German Foreign Minister denies refusing to accept German-Turk Gitmo detainee News
German Foreign Minister denies refusing to accept German-Turk Gitmo detainee

[JURIST] German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier [BBC profile] said Tuesday that he was unaware of a US offer to release Guantanamo Bay detainee Murat Kurnaz [JURIST news archive], a German-born Turk, to Germany in 2002 notwithstanding a finding by a committee of the European parliament investigating CIA activity in Europe [JURIST report] that Germany refused the offer, extending Kurnaz' detention for three years. Kurnaz, arrested by US officials in Pakistan shortly after September 11, was held at Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] from 2002 to 2006 and released last August [JURIST report] in response to repeated appeals to US authorities by current German Chancellor Angela Merkel [official website, in German; BBC profile]. According to the committee's findings, US and German intelligence had determined by 2002 that Kurnaz had no terrorist connections.

Steinmeier, who was chief of staff to ex-chancellor Gerhard Schroeder [BBC profile] until November 2005, called the committee's accusations "false" and "disgraceful." A separate inquiry is being conducted by the German parliament, which expects to call Steinmeier to appear between now and March. Deutsche Welle has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

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Congress recognized Pledge of Allegiance

On December 28, 1945, Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance and encouraged its recitation in schools. The Pledge was supposedly written in 1892 by Francis Bellamy, a Baptist minister, to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Columbus Day. The words “under God” were added by Congress in 1954. The revised version of the Pledge was the subject of litigation before the United States Supreme Court originally brought by Michael Newdow, a parent who unsuccessfully objected to his daughter's school district policy requiring daily recitation of the Pledge. The court ruled that Newdow had no standing.

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