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Inside the Secret Facility

In an Orwellian twist, the U.S. government monitors all correspondence between a Guantánamo attorney and her client

By H. Candace Gorman

The “Protective Order,” issued by the U.S. Federal Court for the D.C. District, establishes the ground rules for the “attorney client relationship” with our Gitmo clients. These are the rules that we (habeas counsel) must follow or else face being held in contempt of court. The attorney-client privilege is one of many legal niceties that disappeared under the protective order.… return to article

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    After having read Miss Gorman’s articles all I can say is she restores my trust in humanity, or at least part of it and I wish to congratulate her for her courage and for doing what she thinks is right. She is one of the isolated people who are making the difference in this world full of violence and blindness. Thank you, Candice.

    Costa Rica Posted by Maria on Oct 5, 2007 at 11:06 PM

    One can only hope that Ms. Gorman’s ITT articles and the relevant material from her weblog may be compiled into a book, once she is no longer preoccupied with her work representing her clients. Future attorneys who take on government’s attempts to maintain extralegal facilities and to hold prisoners in limbo may hopefully find a book like that instructive.

    The article above is a case in point, showing the inherent absurdity of carrying out “due process” when some of the most basic elements of American jurisprudence, e.g. attorney-client privilege, are warped or absent entirely.

    Philippines Posted by Kuya on Oct 10, 2007 at 2:12 AM
    Page 1 of 1 pages

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Also by H. Candace Gorman
  • A Kinder, Gentler Torture
  • The Hippocratic Oath Dies in Gitmo
  • Catch-22 in the 21st Century
    Government censors are making like Joseph Heller's character Yossarian and blacking out random information in letters from Guantánamo that has nothing to do with "national security"
  • Third Time’s the Charm?
    The military didn't even bother to retain most of the documents from the Combatant Status Review Tribunals conducted in 2004, so the government has no documents showing any reason for holding these men
  • Suicide and Spin Doctors
    There are many ways for the oppressor to force himself into the mind of the oppressed, but one surefire way is through indefinite detention. Never knowing when--or if--you will be released is a cruel form of psychological torture and allows you to keep hope while simultaneously filling you with fear
  • Inside the Secret Facility
    In an Orwellian twist, the U.S. government monitors all correspondence between a Guantánamo attorney and her client
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