rssPortugal to Take Two Guantanamo Prisoners; United States, None
Friday, August 14, 2009 at 12:17 pm
- 4 Comments
Portugal has agreed to take two Syrians held at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Al Jazeera reported yesterday. The deal was apparently reached last week, but didn’t get a whole lot of attention.
Portugal is the third European Union country to accept Guantanamo prisoners from the United States, following on the heels of Ireland and France. Outside the EU, Albania and Bermuda have taken some detainees, and Britain has said it would consider accepting some if they have residency or citizenship connections. Silvio Berlusconi, meanwhile, recently told President Obama that Italy would accept three Guantanamo detainees, though the details haven’t been made public. Spain, too, is also reportedly considering the United States’ request to take four of the prisoners.
In all, 11 Guantanamo detainees have been transferred to foreign countries since Obama’s inauguration, said Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd.
Germany and Sweden are among the European Union countries that have so far refused to take any Gitmo inmates, saying they need a good reason to do so.
Given that the United States Congress has passed a law barring the expenditure of any funds to bring Guantanamo detainees to the United States, and that Obama has given no indication that he’ll defy that ban and release any here anyway, the reluctance of some European nations to help us deal with the problem is not surprising.
It doesn’t help that in U.S. federal court, the Department of Justice has been arguing in each of the detainees’ habeas corpus cases that the men are too dangerous to be released and deserve to remain in prison. At the same time, the State Department continues to work through diplomatic channels to try resettle some of them abroad.
Some of the men released abroad have won court determinations that the United States has no right to legally hold them, notwithstanding the Justice Department’s arguments.
4 Comments
Pingback posted August 14, 2009 @ 5:29 pm
[...] Here is the original post: The Washington Independent » Portugal to Take Two Guantanamo … [...]
Comment posted August 18, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
Only One word to characterize such a great post “WOW” that was a very interesting read
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Everything dynamic and very positively!
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Just wanted to say great job with the blog, today is my first visit here and I’ve enjoyed reading your posts so far
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Comment posted August 18, 2009 @ 5:36 pm
Only One word to characterize such a great post “WOW” that was a very interesting read
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Everything dynamic and very positively!
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Just wanted to say great job with the blog, today is my first visit here and I’ve enjoyed reading your posts so far
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Comment posted August 18, 2009 @ 5:45 pm
Only One word to characterize such a great post “WOW” that was a very interesting read
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Everything dynamic and very positively!
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
I think I will try to recommend this post to my friends and family, cuz it’s really helpful.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Just wanted to say great job with the blog, today is my first visit here and I’ve enjoyed reading your posts so far
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
Thanks for article. Everytime like to read you.
a href=”http://www.victoriaclassic.com”>Links of London Jewellery
RSS feed for comments on this post.
Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.
