Feature Story
Judges Urge Congress to Act on Indefinite Terrorism Detentions
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - January 22, 2010 2:45 pm EST
Three judges, Chief Judge Royce Lamberth, Judge Ricardo Urbina and Judge Reggie Walton, from left to right, on the federal trial court hearing challenges brought by Guantanamo prisoners are calling on Congress and the Obama administration to enact a law to address one of the nation's most perplexing moral and legal dilemmas: When can the United States indefinitely detain terrorism suspects? Read More »
Major Stories
Why Obama’s Plans for N.Y. Terror Trials Unraveled
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - January 29, 2010 4:36 pm EST
For anyone wondering how one of President Obama’s signature pledges seemed to unravel between Monday and Friday, here’s a look at the week that was.
The Clock Ticks Slowest at Gitmo: Why It’s Taking so Long to Close the Prison
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - December 24, 2009 2:10 pm EST
Nearly a year after taking office, the Obama administration isn’t as close to closing the prison at Guantanamo as it had hoped it would be by now.
Say What? White House Errs on Guantanamo Facts
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - December 16, 2009 2:35 pm EST
Gibbs said more detainees have been transferred in the last eight months than in the previous eight years. But he's wrong.
With Few Strong Cases, Government Rushes Toward Plea Deals for Guantanamo Detainees
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - November 13, 2009 11:59 am EST
While the Pentagon and the Justice Department wrangle over control of the cases, prosecutors move ahead to negotiate with prisoners.
White House Regroups on Guantanamo
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica, and Anne E. Kornblut, Washington Post - September 24, 2009 8:39 pm EST
White House Counsel Greg Craig has been replaced as the point man on the Guantanamo issue as the deadline for closing the prison looms.
More at Stake in Gitmo Court Orders Than Detainees’ Fates
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - August 21, 2009 10:03 am EST
Fundamental questions about habeas corpus rights underlie the legal tug-of-war over the release of some prisoners.
New Gitmo Decision Offers Unusual Insight Into Weakness of Government Evidence
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - August 4, 2009 6:29 pm EST
A judge with deep national security experience says the record against a Guantanamo prisoner is nothing more than speculation.
Their Own Private Guantánamo
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - July 22, 2009 11:14 pm EST
In the absence of guidelines from Congress and the president, federal trial judges have taken individual approaches in evaluating detention cases.
White House Is Drafting Executive Order to Allow Indefinite Detention; Move Would Bypass Congress
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica, and Peter Finn, Washington Post - June 26, 2009 4:25 pm EST
The administration wants to move quickly to establish a new detention system so that it can close the Guantanamo prison by January.
Review of Gitmo Detainees Has Been Slow and Complex
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - June 26, 2009 4:24 pm EST
The work of a task force evaluating the prisoners has been complicated by legal constraints, turf battles and a mountain of documents.
Do CIA Cables Show Doctors Monitoring Torture?
by Sheri Fink, ProPublica - May 28, 2009 8:27 am EST
Word of "medical updates" on a prisoner adds to concerns about doctors' roles in interrogations.
Has Consulting Firm For CIA Gone MIA?
by Sheri Fink, ProPublica - May 27, 2009 11:22 am EST
Reports have linked two former military psychologists to waterboarding. Now their office has closed.
A Secret E-Mail Argument Among Psychologists About Torture
by Sheri Fink, ProPublica - May 8, 2009 2:00 pm EST
In a running debate, members of the American Psychological Association found themselves deeply divided about their profession's involvement in coercive interrogations.
Government Could Destroy Records in Hundreds of Guantanamo Cases
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - May 7, 2009 11:07 am EST
Volumes of letters and notes could be shredded because of concerns about classified information and attorney-client confidentiality.
Tortured Profession: Psychologists Warned of Abusive Interrogations, Then Helped Craft Them
by Sheri Fink, ProPublica - May 5, 2009 8:30 am EST
The government's handling of prisoners put psychologists in a position of working within a system that violated their ethical principles.
Dozens of Prisoners Held by CIA Still Missing, Fates Unknown
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - April 22, 2009 8:16 am EST
More than two years after President Bush acknowledged the program of secret overseas prisons, many who were jailed remain unaccounted for.
Bush Memos Suggest Abuse Isn’t Torture If a Doctor Is There
by Sheri Fink, ProPublica - April 17, 2009 4:38 pm EST
Health professionals were assigned to monitor interrogations and to intervene if coercive techniques went too far.
Newly Released Memo Inadvertently Reveals CIA Held (and Abused) Missing Prisoner
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - April 16, 2009 6:02 pm EST
The government has never discussed the whereabouts of an al-Qaida suspect captured in Iraq, but it now appears he was in a secret prison.
Ongoing Coverage
Reporters’ Appearances
Watch and listen to interviews with the reporters behind Detention Dilemma.
Listen to Dafna Linzer on WNYC’s The Takeaway, Jan. 4, 2010.
Listen to Dafna Linzer on NPR’s Talk of the Nation, Nov. 19, 2009.
Listen to Dafna Linzer on To The Point, with Warren Olney, Nov. 17, 2009.
Listen to Dafna Linzer on the Diane Rehm show on WAMU, Nov. 16, 2009.
Watch Dafna Linzer on The Newshour, with Jim Lehrer, Sept. 28, 2009.
Listen to Chisun Lee on The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC, Aug. 6, 2009.
Listen to Dafna Linzer on To The Point, with Warren Olney, July 2, 2009.
Watch a conversation between Dafna Linzer and Mark Danner on Bloggingheads TV, May 13, 2009.
Listen to Chisun Lee on Democracy Now, Jan. 28, 2009.
Dafna Linzer on KUOW
by Mike Webb, ProPublica - February 1, 2010 12:12 pm EST
Why Many Guantanamo Detainees Ordered Released Are Still Stuck There
by Christopher Flavelle, ProPublica - October 12, 2009 9:59 am EST
The government has been slow to resolve even the easier cases involving Guantanamo prisoners.
Gitmo Detainees Coming to America; Next Steps Unclear
by Christopher Flavelle, ProPublica - December 15, 2009 5:34 pm EST
The U.S. said it would transfer some detainees to a nearly vacant maximum security prison in Illinois, but details on when or how many remain sketchy.
Happy Birthday, Gitmo
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - November 13, 2009 3:59 pm EST
Today marks the eighth anniversary of the creation of the legal foundation for the prison and the second-tier justice system established to try terrorism suspects there.
Tracking Obama’s Struggles to Defend Gitmo Detentions
by Chisun Lee, ProPublica - August 7, 2009 1:31 pm EST
An updated look at the court cases of prisoners who have challenged their detentions at Guantanamo Bay.
Obama Seems to Rule Out Executive Order on Indefinite Detentions
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - July 2, 2009 6:00 pm EST
The president, wrestling with the closure of the prison at Guantanamo Bay, says he will seek congressional approval for a policy on holding terrorism suspects.
Judge’s Order May Force Gov’t to Outright Dismiss Case
by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - January 29, 2009 5:35 pm EST
The Obama administration has suspended war crimes trials at Guantanamo, but a military judge in one case rejects a delay.





Obama's Preventive Detention Problem
Interactive: 41 Gitmo Cases Decided by Judges
List of Likely CIA Prisoners Who Are Still Missing
Torture Memos vs. Red Cross Report: Prisoners' Recollections Differ From Guidelines
The Missing Memos
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