It's not often that the Justice Department wants court papers unsealed in Guantanamo Bay detainee litigation. Lawyers for detainees are usually the ones fighting to open up records.
In a case in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, the Justice Department appears to be on the winning side in an detainee dispute—and the department wants the court's opinion, issued in January, released to the public.
The fact the opinion in Djamel Ameziane v. Barack Obama, et al. is under seal means DOJ can’t easily apply it to pending detainee cases, assuming there is some larger value in the opinion.
Several lawyers who represent detainees said the Justice Department’s request to unseal the opinion is unusual. A lawyer for Ameziane, J. Wells Dixon of the Center for Constitutional Rights in New York, declined to comment about any aspect of the case.
Yesterday, a three-judge panel—Judges Douglas Ginsburg, Thomas Griffith and Janice Rogers Brown—rejected in a split vote the government’s motion for the release of a redacted opinion. Ginsburg wanted to publish a redacted version.
What’s all the fuss about? Tough to discern since the bulk of court papers in Ameziane’s case remain under seal both in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and in the appellate court.
Here’s what is known. Ameziane’s lawyers filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in February 2005. Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle issued a ruling last June—under seal—that the Justice Department appealed to the D.C. Circuit within days. The nature of the ruling isn't known.
The D.C. Circuit on Oct. 8 held oral argument in a closed-door session. DOJ had asked that the public be barred from the courtroom. Dixon of the Center for Constitutional Rights argued for Ameziane. Justice Department Civil Division appellate attorney August Flentje argued the government’s case.
The appeals court issued its opinion under seal Jan. 8. Five days later, Justice attorneys filed court papers urging the D.C. Circuit to release a redacted opinion. Ameziane’s lawyers opposed the release of a redacted opinion.
Yesterday’s panel decision said the Justice Department’s request is denied without prejudice.
According to CCR, Ameziane fled Algeria more than a decade ago and sought refuge in Austria and Canada, where he was denied asylum. Ameziane traveled to Afghanistan where “he was an easy target for corrupt local police who captured him while he was trying to cross the border into Pakistan,” the CCR said. Ameziane was transported to Guantanamo in 2002.
“Mr. Ameziane has never been alleged by the U.S. government to have engaged in any acts of terrorism or hostilities,” the CCR said in a press statement in 2008.
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