Dialog International has been working for the release of Murat Kurnaz, the young Muslim from Germany who has been held at the US prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba since early 2002. Yesterday his attorney - Bernhard Docke - sent me some good news:" We have just won an important legal struggle in Germany." Deutsche Welle has the report:
It's not the release Kurnaz and his family were hoping for, but an administrative court's decision on Wednesday not to reject the Bremen's youth's residency permit allows him to re-enter the country once he's freed from Guantanamo Bay.
The interior minister of Bremen, where Kurnaz was born and raised, had revoked his residency permit because Kurnaz was not around to register himself. The 22-year-old has been imprisoned in US custody on Guantanamo Bay since being turned over to US soldiers near the Pakistani-Afghani border in October 2001. Lawyer Bernhard Docke, who has been working since then to free him, called this week's decision an important step.
"Through this decision the administrative court shows clearly that the law cannot be based on injustice and that German law won't import the ghost of Guantanamo," he said in a statement.
Good artlcle on this as well in Die Welt. But when will Murat Kurnaz be able to return to his home town of Bremen?
I have been engaged in a letter-writing campaign to publicize the case with members of the US Congress. So far, I have not received many replies. Senator Olympia Snowe (Republican - Maine) serves on the Senate Intelligence Committee and her office sent me a reply that had nothing to do with Murat Kurnaz but was rather a form letter concerning the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib in Iraq. Here are some excerpts:
Every senior officer allegation was formally investigated by the Army. The investigative team had broad latitute to plan and conduct the investigation in pursuit of the facts and evidence. Every person who was the subject of these investigations was given the opportunity to provide testimony. The criminal investigation determined that there was enough evidence against six 320th Military Police Battalion soldiers to warrant criminal charges. The cases of two of these soldiers have been reviewed by a general officer and referred for courts-marial.[...]I commend the Department of Defense and the administration for directing such in-depth inquires into the alleged attrocities. I pledge to continue to examine the ongoing investigations and hold those involved responsible.
[...] Please be assured that, should the full Senate have the opportunity to consider any legislations pertaining to the treatment of detainees, I will consider such measures very carefully, and with your views in mind.
I repiied to Senator Snowe with the following letter:
Dear Senator Snowe,
Recently, I wrote to you about Murat Kurnaz, the young man from Bremen,Germany who has been held without charges at the US prison facility in Guantanamo Bay,Cuba since early 2002. I pointed out that both German and US intelligence officials have expressed doubt that Mr. Kurnaz had any ties to al Qaeda or other terrorist organizations and that Judge Joyce Hens Green had issued a decision that he was being held illegally.
I was disappointed to receive as your response a form letter from your staff that outlines your views on the prisoner abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison. From this response it is clear that you have not reviewed (nor have any interest in reviewing) the case of Murat Kurnaz. Moreover, the content of your form letter was itself disturbing. You write: “I also commend the Department of Defense and the administration for directing such in-depth inquiries into the alleged atrocities.” First, there cannot be any dispute that the atrocities actually took place. There is ample photographic and physical evidence as well as testimony from the individuals involved to document the terrible abuses. Secondly, the inquiries will be seen as nothing more than a whitewash, since only low-level soldiers have been prosecuted, while it is abundantly clear that the abuse was systemic, and originated with policies that were issued by the Department of Defense.
In your letter you go on to say: “Please be assured that, should the full Senate have the opportunity to consider any legislation pertaining to the treatment of detainees, I will consider such measures very carefully, and with your views in mind.” Only a few days after this letter was sent, you voted to deny the right to habeas corpus for “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo and elsewhere. This means that Murat Kurnaz – who is very likely innocent of any terrorist activities – can be incarcerated forever without charges being filed. Obviously, you did not have my views in mind – nor did you have the views of the overwhelming majority of Mainers in mind, who reject torture and cherish the rights enshrined in the constitution. .
The contents of your letter as well as your recent vote indicate that - with respect to human rights issues - you share the views of Vice President Cheney, whom former CIA director Stansfield Turner has called “the Vice President for Torture”. I am very disappointed that you will not look into the case of Murat Kurnaz, and I do intend to share your letter with human rights organizations.
Sincerely,
On a posive note, Senator Snowe is being challenged in the next election by a Democrat - Eric Mehnert - who does believe in the US constitution. He is aware of our efforts here and is quite supportive.
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