Sandra Hodgkinson

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Sandra Hodgkinson at the US Embassy in the Hague
Sandra Hodgkinson at the US Embassy in the Hague

Sandra Hodgkinson is an American lawyer, officer in the United States Navy Reserve, and a Bush Presidency political appointee.[1][2][3][4] The Bush Presidency appointed her to be the State Department's Deputy Director, Office of War Crimes Issues ant the Department of Defense's Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for Detainee Affairs.

Hodgkinson is notable because she replaced Charles "Cully" Stimson following his controversial resignation.[5] Stimson's resignation followed the criticism he triggered when he questioned the patriotism of the lawyers who volunteered to aid the captives held in extrajudicial detention in the Guantanamo Bay detention camps, in Cuba, and suggested that American frims punsh their employers by boycotting their services.

Hodgkinson is notable for being at the center of the controversy over captives being transferred to countries that use torture.[6][7] It is the position of the Bush Presidency that captives can be transferred to any country, provided it receives "diplomatic assurrances" that the captives won't be abused. Hodgkinson's responsibilities included negotiating for those diplomatic assurances. Critics assert that the assurances are widely ignored once the captives have been transferred.

[edit] References

  1. ^ James Kirkup. "Life of house arrest awaits Guantanamo detainees on return to UK", The Scotsman, August 14, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  2. ^ "Department of Defense Directive on Detainee Operations, the Release of the Army Field Manual for Human Intelligence Collection and an Update on Military Commissions", United States Department of State, February 7, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  3. ^ Carol Rosenberg. "Captives dangerous, U.S. tells Britain", Miami Herald, Wednesday August 8, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  4. ^ "Official biography", Miami Herald. 
  5. ^ Penelope Debelle. "Trial clock ticks, but painfully slowly", The Age, February 7, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-09-29. 
  6. ^ "Media Roundtable with Senior Government Officials", United States Department of State, Monday, July 17, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 
  7. ^ "U.S. Meeting with U.N. Human Rights Committee: U.S. Delegation Response to Oral Questions from the Members of the Committee", United States Department of State, Tuesday, July 18, 2006. Retrieved on 2007-10-10. 

[edit] External links