Armed Conflict Courts & Litigation Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law Terrorism & Extremism

DDC to GTMO: No Force Feeding Detainee Until Hearing

Wells Bennett
Friday, May 16, 2014, 7:44 PM
That's perhaps the most eye-catching feature of this just-issued preservation order from U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler. It reads, in pertinent part:

On April 18, 2014, Petitioner Mohammed Abu Wa’el (Jihad) Dhiab filed an Application for Preliminary Injunction and an Immediate Order for Disclosure of Protocols Forthwith [Dkt. No. 203].

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That's perhaps the most eye-catching feature of this just-issued preservation order from U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler. It reads, in pertinent part:

On April 18, 2014, Petitioner Mohammed Abu Wa’el (Jihad) Dhiab filed an Application for Preliminary Injunction and an Immediate Order for Disclosure of Protocols Forthwith [Dkt. No. 203]. On May 2, 2014, the Court set a Motion Hearing on Petitioner’s Application for Preliminary Injunction for May 21, 2014. That Motion became fully briefed on May 12, 2014.

On May 13, 2014, Petitioner filed an Emergency Motion For Order Compelling Preservation of Evidence and Limited Discovery, by May 18, 2014, of Medical Records and Videotapes of Force-Feedings and Forcible Cell Extractions [Dkt. No. 217]. On May 15, 2014, the Government filed an Opposition to Petitioner’s Emergency Motion [Dkt. No. 219], and on May 16, 2014, Petitioner filed a Reply [Dkt. No. 220].

With the filing of Petitioner’s Emergency Motion, it has become apparent that his Application for Preliminary Injunction, despite being fully briefed, is simply not in a posture to be heard at the May 21, 2014, hearing set by the Court. Consequently, it is hereby

ORDERED, that the Motion Hearing set for May 21, 2014, shall be converted to a Status Conference at which the Government shall inform the Court when Petitioner’s medical records from April 9, 2013, to May 13, 2014, can be produced;and it is further

ORDERED, that the Government shall inform the Court at the May 21, 2014, status conference when all videotapes of Petitioner's Forcible Cell Extractions for purposes of enteral feeding and all videotapes of Petitioner’s enteral feedings between April 9, 2013, and February 19, 2014, can be produced; and it is further

ORDERED, that Respondents shall preserve and maintain all relevant videotapes of Petitioner's Forcible Cell Extractions for purposes of enteral feeding and all videotapes of Petitioner’s enteral feedings between April 9, 2013, and February 19, 2014; and it is further

ORDERED, that Respondents are TEMPORARILY RESTRAINED from any Forcible Cell Extractions of Petitioner for purposes of enteral feeding and any enteral feeding of Petitioner until May 21, 2014.

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Armed Conflict Courts & Litigation Criminal Justice & the Rule of Law Terrorism & Extremism
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Wells Bennett

Wells Bennett

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Wells C. Bennett was Managing Editor of Lawfare and a Fellow in National Security Law at the Brookings Institution. Before coming to Brookings, he was an Associate at Arnold & Porter LLP.

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