Bob CollinsAdnan Farhan Abdul Latif is being held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay.
In July 2010, a federal judge ordered his release — he’s been there for almost nine years — because of lack of evidence that the man was part of al Qaeda.
The man, who is from Yemen, says he went to Afghanistan because he was promised free medical care for head injuries he received in a car accident. The judge says that’s a plausible explanation.
Since then, the Justice Department appealed the ruling. A hearing on the question was opened last spring, and then everyone was tossed out of the courtroom while it continued in secret.
And the judge has now ruled:
That opinion is making the rounds on the Internet, but this document is not:
The Lawfare blog got a copy of it, but doesn’t translate what it means.
A docket entry explains that there is a classified opinion consisting of a 53-page opinion for the court by Judge Janice Rogers Brown, a 14-page concurring opinion by Judge Karen LeCraft Henderson, and a 45-page dissent by Judge David Tatel.
At some point, a redacted opinion will be issued and we might be more informed about what we’re not supposed to know.
