[JURIST] A US Department of Justice lawyer has informed lawyers representing some 40 detainees at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST report] that they will no longer be able to visit with or send written communications to their clients. DOJ lawyer Andrew I. Warden sent an e-mail to the detainees' counsel Friday, referencing a court ruling [CCR press release] issued by US District Judge Ricardo Urbina last week. Urbina dismissed 16 habeas corpus challenges brought on behalf of at least 40 detainees and in doing so also rendered invalid protocols that had been established governing lawyers' access to detainees. The DOJ has put in place a series of steps for attorneys wishing to resume contact with detainees, but one detainee lawyer, Wells Dixon, called the measures "the latest example of the government's efforts to frustrate counsel access to detainees."

Earlier this year, the DOJ sought to restrict lawyer visits [JURIST report], but Guantanamo commander Rear Adm. Harry Harris later backed away from the proposal. AP has more.