Friday, July 21, 2006
five years, my brain hurts a lot
by Ken Houghton
Pull quote:
For those wondering why, the following "comedy" of justice:
The key to this headline is probably "believed to be," though there were some checks still in place then.
Pull quote:
"After five years, he had become all but hopeless,'' she said. ''Now he's cautiously optimistic."
For those wondering why, the following "comedy" of justice:
The last detainee's odyssey began Sept. 5, 2001, when, after overstaying a six-month visa, he crossed the border near Buffalo to seek asylum in Canada. After the Sept. 11 attacks, his background as a Muslim man with flight experience prompted Canadian officials to turn him over to U.S. authorities.
He spent the next six months in solitary confinement in a federal jail in Brooklyn. Though the FBI concluded he had no links to terrorism, he was eventually charged with carrying false identification -- a case that was dropped after a federal magistrate found his right to due process had been violated.
The magistrate wrote in a 2003 decision that Benatta had been "undeniably deprived of his liberty," and "held in custody under harsh conditions which can be said to be oppressive."
