Friday, October 22, 2004

*Judge: Guantánamo Detainees Can Meet Lawyers Alone

In a defeat for the government, a federal judge ruled on Wednesday that three prisoners held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba can meet with their attorneys in private.
U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly rejected the government's proposal for audio and video monitoring and for a review of notes taken at the meeting because it would undermine the attorney-client relationship.
"The court is acutely aware of the delicate balance that must be struck when weighing the importance of national security against the rights of the individual," she said in the 25-page ruling.
"However, the government has supplied only the most slender legal support for its argument, which cannot withstand the weight of the authority surrounding the importance of the attorney-client privilege," she concluded.

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