U.S. lifts ban on repatriations to Yemen -- just this once

President Barack Obama's administration has informed Congress that it will repatriate Guantánamo Bay detainee Mohammed Odaini, also known as Mohammed Mohammed Hassen, after federal Judge Henry Kennedy Jr. ordered his release in late May (Washington Post). However, administration officials made it clear that Odaini's release did not mark a lifting of the current ban on repatriating Yemenis, who make up nearly half the remaining detainee population at Guantánamo (AFP). Kennedy's written decision emphatically endorsed Odaini's habeas plea, and various government officials had recommended several times since 2002 that Odaini be released.

The Yemenis are only one of the stumbling blocks to shuttering the prison. As Charlie Savage reports, Guantánamo is unlikely to close by the end of Obama's term in 2013, due to political pressure, congressional opposition, and the higher precedence given to other administration priorities (NYT). The New York Times has obtained a document showing that the government spent roughly $2 billion on the prison between 2002 and 2009 (NYT).

Speaking of closing Guantánamo...

The prison at Gitmo received a new commander on June 28, as Rear Adm. Jeffrey Harbeson took over for Rear Adm. Thomas Copeman III, who was originally brought in by Obama with the mission of closing the camp (Miami Herald). Obama reportedly told Saudi King Abdullah that he remained committed to closing the facility during a face-to-face meeting this week (Washington Post).

A military judge heard arguments this week and will decide whether Sudanese detainee Noor Uthman Mohammed will have access to an Arabic-speaking psychologist before his as-yet unscheduled trial by military tribunal (Miami Herald). And separately, a federal judge ruled that the first former Guantánamo detainee to face a civilian trial, Ahmed Ghailani, is mentally competent to face the terrorism-related charges against him (WSJ).

Trouble brewing in U.K. over detainee treatment

Under pressure from human rights groups and former detainees, the British government said June 28 it would soon update and release the guidelines given to British intelligence officers instructing them how to avoid being complicit in the torture of terrorism suspects abroad (AP, Guardian). The guidelines have been rewritten twice since the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, and the British government wants to keep the past guidelines secret. A Human Rights Watch report released June 29 accused the British government of benefiting from intelligence gathered by torture (BBC, AFP).

David Cameron's government is reportedly planning a judicial inquiry into the actions of MI5 and MI6 officers after 9/11, and there is a possibility that compensation will be offered to former detainees if the inquiry finds British operatives were complicit in their abuse (AFP, Telegraph). In a related case, Briton Rangzieb Ahmed,  currently serving a life sentence for membership in al Qaeda and "directing terrorism" has won the right to appeal his conviction, based on his claim that British intelligence officers knew of his alleged mistreatment at the hands of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence, but still fed the ISI questions to ask him (BBC).

Trial and a plea deal in J.F.K. bombing plot

The trial of two men arrested in 2007 and accused of plotting to bomb fuel containers, buildings and a pipeline at J.F.K. Airport in New York City began June 30 in Brooklyn, NY (NYT). The government asserts that the two men, Russel Defreitas and Abdul Kadir, took "concrete steps" toward attacking the airport. However, Defreitas's lawyer said the man was "all sizzle and no steak" and raised doubts about the role played by the government's informant in the case (Reuters).

Another man arrested in connection with the plot, Abdel Nur, pleaded guilty June 29 to providing "material support" for the plan, as well as allegedly traveling to Trinidad with Defreitas to meet with a militant Islamist group there (NYT). Nur and Defreitas allegedly also tried to meet with wanted al Qaeda operative Adnan Shukrijumah, whom authorities on July 1 said they had linked to Najibullah Zazi's plot to attack the New York subway system last year (AP). The Saudi-born Shukrijumah spent at least part of his childhood in Brooklyn.

Trials and Tribulations

• National Counterterrorism Center Director Michael Leiter on June 30 told the Aspen Security Forum that radical cleric Anwar al-Awlaki had a "direct operational role" in the Christmas Day bombing attempt, but dodged questions about whether he was on a U.S. "hit list" (CNN). Awlaki appears as the author of an article in a new English-language magazine, supposedly from al Qaeda, whose authenticity has been debated in the press (Guardian, Atlantic).
• The lawyer for five Americans convicted on terrorism charges and sentenced to 10 years in prison in Pakistan last week filed an appeal on June 28 (Dawn).
• In an interview with a New Jersey newspaper, the parents of Mohamed Alessa, arrested for allegedly trying to join the Somali group al-Shabaab, argued that he had been monitored since he was a teenager, and was pushed to "act like a terrorist" by an undercover government agent (AP).
• The European Union and the United States struck a deal this week allowing for continued access to European financial transaction information in return for promises of stronger privacy protections and increased oversight regarding the use of the data by U.S. authorities (Washington Post, AFP).
• Humanitarian groups are still trying to assess how last week's Supreme Court decision to uphold the "material support" provision governing aid to terrorist organizations will affect their operations (UPI).