WASHINGTON, 5 February 2004 — A US citizen jailed since he was captured with Taleban soldiers in Afghanistan in 2001 met with his attorney for the first time Tuesday in a jailhouse session that marked a milestone in the government’s legal war against terrorism.
Federal public defender Frank W. Dunham Jr. emerged from the one-hour meeting with Yaser Esam Hamdi, whom the government has declared an “enemy combatant,” and said he was pleased finally to see the man whose case he has litigated — sight unseen — for more than two years.
“This was becoming a hypothetical case to us, and now were are reminded it’s about a human being who happens to be a US citizen,”
Dunham said. “Seeing the client in person, being able to put a human face on this case, had an effect on me that is not measurable.”
Dunham and assistant federal public defender Geremy Kamens delivered legal papers and newspaper articles to Hamdi, who Dunham said seemed equally happy to see his attorneys. “I’m sure it made an impression on a client who has been looking down a lightless tunnel for 2 1/2 years, not knowing anyone is doing anything for him, and now he knows that he has a case in the US Supreme Court.”
But Dunham continued his criticism of the restrictions that the military placed on the meeting at the Charleston Consolidated Naval Brig in South Carolina. Under guidelines drafted by Pentagon lawyers, military observers attended and recorded the meeting, and Dunham was not allowed to question Hamdi about the conditions of his confinement.
“We were not able to talk about anything substantive,” Dunham said.
Legal experts said the meeting was significant amid a debate over the Bush administration’s handling of the war on terrorism and with the Supreme Court scheduled to take up Hamdi’s case in April. Hamdi is the first of the three people known to have been designated enemy combatants by the military to meet with an attorney.
“This is a significant breakthrough,” said Kim Lane Scheppele, a law professor at the University of Pennsylvania. “It matters that this guy knows he has a case and knows he has legal representation. It’s an improvement over solitary confinement.”
