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☆ Attorneys say Austin violated military rules in halting deal for alleged 9/11 conspirators
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-07 | by ( Haley Britzky | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Wednesday’s pretrial hearing, which has been scheduled for months, followed a whiplash decision by Austin to revoke a plea deal that had been announced just two days prior last week. “What he did was illegal,” Eugene Fidell, who teaches military justice at Yale University and co-founded the National Institute of Military Justice, told CNN. But Sowards argued Wednesday that by revoking the deal, Austin was actually doing more harm to the families. While the terms of the pretrial agreement had not been released publicly, among them was the assurance that the detainees would answer questions by 9/11 victim family members. Sowards said family members had already “been submitting questions in good faith,” and expecting answers in return as part of the deal.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, ”, ” Walter Ruiz, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, Austin, Susan Escallier, Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘ Attash, Ruiz, “, ” Austin, ” Eugene Fidell, Gary Sowards, Mohammad, ” Sowards, Clayton Trivett, ’ ”, Austin “, Antony Blinken, “ I’m, Sowards, Wells Dixon, Majid Khan, Khan, Dixon, ” Dixon, Eugene Fidell’s Organizations: CNN —, Defense, Guantanamo, Pentagon, White, White House, Yale University, National Institute of Military, CNN, Military Commissions, Austin, Military, Australian, American, ”, Center for Constitutional Rights Locations: Guantanamo, Austin, Belize

☆ How the 9/11 Plea Deal Came Undone
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-04 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | Eric Schmitt | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

In the space of three days last week, the Sept. 11 case was rocked by two decisions that stunned victims’ families and jolted a political debate. First, a Pentagon official authorized a plea agreement meant to resolve the case with lifetime sentences. Then, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III abruptly canceled the deal, reviving the possibility that the man accused of planning the attacks, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and two accused accomplices could someday face a death penalty trial. Suddenly, a case that had mostly drifted from public consciousness in 12 years of pretrial proceedings was back in the spotlight and no closer to the trial that some relatives of the nearly 3,000 victims had been aching for at Guantánamo Bay. This account of those fateful three days is based on interviews and conversations with Pentagon officials, Sept. 11 family members and parties to the case.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed Organizations: Pentagon Locations: Guantánamo

☆ Defense secretary abruptly revokes plea deal with alleged 9/11 mastermind KSM, co-conspirators
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Oren Liebermann | Evan Perez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

CNN —Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin abruptly revoked a plea deal for the alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks and his co-conspirators, and he relieved the overseer in charge after years of effort to reach an agreement to bring the cases to a close. Prosecutors in the case had been discussing the possibility of a plea deal for more than two years, which would have avoided a lengthy trial complicated by questions over the admissibility of evidence obtained during torture. The US had said it would seek the death penalty for Mohammed. US criminal courts for decades have dealt with high profile terror trials, including with death sentences, which Holder had authorized. “They were dealt a bad hand by political hacks and ideologues who lost faith in our justice system.

Persons: Lloyd Austin, Austin, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Bin ‘ Attash, Hawsawi –, Susan Escallier, ” Austin, Mohammed, ”, Brett Eagleson, Democratic Sen, Richard Blumenthal, ” Sen, Lindsey Graham, “, George W, Bush, Eric Holder, Barack Obama’s, Holder, ” Holder, Daniel Pearl, ideologues, CNN’s Manu Raju, Morgan Rimmer Organizations: CNN —, Pentagon, Prosecutors, Democratic, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, CNN, South Carolina Republican, Wall Street Journal Locations: Guantanamo, Pearl, Richard Blumenthal of, Manhattan, Pakistan

☆ Defense Secretary Revokes Plea Deal for Accused Sept. 11 Plotters
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-02 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III on Friday overruled the overseer of the war court at Guantánamo Bay and revoked a plea agreement reached earlier this week with the accused mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and two alleged accomplices. Gen. Susan K. Escallier, signed a pretrial agreement on Wednesday with Mr. Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi that exchanged guilty pleas for sentences of at most life in prison. In taking away the authority, Mr. Austin assumed direct oversight of the case and canceled the agreement, effectively reinstating it as a death-penalty case. He left Ms. Escallier in the role of oversight of Guantánamo’s other cases. Because of the stakes involved, the “responsibility for such a decision should rest with me,” Mr. Austin said in an order released Friday night by the Pentagon.

Persons: Lloyd J, Austin III, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Susan K, Escallier, Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al, Austin, ” Mr Organizations: Pentagon, Defense Department Locations: Guantánamo, New York City, Pennsylvania, Brig

Eleven years ago, in 2013, Holder said that Mohammed and his associates would have been “on death row as we speak” had the case gone to federal court as he proposed. But he blamed Congress for blocking a federal trial that would have resulted in swifter justice. They were dealt a bad hand by the political hacks and those who lost faith in our justice system,” Holder said in a statement to NBC News on Thursday. “If my decision to try KSM and his confederates in the tested and effective federal court system had been followed they would be nothing more than a memory today,” Holder said. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said he’s “long advocated that our federal court system is perfectly capable of conducting this kind of trial” and was well-suited to handling serious crimes.

Persons: Eric Holder, ”, Holder, ” Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘ Attash, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al, General Holder, Mohammed, ” Holder, KSM, “, ” Eric Holder, Chip Somodevilla, Rudy Giuliani —, Donald Trump’s, —, Giuliani, Tsarnaev, William Barr, Trump, George H.W, George H.W . Bush, hadn’t, ” Barr, he’d, he’s, Barr, Alexanda Amon Kotey, Joe Biden’s, Mitch McConnell, McConnell, Sen, Chris Coons, doesn’t, ” Coons, Richard Blumenthal, Conn, “ I’ve, ” Sen, Chris Van Hollen, Biden, Thom Tillis, I’m, ” Tillis, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton Organizations: WASHINGTON, Guantanamo, Pentagon, CIA, NBC, New York City, Prisons, Boston Marathon, Rockies, Republican, Trump, Justice Department, Islamic State, White, NBC News, House Locations: United States, Guantanamo, Manhattan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, America, Pakistan, Caribbean, ADMAX Florence, Colorado, ”, George H.W ., ADMAX, Florence, Ky

☆ Plea Deal in 9/11 Case Is Announced in War Court
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-01 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The man accused of plotting the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, appeared in court on Thursday, watching silently as the prosecutor who had pursued his capital case since the beginning formally announced that a plea agreement had been reached that would remove the possibility of the death penalty. The prosecutor, Clayton G. Trivett Jr., also gave the court the sealed and signed agreements between the prisoner, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and the Pentagon’s overseer of the war court cases. Disclosure of the agreement in the court at Guantánamo Bay is the first step toward a sentencing hearing before a military panel, which could begin next summer. Prosecutors who had negotiated the agreements with Mr. Mohammed and two accomplices, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, disclosed the deal on Wednesday to family members of the nearly 3,000 people who were killed in the attacks.

Persons: Clayton G, Trivett Jr, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al Organizations: Prosecutors Locations: Guantánamo

☆ 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, 2 others charged in terror plot reach plea deals
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

In a file photo Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the alleged Sept. 11 mastermind, is seen shortly after his capture during a raid in Pakistan Saturday March 1, 2003, in this photo obtained by the Associated Press. Accused 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammad and two other men charged with plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks by al-Qaeda have agreed to plead guilty in the military commissions process, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The terms of the plea deals for the three men, who have been in custody since 2003, were not released, but they are expected to plead guilty to some charges, and potentially avoid death sentences as a result. The Office of Military Commission said that the defendants will enter their pleas as early as next week at the U.S. military base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. In addition to Mohammed, the other men expected to plead guilty are Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin 'Attash, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi.

Persons: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad, Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin, Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, Aaron Rugh Organizations: Associated Press, Pentagon, Military Commission, New York Times Locations: Pakistan, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba

☆ Accused Sept. 11 Plotters Agree to Plead Guilty at Guantánamo Bay
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-31 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The man accused of plotting the attacks of Sept. 11 and two of his accomplices have agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges in exchange for a life sentence rather than a death-penalty trial at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, prosecutors said Wednesday. A senior Pentagon official approved the deal for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Mustafa al-Hawsawi, according to Defense Department officials with knowledge of the agreement. The men have been in U.S. custody since 2003. But the case had become mired in more than a decade of pretrial proceedings that focused on the question of whether their torture in secret C.I.A. Word of the deal emerged in a letter from war court prosecutors to family members of victims of the attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

Persons: Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash, Mustafa al, ”, Aaron C Organizations: Pentagon, Defense, “ Locations: Guantánamo Bay, Cuba

☆ Who is Julian Assange, what did the Wikileaks founder do to go through a 12-year legal battle?
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Helen Regan | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

CNN —WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was released from a British prison and was making his way back to his home country Australia on Monday after his 12-year battle against extradition to the United States ended in a plea deal. Assange boarded a flight from London’s Stansted airport on Monday after being released on bail from prison, according to a statement from WikiLeaks on Tuesday. “Julian Assange is free,” WikiLeaks said. WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange boards a plane at a location given as London, Britain, in this still image from video released on June 25, 2024. Former Ecuadorian president Lenín Moreno told CNN he is glad the Wikileaks founder won’t be handed over to the US.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, “ Julian Assange, “, Chelsea Manning, ”, Jack Taylor, Hillary Clinton’s, John Podesta, Abu Hamza al, Masri, Joe Biden, Assange’s, Stella Assange, “ Julian, Lenín Moreno, won’t, Moreno, Gustavo Petro Organizations: CNN, Ecuadorian, WikiLeaks, US Justice Department, Wikileaks, Army, US, of Scientology, European, Human Rights, Westminster Magistrates, Democratic National Committee, London’s Metroplitan Police, UN, Amnesty, American Locations: Australia, United States, London, Iraq, Afghanistan, London’s Stansted, ”, United Kingdom, Britain, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, Townsville, Queensland, Guantanamo Bay, Iraqi, Sweden, Stockholm, Westminster, England, London’s, Colombia, Mexico

☆ Julian Assange spent 5 years in a 2x3 meter cell, isolated 23 hours a day before his release on bail, WikiLeaks says
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Thibault Spirlet | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewJulian Assange spent more than five years in a 2x3 meter cell, isolated 23 hours a day before his release on bail, WikiLeaks said in a statement on Tuesday. Assange was arrested in the UK in 2019 for breaching bail conditions after seeking asylum in Ecuador's London Embassy to avoid extradition. AdvertisementOn Monday, the High Court of London granted Assange bail, the WikiLeaks statement said, allowing him to board a plane at 5 p.m. local time and leave the UK. AdvertisementBritain's 'Guantánamo Bay'Before his release, Assange spent half a decade detained in a prison once dubbed the UK's "Guantánamo Bay." Belmarsh Prison, where Julian Assange was held, pictured on May 20, 2024, in London.

Persons: —, Julian Assange, Assange, Chelsea Manning, Matthew McKenzie, Carl Court Organizations: Service, WikiLeaks, Business, Embassy, US Department of Justice, United States, Northern, Justice Department, BBC, European, Human Rights, Independent Locations: Ecuador's, Northern Mariana Islands, Northern Mariana, London, Belmarsh, Australia

☆ Julian Assange ends stalemate with US, exchanging guilty plea to felony charge for his freedom
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-25 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Thomas Manglona | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Leon Neal/AFP/Getty Images Assange addresses the Oxford Union Society from the Ecuadorian Embassy in January 2013. David Paul Morris/Bloomberg/Getty Images Assange attends a news conference inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in August 2014. FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images Assange, on the balcony of the Ecuadorian Embassy, holds up a United Nations report in February 2016. Carl Court/Getty Images Assange speaks to the media in May 2017, after Swedish prosecutors had dropped their investigation of rape allegations against Assange. Jack Taylor/Getty Images Assange was seen for the first time in months during a hearing via teleconference in Quito, Ecuador, in October 2018.

Persons: Julian Assange, “, ” Assange, Assange, Kim Hong, Ramona Manglona, Chelsea Manning, Jack Taylor, LEON NEAL, BERTIL ERICSON, FABRICE COFFRINI, Carl Court, Geoff Caddick, Oli Scarff, CARL COURT, Leon Neal, Philip Toscano, Ricardo Patino, Frank Augstein, David Paul Morris, John Stillwell, Mike, Pompeo, Maria Sol Borja, Alastair Grant, Daniel Leal, Elizabeth Cook, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, ASSANGE, Adrienne Watson, Stella, ”, Gabriel Shipton, he’s, hasn’t, Julian, –, ” Shipton Organizations: Northern Mariana Islands CNN, Northern, Northern Mariana Islands . Justice Department, WikiLeaks, United States, Reuters, Army, Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, British, Justice Department, Guardian, Getty, Swedish Trade Union Confederation, St, Paul's, Court, Ecuadorian Embassy, Oxford Union Society, Ecuadorian Foreign, Southwest Festival, Bloomberg, United Nations Human Rights, United, United Nations, CIA, CNN, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Southwark Crown, White, Sweden, National Security, Department of Justice, BBC Radio Locations: Saipan, Northern Mariana, London, United Kingdom, Hawaii, Northern Mariana Islands, Australia, United States, Iraq, Afghanistan, Sweden, Ecuadorian, Ecuador, Westminster, AFP, Stockholm, Geneva, Switzerland, Austin , Texas, United Nations, Quito, Southwark, Baghdad, Guantanamo Bay

The plea deal allows Assange to avoid prison in the US and return to his native Australia. “That never came up in our conversations,” said David Stilwell, the State Department assistant secretary for the Pacific region during the Trump administration. Sessions’ focus on national security-related leaks was “probably one of the reasons why the [Assange] case had more traction,” Hickey told CNN. Hickey said he was not involved in the Assange case when he was a senior official at DOJ’s National Security Division from 2016 to 2023. Stilwell, the former State Department official under the Trump administration, pushed back on the Assange plea deal.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, Biden, Trump, ”, David Stilwell, Anthony Albanese, Joe Biden, General Merrick Garland, Chelsea Manning, Manning, Barack Obama, Obama, Trump’s, Jeff Sessions, Adam Hickey, ” Hickey, Hickey, “ Assange, who’s, Mayer Brown, Garland, Andrew McCabe, “, it’s, ” McCabe, Stilwell, ” Stilwell, Bradley Moss, would’ve, ” Moss, ” CNN’s Zachary Cohen, Marshall Cohen, Kevin Liptak Organizations: CNN, United, Wikileaks, State Department, Australian, Justice Department, FBI, Northern, London’s, US Justice Department, White, Pentagon, Army, Assange ., Department, Obama, Biden, DOJ’s National Security Division, Protect Journalists, Amnesty International, American Civil Liberties Union, Computer, Ecuadorian Locations: United States, Washington, London, Stockholm, Quito, Ecuador, Australia, Pacific, Virginia, London’s, Northern Mariana Islands, Iraq, Guantanamo, Washington ,

☆ Julian Assange agrees to plea deal with Biden administration that will allow him to avoid imprisonment in US
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Evan Perez | Devan Cole | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

The plea deal would credit that time served, allowing Assange to immediately return to Australia, his native country. The plea deal must still be approved by a federal judge, but as of Monday morning, Assange had been released from a UK prison, according to WikiLeaks. A federal judge in the Northern Mariana Islands set a plea hearing and sentencing for Wednesday morning, according to the US District Court there. President Joe Biden in recent months has alluded to a possible deal pushed by Australian government officials to return Assange to Australia. FBI and Justice Department officials have opposed any deal that didn’t include a felony guilty plea by Assange, people briefed on the matter told CNN.

Persons: Julian Assange, Assange, “ Julian Assange, ” Assange, Chelsea Manning, Manning, Joe Biden, Katelyn Polantz, Holmes Lybrand, Lauren Said, Moorhouse, Claudia Rebaza, Christian Edwards Organizations: CNN, Justice Department, WikiLeaks, High Court, Stansted, Department, Prosecutors, Court, Army, FBI Locations: United States, London, Australia, Northern Mariana Islands, Iraq, Guantanamo

☆ Julian Assange has reached a plea deal with the U.S., allowing him to go free
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-24 | by ( Michael Kosnar | Ryan J. Reilly | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 19: Julian Assange gestures as he speaks to the media from the balcony of the Embassy Of Ecuador on May 19, 2017 in London, England. Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange plans to plead guilty as part of a plea deal with the U.S. Justice Department that will allow him to go free after spending five years in a British prison, according to court documents. Assange was charged by criminal information — which typically signifies a plea deal — with conspiracy to obtain and disclose national defense information, the court documents say. Court documents revealing Assange's plea deal were filed Monday evening in the U.S. District Court for the Northern Mariana Islands, a U.S. territory in the Pacific Ocean. A superseding indictment was returned against Assange more than five years ago, in May 2019, and a second superseding indictment was returned in June 2020.

Persons: Julian Assange, Jack Taylor, Assange, Barack Obama's, Chelsea Manning, —, Robert Mueller, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Trump, Putin, Manning, Obama Organizations: U.S . Justice Department, Department, WikiLeaks, Northern, Ecuadorian Embassy, Court, Democratic National Committee Locations: ENGLAND, Ecuador, London, England, U.S, Afghanistan, Iraq, Northern Mariana Islands, Australia, London —, United States, Russian

☆ Paul Whelan urges Biden admin to take ‘decisive action’ to secure his release as he surpasses 2,000 days in Russian custody
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-22 | by ( Jennifer Hansler | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Whelan said he was aware that Gershkovich’s trial is scheduled to begin behind closed doors in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg next week. Gershkovich, who has been declared wrongfully detained, has also been charged with espionage, which he denies. And in my case, that’s 100% true, and I’m sure in Evan’s case, it’s 100% true. But people go to trial here and they’re automatically guilty, and then they’re given a sentence, and that’s it,” he said. “We put a substantial offer on the table to secure the release of Evan and Paul Whelan some months ago, as we said publicly; we’re continuing to work to secure their release.

Persons: CNN —, Paul Whelan, ”, Biden, Evan Gershkovich, Whelan, “, You’re, it’s, ” Whelan, Evan, Paul, you’ve, ’ ”, Trevor, Reed, – Gordon Black, Alsu Kurmasheva, Gershkovich, they’re, Matthew Miller Organizations: CNN, US State Department, ex, Marine, State Department, ”, Moscow – Locations: Mordovia, Russia, Moscow, Guantanamo, Russian, Yekaterinburg

☆ Qaeda Commander at Guantánamo Bay Is Sentenced for War Crimes
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-20 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

A U.S. military jury on Thursday ordered a former Qaeda commander to a serve a 30-year prison sentence for war crimes carried out by his insurgent forces in wartime Afghanistan in the early 2000s. The military judge excused the panel from the chamber and then announced that, under a plea agreement, the prisoner’s sentence would end in eight years. The outcome was part of the arcane system called military commissions, which allows prisoners to reach plea deals with a senior official at the Pentagon who oversees the war court but requires the formality of a jury sentencing hearing anyway. Mr. Hadi, 63, was aware of the deal that reduced his sentence to 10 years, starting with his guilty plea in June 2022. It was unclear whether victims of attacks by Mr. Hadi’s forces and their family members had been told.

Persons: Abd al, Hadi al, Hadi Organizations: U.S, Pentagon Locations: Afghanistan, C.I.A

☆ On board the Russian warship visiting Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Patrick Oppmann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But now I was in a line for something unexpected: to board a Russian warship docked in Havana’s harbor. When a Russian diplomat told me that starting on Thursday, the Admiral Gorshkov frigate would offer tours to the public for three days, I was somewhat skeptical. People line up to visit Russian frigate Admiral Gorshkov (not pictured) docked in Havana's bay, Cuba, June 13, 2024. I noticed one of the Russian sailors taking in the blue skies and calm waters around us. For a Russian sailor, Cuba could be as good as it gets these days.

Persons: Admiral, Vladimir Putin’s, “, ”, Donald Trump, Gorshkov, Alexandre Meneghini Organizations: Havana CNN —, Cuba’s Ministry of Defense, Cuban Navy, Reuters, Pentagon, US Navy Base Locations: Havana, Cuba, Russian, Havana’s harbor, Kazan, Moscow, Washington, Ukraine, Cuban, Reuters Russian, York, Russia, Guantanamo Bay

☆ Russia says the US doesn't have any reason to worry about the nuclear submarine and the massive warship its navy has cruising off the coast of Cuba
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Aditi Bharade | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Along with two other vessels, these Russian navy assets were scheduled to be stationed in Cuba for a five-day visit. This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Russia's reassurances that the vessels in Cuba pose no harm come in spite of the fact that they are some of the Kremlin's most lethal military assets. Related storiesThe Cuban foreign ministry, for its part, echoed Russia's sentiments, saying that the vessels pose no threat, per Reuters. Representatives for the US Southern Command and Russian defense ministry didn't immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider sent outside regular business hours.

Persons: —, Dmitry Peskov, Gorshkov, Sabrina Singh, Helena, Russia's, didn't Organizations: Service, Russian, Business, Reuters, NATO, Pentagon, Department of Defense, Southern Command, US Southern Command, Business Insider Locations: Russia, Cuba's, Havana, Caribbean, Cuba, Gorshkov Russian, Cuban, United States, Ukraine, Los Angeles, Guantanamo

☆ US nuclear powered submarine arrives in Guantanamo Bay a day after Russian Navy docks in Havana
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-14 | by ( Sam Simpson | Oren Liebermann | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The USS Helena, a fast-attack nuclear submarine, surfaced in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, a day after Russian naval forces arrived in Havana to conduct drills with the island nation, a Russian ally. Navy destroyers, as well as P-8 submarine hunting aircraft, tracked the movements of the Russian ships as they made their way south off the east coast of the United States. People watch a ship belonging to the Russian Navy flotilla arrive at the port of Havana on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, in Havana, Cuba. The USS Pasadena, another Los-Angeles class fast attack submarine, stopped in Guantanamo Bay last July, sparking furor from the Cuban government, which called it an escalation. The Pentagon said the current visit of a Russian submarine to Cuba was “at least in part” a response to last year’s visit of a US submarine.

Persons: Yander Zamora, We’ve, we’ve, ”, Sabrina Singh, “ We’re Organizations: CNN, Russian, US Southern Command, . Southern Command, Navy, Pentagon, Russian Navy, Wednesday, Anadolu, Getty, USS, Angeles Locations: Helena, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Havana, Russian, Florida, United States, Havana , Cuba, Norfolk, Los Angeles, USS Pasadena, Cuban

☆ A US attack submarine and one of Russia's most formidable subs are in Cuba at the same time
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-13 | by ( Jake Epstein | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Read previewA US Navy nuclear-powered attack submarine arrived in Cuba on Thursday, the Pentagon revealed, putting the American combat vessel in the Caribbean nation at the same time as one of Russia's most formidable subs. AdvertisementThe Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Helena transits the Atlantic Ocean. One of these vessels is the Kazan, a Yasan-class nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine. A spokesperson for SOUTHCOM said that the Helena's arrival in Cuba was not a direct response to the Russian naval vessels. AdvertisementThe Russian nuclear-powered submarine Kazan arrives at Havana's harbor on June 12.

Persons: —, Helena, Rafael Martie, SOUTHCOM, ADALBERTO ROQUE, Dmitry Peskov, it's, Sabrina Singh, We're, Singh Organizations: Service, US Navy, Pentagon, US Southern Command, Business, Getty Images, US, Kremlin Locations: Cuba, Caribbean, Helena, Guantanamo Bay, SOUTHCOM's, Los Angeles, Angeles, Havana, Kazan, United States, Havana's, Moscow, Russia, Ukrainian, Washington, Ukraine, Kyiv

☆ Children of ISIS fighters coming of age in detention ask what they’re being punished for
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-11 | by ( Brent Swails | Clarissa Ward | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

Northeastern Syria CNN —He had had visitors just once before, years ago when he first arrived in prison at 14. According to Amnesty, the estimated 30,000 children currently held in at least 27 detention facilities and two detention camps – Al-Hol and Al-Roj – in northeastern Syria represent the highest concentration of children arbitrarily detained and deprived of their freedom anywhere in the world. CNN was granted extremely rare access inside detention camps and facilities for suspected ISIS fighters and their family members, including Panorama prison. ‘A breeding ground for the next generation of ISIS’At Al-Hol, a sprawling detention camp of faded tents, rusted barbed wire and wind-swept earth, the scale of the problem reveals itself. Hoda Muthana holds hands with her 7-year-old son at the Al-Roj detention camp in northeastern Syria.

Persons: Northeastern Syria CNN —, Stefan Uterloo, Uterloo, ” Uterloo, It’s, We’ve, ”, Roj, Mazloum Abdi, ” Mazloum, Erik Kurilla, Mike Pratt, Hol, Ní, Ní Aoláin, “, you’ve, it’s, Shamil Chakar, doesn’t, ” Shamil, ‘, Brandy Salman, Hoda, She’s, Muthana, Trump, Hoda Muthana, Christina Jump, Scott McWhinnie, Oscar Featherstone, Augusta Anthony , Lou Robinson, Sarah Tilotta, Eliza Mackintosh, Laura Smith Organizations: Northeastern, Northeastern Syria CNN, American, CNN, ISIS, Syrian Democratic Forces, Panorama, Amnesty, United Nations, SDF, UN, US military’s, Command, US, Boys, Twitter, State Department Locations: Northeastern Syria, United States, Suriname, Dutch, South America, Syria, Kurdish, Iraq, Hol, Al, Panorama, Baghouz, Cologne, Germany, Minnesota, American, Alabama, US

☆ The U.S. Was Resettling Guantánamo Prisoners. The Hamas Attack Halted Those Plans.
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-21 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The Biden administration was poised to send about a dozen detainees at Guantánamo Bay to Oman for resettlement last year, but it abruptly halted the secret operation amid questions from Congress about security in the Middle East after Hamas attacked Israel, according to administration officials. None of the prisoners have ever been charged with crimes, and all of them had been cleared for transfer by national security review panels. A military cargo plane was already on the runway at Guantánamo Bay ready to airlift the group of Yemeni prisoners to Oman when the trip was called off, people familiar with the military operation said. Belongings they could take with them had been collected, signaling to the prisoners that they would soon be going. Then the plane flew away empty, and their belongings were returned.

Persons: Biden Locations: Guantánamo, Oman, Israel

☆ A Former Guantánamo Prisoner’s New Life
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-09 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | Natalie Keyssar | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

On the 15th night of Ramadan in a suburb of Belize City, Majid Khan and his family of four sat down for a traditional iftar meal to break the daylight hours fast. There was a leg of a lamb that Majid, a former Guantánamo detainee, had slaughtered himself, sweets brought by a sister in Maryland, dates from Saudi Arabia. The talk was small, about whether the biryani dish was too spicy and how the lamb was perfectly roasted. For two decades, this family meal was not possible. He pleaded guilty and became a government cooperator — and, all that time, his wife waited for him in Pakistan.

Persons: Majid Khan, Majid, Hamza, Rabia, Manaal, Khan, — Organizations: Central Locations: Belize City, Maryland, Saudi Arabia, Central American, Al Qaeda, Belize, Indonesia, United States, Guantánamo, Pakistan

☆ Sept. 11 Trial Plea Negotiations Still Underway at Guantánamo Bay
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-01 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | More About Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

Prosecutors and defense lawyers are still negotiating toward a plea agreement for the men accused of plotting the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks despite the Biden administration’s refusal to endorse certain proposed conditions, the lead prosecutor said in court on Wednesday at Guantánamo Bay. “This is all whirling around us,” said Clayton G. Trivett Jr., the prosecutor, discussing key details of the negotiations in open court for the first time. He added that “around the edges we have agreed to do things” and that “the positions that we took at the time are still available.”In mostly secret negotiations in 2022 and 2003, prosecutors offered to drop the death penalty from the case in exchange for detailed admissions by the accused architect, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, and four other men who are charged as his accomplices in the hijackings that killed nearly 3,000 people. Since then, one of the five men has been ruled not mentally competent to stand trial. The occasion of the briefing was a legal filing by lawyers for Ammar al-Baluchi, one of the defendants and Mr. Mohammed’s nephew, asking the judge to dismiss the case or at least the possibility of a death penalty because of real or apparent political interference by Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, and other members of Congress last summer.

Persons: Biden, ”, Clayton G, Trivett Jr, Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, Ammar al, Mohammed’s, Ted Cruz Organizations: Republican Locations: Guantánamo, Texas

☆ Julian Assange’s mission was to change the world - but at what cost?
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-27 | by ( Lauren Said-Moorhouse | Claudia Rebaza | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Julian Assange leaves a Melbourne court after facing charges of computer hacking in 1995. WikiLeaks/ReutersUnder a global spotlightAs WikiLeaks continued its disclosures, Assange found himself the latest cause célèbre – his every movement intensely scrutinized. … He liked the fuss that (the disclosures) caused but he was oddly incurious actually about the documents.”Others offer alternative explanations for Assange’s eccentricities. There were mounting calls for Assange to leave WikiLeaks and, when he didn’t, many cut ties with it. Outside the confines of his diplomatic shelter, the world questioned whether Assange was trying to circumvent justice.

Persons: London CNN — Julian Assange, ”, He’s, Chelsea Manning, Joe Biden, Assange’s, Anthony Albanese, Assange, “, ” –, Julian Assange, Ian Kenins, Sarah Palin’s, Atika Shubert, Shubert, ” Shubert, célèbre, Fidel Narvaez, “ Assange, ” Narvaez, James Ball, Joe Raedle, ” Ball, Ball, …, Narvaez, Hans Crescent, Lenin Moreno, Moreno, Abu Hamza al, Masri, Stella Assange, Daniel Leal, Stella, “ I’m, Nick Vamos, It’s, Alice Jill Edwards, Agnès Callamard, El País, Der Spiegel, Jameel Jaffer, Xiaofei Xu, Alex Stambaugh Organizations: London CNN, WikiLeaks, Court, Ecuadorian, Army, Australian, Pentagon, NASA, University of Melbourne, Fairfax Media, of Scientology, Republican, CNN, Chelsea, Apache, Reuters, Guardian, Ellingham, Hans, London’s Metropolitan Police, US Justice Department, of Justice, Britain's, Getty, Peters & Peters, Prosecution Service, Human Rights, UN, Amnesty, The New York Times, Columbia University Locations: United States, Australian, London’s, Australia, Townsville, Queensland, cybercrime, Melbourne, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq, London, Afghanistan, ”, Sweden, Ecuador, UK’s, Belmarsh

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