Some of these prisoners have been detained for as long as six years without access to counsel, and only recently have been permitted any contact with their families. At least two Bagram prisoners have died while in U.S. custody, and Army investigators concluded that the deaths were homicides.
"When prisoners are in American custody and under American control, no matter the location, our values and commitment to the rule of law are at stake," said Jonathan Hafetz, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "Now that President Obama has taken the positive step of ordering Guantánamo shut down, it is critical that we don't permit 'other Gitmos' to continue elsewhere."
The ACLU's request is addressed to the Departments of Defense, Justice and State, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).
A federal judge recently ruled that three prisoners being held by the U.S. at Bagram can challenge their detention in U.S. courts, in habeas corpus suits brought by a group of human rights legal advocates.
The prisoners, who were captured outside of Afghanistan and are not Afghan citizens, have been held there for more than six years without charge or access to counsel. The Obama administration is appealing the ruling.
Can any of us remember when the term "The Disappeared" sounded like something you'd hear only from colonels wearing reflective sunglasses in some banana republic?
Well, I'm sorry to tell you that now we are them.
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