Jack Idema - Released

Some links on Jack Idema who has been freed Well it has finally happened, Cao has known about this for some time but has been awaiting the official announcement of this. Also links here and here.

WASHINGTON: An American prisoner held in Afghanistan for allegedly running a private prison was scheduled to be released from his Afghan prison as the State Department and the FBI faced a Tuesday deadline to answer allegations that they ordered his torture and manipulated the Afghan judicial system.

Jack Idema is the last of three U.S. citizens imprisoned in Afghanistan in the alleged operation. Idema said they were hunting terrorists as part of a mission sanctioned by U.S. counterterror officials.

Idema’s attorneys filed a lawsuit in Washington in 2005 challenging his detention. Idema accused the State Department and FBI of illegally keeping him imprisoned in a deplorable Afghan prison, directing his torture, destroying evidence and ultimately trying to have him killed. He said he has audio recordings and documents to back up his claims.

U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan had said he was “deeply troubled” by the allegations and had given the U.S. government until Tuesday to respond.

“Petitioners allege that United States officials ordered their arrest, ordered their torture, stole exculpatory evidence during their trial and appeal, exerted undue influence over Afghan judges, and either directly or indirectly ordered judges who found petitioners innocent not to release petitioners from prison,” Sullivan wrote.

The U.S. Justice Department, which represents the government in court, did not respond to the Tuesday deadline. Instead, government attorneys asked that the case be thrown out because they say the Afghan government granted Idema amnesty and commuted his sentence.

“As soon as the travel arrangements for Mr. Idemas’ departure from the country are made, his release and deportation should follow imminently,” government attorneys wrote April 5. “Indeed, as of the time of this filing, it is our understanding that Mr. Idema’s release is imminent.”

Idema’s lawyer, John E. Tiffany, said the U.S. government coordinated Idema’s amnesty to avoid having to respond to the allegations of torture and government misconduct.

“The Afghan government doesn’t do anything unless the United States government tells them to do it,” Tiffany said. “They got caught with their pants down. Finally, a federal judge with courage and intellect said, ‘Hey, wait a minute. Let’s look at this.’”

Tiffany compared the case to that of Jose Padilla, who was arrested in 2002 on suspicion of plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb.” Papilla was declared an enemy combatant and was held in a brig without criminal charges. Before the Supreme Court could decide whether that was legal, the government reversed course and charged him in civilian court on lesser charges.

“They would like nothing more than never having to respond,” Tiffany said. “If they have to respond to a laundry list of areas that the judge very clearly laid out, you put yourself of great risk of taking positions that will be exposed as lies.”

Government attorneys said that’s not the case. The State Department learned that Idema’s amnesty was final on March 15, nearly a week before Sullivan’s order, according to court documents.

Idema was captured in 2004 with fellow Americans Brent Bennett and Edward Caraballo. Idema and Bennett are former U.S. soldiers. Caraballo was an investigative journalist. Bennett and Caraballo have since been released.

Tiffany said Monday he did not know whether Idema has been freed. An Afghan official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information, said Idema remains in Policharki, the main prison in Kabul.

The Justice Department said in court documents that Idema was holding up his own release by refusing to leave Afghanistan without Bennett’s dog.

“Mr. Idema replied with words to the effect that he had made a promise to Mr. Bennett on his life that he would take the dog with him when he went, and that the only way he would leave Afghanistan without the dog was if they carried out his dead body,” government attorneys wrote.

The U.S. Embassy in Afghanistan had no comment on Idema’s case.
Sullivan has not ruled whether to dismiss the case.

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update:Hi. I'm happy, after more than two years, that I don't have to open this email by writing 'here's this week's Free Jack Idema Blogburst'. See, as of today, it very much looks as though Jack Idema *is* a free man. After two of the tensest months for the whole campaign, it seems the long communication blackout has been broken by the best news any of us could have hoped for. The US State Department and Karzai government blinked. Where exactly this leaves the weekly blogbursts, of course, still very much depends on our receiving final and absolute confirmation that Jack's breathing free air.

And, of course, once that happens, I'll put together a final, wrap-up-and-thankyou post. As for Jack Idema, for the first time since 2004, his name is news around the world. Not as torturer, con-man, crook and fantasist, but as the soldier who was 'disappeared' by his own government. Well, for every one of you who posted on this, week-in, week-out, you can tell your friends: 'Jack Idema was always news for me.' And you can tell them that, in spite of all the lies, the distortions and the politics, you had the good sense to bet on the honour of a Green Beret. And how your trust was vindicated. Lastly, could I ask everyone to drop over to Cao's Blog and leave a comment?

Sure, I do the weekly-blogbursts, but ALL of the hard work on this campaign has been done by her. Right now, she surely deserves all of our applause. All the Best,Rotty

The Free Jack Idema Blogroll:
The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill The Lone Voice Kender’s Musings Irate Nate The Devil’s Kitchen Cao’s Blog Big Dog’s Weblog Theodore’s World NIF Rottweiler Puppy Right For Scotland Freedom Folks The City Troll Sacramento Boxing Causes of Interest Concatenation of Events Hyscience Stuck On Stupid The Daily Blogster You Don’t Know Jack Right Wing Nation Ron’s Musings Right Voices 7.62mm Justice Special/Blown-It And Rightly So! Causal Nexus Death To The Swiss A Real Man
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