In news that's gotta be embarrassing for Gitmo fans ...
In his letter, attached as Exhibit B to the ACLU petition (PDF), Vandeveld writes:
[T]here is no credible evidence or legal basis to justify Mr. Jawad's detention in U.S. custody or his prosecution by military commission.
Vandeveld continues, saying there is "reliable evidence that [Jawad] was badly mistreated by U.S. authorities both in Afghanistan and at Guantanamo."
While Jawad has been implicated in a hand-grenade attack on American soldiers, Vandeveld repeats his charges, made at the time of his resignation, that Jawad was likely lured to Afghanistan by a domestic insurgent group with the promise of a well-paid job, drugged and forced to participate in the attack.
The former prosecutor describes chaos in the prosecutors' office upon his arrival, with evidence scattered and unorganized years after Jawad's arrest. Much of the evidence necessary to conduct a prosecution had been tossed in a locker and been forgotten -- and some simply disappeared. As a result, the U.S. was in no position to prove its case even after Jawad had spent years behind bars.
Even while U.S. authorities were misplacing evidence, they were subjecting Jawad to sleep deprivation under the "frequent flyer" program of repeated moves from cell to cell, subjecting him to beatings and throwing him down stairs while he was hooded and shackled.
The habeas corpus petition was filed in federal court in the District of Columbia.
Labels: civil liberties
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