Judge: Guantanamo Detainees Can Meet Lawyers Alone

Judge: Guantanamo Detainees Can Meet Lawyers AloneWed Oct 20, 2004 06:45 PM ET By James Vicini
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a defeat for the government, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that three prisoners held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba can meet with their attorneys in private.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected the government's proposal for audio and video monitoring and for a review of notes taken at the meeting because it would undermine the attorney-client relationship.
"The court is acutely aware of the delicate balance that must be struck when weighing the importance of national security against the rights of the individual," she said in the 25-page ruling.
"However, the government has supplied only the most slender legal support for its argument, which cannot withstand the weight of the authority surrounding the importance of the attorney-client privilege," she concluded.
More than 500 people are being held at the Guantanamo prison, detained during the 1991 invasion of Afghanistan and in other operations in the U.S. war against terrorism.
The three prisoners in this case are Mohammed Ahmed al Kandari, Fawzi Khalid Abdullah Fahad al Odah and Khalid Abdullah Mishal al Mutairi.
They were among 12 Kuwaitis who sued in 2002 seeking to be told of the charges against them, to be allowed to meet with their attorneys and families and to have access to the courts.
Their case and another one reached the U.S. Supreme Court and the justices in June ruled that foreign prisoners at the base can go to U.S. courts to pursue their claims.
Kollar-Kotelly ruled the three detainees were entitled to legal representation. The government took the position that while the detainees could meet with their attorneys under the proposed restrictions they had no constitutional or legal right to representation.
"It is simply impossible to expect petitioners to grapple with the complexities of a foreign legal system and present their claims to this court without legal representation," she said.
The Supreme Court ruled the prisoners have the right to bring their claims before the court, and she said they cannot be expected to exercise this right without the assistance of counsel.
The government's proposed review, meant to check for any disclosure of classified information, would cover all written materials brought into or out of the meetings and any legal mail sent between the attorneys and the detainees.
"The government is not entitled to unilaterally impose procedures that abrogate the attorney-client relationship and its concomitant attorney-client privilege covering communications between them," Kollar-Kotelly said.
The judge came up with her own plan to allow the attorneys to meet with the detainees without being monitored.
She said one attorney would meet with one detainee. The information would be treated as confidential under attorney-client privilege, and would not be disclosed to anyone.
If the attorney wanted to disclose the information, the lawyer then would have to go through the government's proposed classification review, Kollar-Kotely said.
She said the attorney would be required to disclose to the government any information from the detainee involving future threats to national security.
© Copyright Reuters

2004. All rights reserved. Any copying, re-publication or re-distribution of Reuters content or of any content used on this site, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent of Reuters.
Quotes and other data are provided for your personal information only, and are not intended for trading purposes. Reuters, the members of its Group and its data providers shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the quotes or other data, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.
© Reuters

2004. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by caching, framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters and the Reuters sphere logo are registered trademarks and trademarks of the Reuters group of companies around the world.
Close This Window