This is the front cover of a pamphlet produced by a Kuwaiti-based anti-Guantanamo organization to try and win the release of two Kuwaiti prisoners, pictured on the cover of the pamphlet, who are detained at the detention facility. The commander of Guantanamo, Rear Adm. David Woods, accused one of the detainee's attorneys of "smuggling" the pamphlet into Guantanamo three weeks before he issued a widely condemned order calling for a review of detainees' legal mail. (Image: Lt. Col. Barry Wingard)

Regular TPC readers are more than aware of my ongoing series of posts about Guantanamo Bay detainee Fayiz Al-Kandari and his attorney Lt. Col. Barry Wingard.

My dear friend and top notch investigative reporter, Jason Leopold, has a post up about them at Truthout.org that he has invited me to share. He writes about a disturbing turn of events that deserves way more attention than it will get.

Here’s a portion of what he wrote; please go here for the rest:

“The first thing I said when I found out about this is ‘someone is planting shit’ and trying to pin it on the attorneys,” said Wingard. “To this date, neither Commander Woods nor anyone else from Joint Task Force-Guantanamo has extended the courtesy of addressing me in this matter and has not shared any conclusions of an investigation, if one was ever conducted.” [...]

Wingard believes the issue surrounding the pamphlet is part of a larger effort orchestrated by the US government to sabotage his efforts to secure al-Kandari’s release from Guantanamo, whose petition for habeas corpus was denied two years ago. [...]

Several attorneys representing detainees in habeas corpus cases learned that month that Woods, who had just been named commander of Guantanamo in August, had ordered a search of the cells and that prison staff had been reading, reviewing and confiscating detainees’ legal mail.

The habeas corpus attorneys, all of who hold top-secret security clearance and operate under a separate set of rules related to the review of legal mail, immediately contacted Justice Department lawyers, objecting to what was then an unwritten policy implemented by Woods. The attorneys noted that his policy violated attorney-client privilege. [...]

“What’s astounding,” Wingard added, “is that we are military officers with top-secret security clearances and law licenses who go to war with your sons and daughters. What Commander Woods’ order essentially says is that ‘we don’t trust you or the legal system you are sworn to protect.’”

In the meantime, per Colwell’s instructions, Wingard has not been sending mail to al-Kandari, who has been detained at Guantanamo for a decade, or the other detainee he represents, Abdul Ghani, an Afghani who has been held there since 2003.

“I hope this gets resolved,” Wingard said. “But I doubt it. I’ve already instructed my clients to destroy everything I’ve sent to them.”

Please read the whole post here. It’s lengthy, but it’s too important to ignore.

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All my previous posts on this subject matter can be found here; That link includes one specific to only *Fayiz al-Kandari’s story here.

Here are audio and video interviews with Lt. Col. Wingard, one by David Shuster, one by Ana Marie Cox, and more. My guest commentary at BuzzFlash is here.

Lt. Col. Barry Wingard is a military attorney who represents Fayiz Al-Kandari in the Military Commission process and in no way represents the opinions of his home state. When not on active duty, Colonel Wingard is a public defender in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

If you are inclined to help rectify these injustices: Twitterers, use the hashtag #FreeFayiz. We have organized a team to get these stories out. If you are interested in helping Fayiz out, e-mail me at The Political Carnival, address in sidebar to the right; or tweet me at @GottaLaff.

If you’d like to see other ways you can take action, go here and scroll down to the end of the article.

Then read Jane Mayer’s book The Dark Side. You’ll have a much greater understanding of why I post endlessly about this, and why I’m all over the CIA deception issues, too.

More of Fayiz’s story here, at Answers.com.