2 ordered not to discuss Gitmo claims

AP ^ | 10/14/6 | MIRANDA LEITSINGER

[SmithL]

A paralegal and a military lawyer who brought forward allegations about prisoner abuse at the Guantanamo Bay detention center have been ordered not to speak with the press, lawyers and a military spokeswoman said Saturday.

Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a complaint with the Pentagon last week alleging that abuse was ongoing at the prison. He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.

Muneer Ahmad, a civilian defense lawyer for Omar Khadr, a Canadian detainee whose military counsel is Vokey, said that Vokey and Cerveny were ordered Friday by the U.S. Marines not to speak with the press.

A spokeswoman for the Marines confirmed the order, saying Vokey's supervisor — Col. Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel — had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts."

"This is necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys," the spokeswoman, 1st Lt. Blanca E. Binstock, said in a statement.

Reached by telephone, Vokey declined to comment, saying, "I can't even talk about it." When asked if he was going to abide by the order for the time being, he said, "Yes."

Telephone calls placed to Cerveny and a Pentagon spokesman were not immediately returned.

Ahmad said Vokey was also barred from talking to the media about anything related to the military commissions — tribunals set up to try detainees. He said he didn't know how the order was issued and that Vokey previously had the military's authorization to speak with the media.

"I think he is very concerned about his ability to perform his job as a lawyer," Ahmad said. "It's really quite troubling ... at this point I'm not sure what our next steps will be."

Cerveny, 23, visited Guantanamo last month and has said she spent an hour with the guards at the military club. She said the guards stopped discussing beating detainees after finding out that she works for a detainee's legal team.

"It was a general consensus that I (detected) that as a group this is something they did. That this was OK at Guantanamo, that this is how the detainees get treated," Cerveny said in a telephone interview Thursday.

Gen. John Craddock, commander of the U.S. Southern Command, said Friday that he had ordered an investigation headed by an Army colonel.

The military Joint Task Force that runs the detention camps in Guantanamo Bay pledged to work with investigators from the Southern Command, which oversees U.S. military operations in the Caribbean and Latin America.

There are now 454 detainees at Guantanamo Bay, according to Vincent Lusser, a spokesman for the Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross.

Guantanamo Bay began receiving prisoners, most of them captured in Afghanistan and Pakistan, in January 2002. Only 10 of the detainees have been charged with crimes.

[SmithL]

Marine Corps Sgt. Heather Cerveny poses for a photo after talking about the allegations of abuse at Guantanamo Bay during an interview with the Associated Press at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, Calif. Friday, Oct. 13, 2006. Marine Lt. Col. Colby Vokey, who represents a detainee at the U.S. naval base in eastern Cuba, filed a 'hotline' complaint last week, attaching a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, 23. In it, Cerveny described comments made by several guards in a bar at Guantanamo Bay. Several of them bragged about beating detainees and described it as common practice.

[frankjr]

"Cerveny described comments made by several guards in a bar "

Um, yeah, that's real good "evidence". The press does't really need any supportable facts to run with a story as long as it makes the U.S. look bad.

[PajamaTruthMafia]

The few. The Proud. The Paralegals

[Eagles6]

Gee Heather, do ya think maybe you had a few to many that night and things aren't real clear? Maybe you didn't get a phone call after a heavy night? Maybe a bunch of young guys in a high stress job lettin' off some steam in front of one of the few females they see, after a few beers might, just might be, shall we say, be embellishing?

Well Heather, your career is made, paid for by the USMC. Hope you look good in a burka. They say lynne stewart is a good kisser.

Anyone who wants to be an attorney should be barred from the military. Hell, they should be barred from reproducing.

Sorry if I offended the honorable attorneys. (Both of you).

[PajamaTruthMafia]

What would Heather the paralegal do?

The prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay during the war on terror have attacked their military guards hundreds of times, turning broken toilet parts, utensils, radios and even a bloody lizard tail into makeshift weapons, Pentagon reports say.

Incident reports reviewed by The Associated Press indicate Military Police guards are routinely head-butted, spat upon and doused by "cocktails" of feces, urine, vomit and sperm collected in meal cups by the prisoners.

Gitmo Guards Often Attacked by Detainees

[Fred Nerks]

Throw her in with the detainees.

[TheCrusader]

"He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, "

Drunks boasting in a barroom about fantastic deeds isn't anything new. But ever since we've allowed females into the military we've seen more wussy little turncoats than ever before.

[operation clinton cleanup]

Cerveny, 23, visited Guantanamo last month and has said she spent an hour with the guards at the military club. She said the guards stopped discussing beating detainees after finding out that she works for a detainee's legal team.

I once told a young lady I was an F-15 pilot at an NCO club.... good thing I was not under oath!

[justche]

do the knuckles dragging help you keep your balance when you're walking?

[PajamaTruthMafia]

[He Rides A White Horse]

He attached a sworn statement from his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny, in which she said several Guantanamo guards bragged in a bar about beating detainees, describing it as common practice.

My initial reaction was that Cerveny is bucking for a discharge. I could be wrong, but that was my feeling.

[mtntop3]

That a military aide - or personnel of any grade level - would discuss with a commercial news medium an asserted breach of military conduct by other personnel is simply bizarre.

She, and her superiors(s), - assuming both went through basic training - should have known that you do not discuss military matters, especially such as this, outside the investigatory unit.

Both would probably be summarily ejected from the U. S. Marines if it were not for the fact that such an action would raise a public and Congressional clamor. The stockade is really where they should be. They have, without any authorization of any nature, disseminated information which the enemy will utilize.

Even if the charges were valid and evidence supported them, the premature and public dissemination of the allegations would be found to be prejudicial to the defendants - and thus the charges deemed null and void.

[rlmorel]

She and her superior should be Court Martialed.

Sorry assed excuses for Marines.

[art_rocks]

I knew a female SGT who worked nights at a country bar. She told me the following story.

A few soldiers came into the bar saying they were Rangers and talking about their days activities. The soldiers were boasting about their jump. One soldier said he even jumped without a parachute. The soldiers asked her what she did. She told them that she was a rigger. The soldiers stood up and walked out.

I started laughing when she told me the story.

A rigger is the soldier who packs parachutes.

Soldiers(men) will always embellish their stories.

However, she has the duty to report the story. It's for the investigators to determine if the evidence is good.

She doesn't need to be talking to the press.

[gonzo]

"...his paralegal, Sgt. Heather Cerveny..."

What? Does that mean she can't walk?

Now before anyone gets the idea that I don't appreciate handycripple people, I do! If it wasn't for them, I'd never get a parking spot at the grocery store.

"...Cerveny described comments made by several guards..."

Isn't that hearsay - by someone with an adgenda, perhaps?

What is it with these butch-broads anyway?

Well, my job's done here................FRegards