France taking a Guantanamo Prisoner - to put him in jail

Here is a link to the most complete article I found concerning Nicolas Sarkozy's announcement that France would be accepting an prisoner transfered to their territory from Guantanamo Bay. Unfortunately President Sarkozy clarified that Mr Lakhdar Boumediene (for whom the important Bouediene v. Bush case was named) will be going to a French prison! This seems outrageous to me. Boumediene v. Bush is the case that was overturned by the US Supreme Court in June 2008 allowing (finally!) for prisoners at Guantanamo Bay to demand writs of habeas corpus. It was a huge move for the court system and an important step in bringing our legal system into balance after to Bush years of the war on terror.

As you know if you have followed my blogging on this case Mr. Boumediene was captured in Bosnia (where he was living as a legal resident with his family) in 2002 upon suspicion of the US government that he was planning to bomb the US embassy in Sarajevo. After a four month investigation by the Bosnian police he was cleared of all charges put under humanitarian protection so that he would not be taken out of the country. He was then promptly handed over the American forces when the US threatened to break diplomatic ties with Bosnia. He has been held in GB since January of 2002. The US government quickly dropped charges for planning a bombing in Bosnia. However he has not been released.

You can read for yourself the article. I will try to find one in English.

The main point is: Why would he go into prison in France? The US government does not have evidence against him that allows him to be labeled an enemy combatant and he is, for all legal purposes, supposed to be released from prison. The Obama administration has said that they would share all information on the cases of particular detainees moving to European countries with their host countries. There should be no reason for Mr. Boumediene to be sent to prison upon his arrival in France.

I believe that the reason he would be coming to France is because he has Algerian origins (and likely speaks French). However this is only my assumption.

I hope Obama does something about this. We will see. Here is a link to an English version of the story, however they do not mention Sarkozy's final remark about sending Mr. Boumediene to a French prison. I will keep you updated on what I find.

Here is another short but interesting article about previous GB detainees in the French court system - perhaps Sarkozy is thinking that Boumediene's case will be reseen within the French court system?