Innocent man detained at Guantanamo for four years after we knew he was innocent

One of the problems with all the illegal torture tactics we keep using against the detainees at Guantanamo (and elsewhere) is that even when we learn that one of them is innocent, we can't let them go because they might let the cat out of the bag. Of course, sometimes international pressure forces our hand.

A German man was detained as a suspected terrorist at Guantanamo Bay for four years despite findings by U.S. investigators that he had no link to al-Qaida, newly released documents say.

The former detainee, Murat Kurnaz, was turned over to German authorities and freed in 2006 after a personal plea from German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Kurnaz's case was cited Wednesday at the Supreme Court by a lawyer who argued that the 305 prisoners remaining at the U.S. Navy facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, should be allowed to use civilian courts to challenge their detention.