thedrifter
10-16-06, 06:28 AM
Monday, October 16, 2006
Pair in prisoner-abuse case ordered silent
Marines tell the two who brought forward allegations not to speak to the media.
The Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press about their accusations, lawyers who work with the pair said.
Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.
Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said Saturday that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press.
Reached by telephone, Vokey declined to comment, saying, "I can't even talk about it." When asked if he was going to abide by the order for the time being, he said, "yes."
Cerveny, reached by telephone late Saturday, said she disagreed with the order but also would abide by it. She declined to comment further.
"The Chief Defense Counsel of the Marine Corps, as Lt. Col Vokey's direct supervisor, has directed him not to communicate with the media on this case pending her review of the facts," 1st Lt. Blanca E. Binstock, of the U.S. Marines public affairs division, said in a statement.
The statement said the move was "necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys."
Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon said it was "common practice" for members of the military to avoid public discussion of matters under investigation.
Ahmad said Vokey was also barred from talking to the media about anything related to the military commissions – tribunals set up to try detainees.
Ellie
Pair in prisoner-abuse case ordered silent
Marines tell the two who brought forward allegations not to speak to the media.
The Associated Press
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press about their accusations, lawyers who work with the pair said.
Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.
Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said Saturday that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press.
Reached by telephone, Vokey declined to comment, saying, "I can't even talk about it." When asked if he was going to abide by the order for the time being, he said, "yes."
Cerveny, reached by telephone late Saturday, said she disagreed with the order but also would abide by it. She declined to comment further.
"The Chief Defense Counsel of the Marine Corps, as Lt. Col Vokey's direct supervisor, has directed him not to communicate with the media on this case pending her review of the facts," 1st Lt. Blanca E. Binstock, of the U.S. Marines public affairs division, said in a statement.
The statement said the move was "necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys."
Pentagon spokesman Navy Cmdr. Jeffrey Gordon said it was "common practice" for members of the military to avoid public discussion of matters under investigation.
Ahmad said Vokey was also barred from talking to the media about anything related to the military commissions – tribunals set up to try detainees.
Ellie