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Threat of Punishment Against Lawyers Alleged; Guantanamo Bay

The Miami Herald
October 16, 2006

The U.S. Marine Corps has threatened to punish two members of the military legal team representing a terror suspect at GuantánamoBay if they continue to speak publicly about reported prisoner abuse, a civilian lawyer from the defense team said.

The action directed at Lt. Col. Colby Vokey and Sgt. Heather Cerveny follows their report last week that Guantanamo guards bragged about beating detainees, said Muneer Ahmad, an AmericanUniversity law professor who assists in the defense of Canadian suspect Omar Khadr.

The order has heightened fears among military defense lawyers for Guantánamo prisoners that their careers will suffer for exposing injustices, Ahmad said Saturday.

''In one fell swoop, the government is gagging a defense lawyer and threatening retaliation against a whistle-blower,'' Ahmad said. ``It really points out what is wrong with the detainee legislation that [President] Bush is scheduled to sign on Tuesday: It permits the abuse of detainees to continue, immunizes the wrongdoers and precludes the detainees from ever challenging it in court.''

The Marine Corps said the gag order was issued to ensure the legal team's compliance with professional standards.

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