bay Feb. 14 to visit hunger-striking detainee Binyam Mohamed and prepare for his likely return. "The visit will make preparations for his return, should the ongoing US review into Guantanamo Bay detainees confirm a decision to release him," a Foreign Office statement said. "The team includes a doctor, who would take part in any return, so that he may assess Mr Mohamed's condition himself and report back." Mohamed, 30, has been on hunger strike since Jan. 5 and is being force-fed through a tube. He has refugee status in the UK, and Foreign Secretary David Miliband says he wants him back "as soon as possible." (AFP, Feb. 14*)