User:George Swan/Sandbox/Heather Cerveny

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Sergeant Heather Cerveny is a member of the United States Marine Corps, and a paralegal. Cerveny became notable when she submitted an affidavit describing boasts of abusive treatment meted out to detainees held in extrajudicial detention in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.

Press reports state Cerveny is 23 years old, was only assigned to assist in the defense of Guantanamo detainees in September, and that the incident she reported occurred on her very first visit to the base.

The Department of Defense's Inspector General announced that another inquiry would be launched into detainee treatment, based on Cerveny's affidavit.

Previous inquiries, like the Schmidt report concluded that abuse at the camps was degrading, but did not rise to the level of "inhumane".

Gag order

Muneer Ahmad, the civilian lawyer for Omar Khadr, reported that Cerveny, and her boss, Colby Vokey, Khadr's military lawyer, had been ordered not to comment on conditions at Guantanamo.

The report quotes a statement released on behalf of Colonel Carol Joyce, the Marines' chief defense counsel, who:

... had directed him not to communicate with the media "pending her review of the facts. This is necessary to ensure all actions of counsel are in compliance with regulations establishing professional standards for military attorneys,"

Colonel Basset reports

Colonel Richard Basset was the officer assigned to investigate the allegations in Cerveny's affidavit. He returned from his investigation on November 15 2006. He submitted his report on December 10 2006. While his report hasn't been made public, and he has made no public comment about it, various military spokesmen have commented on it, repeating the claim that an al Qaeda training manual counseled al Qaeda operatives to lie about being abused, and insisting that abuse of captives was against policy.

The Associated Press quoted one of Basset's superiors, who said Basset: "...interviewed guards and some detainees during a visit to the naval base in southeast Cuba. He also traveled around the U.S. to speak with guards who had left Guantanamo,"