D.C. Circuit Argument in al-Zahrani

The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral arguments on Thursday in the case of Al-Zahrani v. Rodriguez, which--believe it or not--is not a Guantanamo habeas case. It is, however, a Guantanamo case--and the only one that has ever gotten me labeled "The Worst Possible Person in the World." (My life has few distinctions, but this honor is surely one.) This the case, you may remember, that relates to three reported suicides at Guantanano in 2006; conspiracy theories about these deaths have abounded, most notably Scott Horton's risible suggestion in Harpers magazine that U.S. service personnel tortured the three to death--a matter I addressed here and here. As Raffaela noted in this post, the plaintiffs, family members of two of the detainees who killed themselves, sued over “the prolonged arbitrary detention, torture and cruel treatment Yasser Al-Zahrani and Salah Ali Abdullah Ahmed Al-Salami suffered in the custody of the United States and its agents at Guantanamo, and to hold responsible those officials charged with the custody and care of their sons for their sons’ injuries and ultimate deaths. Plaintiffs also bring this action to seek compensation for the emotional suffering they experienced as a result of Defendants’ arbitrary detention of their sons and callous and cruel response following their deaths.” Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle dismissed the case and denied the plaintiffs’ motion to reconsider the dismissal. The appellant’s brief is available here. The governement's brief, which cites Lawfare, is available here. (Note to all attorneys: citing Lawfare in your briefs will, I assure you, guarantee that your client prevails.) The appellant's reply brief is available here. The matter will be argued before a three-judge panel consisting of Judges David Sentelle, A. Raymond Randolph, and Stephen Williams.