Matthew Diaz
Encyclopedia
Matthew Mark Diaz is a former active-duty Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) and Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAGC) officer in the United States Navy. In mid-to-late 2004, Diaz served a six month tour of duty in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba as deputy director of the detention center's legal office. Early in 2005 as LCDR Diaz was concluding his tour, he sent an anonymous greeting card to The Center for Constitutional Rights, a New York civil liberties and human rights group. The card contained the names of the detainees held at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. In July 2006, the United States government formally charged Diaz in a military court with five criminal counts related to the sending of these names, the most serious being that he intended to harm national security or advantage a foreign nation, a violation of the Espionage Act. In May 2007, he was convicted by a seven-member jury of military officers on 4 of 5 counts. He served a 6-month prison sentence and was dismissed from the military.
In April 2008, he was awarded the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling.
Matthew Diaz dropped out of high school to enlist in the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He obtained his GED and a Bachelor's degree in Criminology during his nearly nine years of Army service. After obtaining his law degree at Washburn University School of Law in 1994, Diaz was commissioned as a naval officer in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He continues to play an active role in the life of his three children.
The Virginian-Pilot
reports that Diaz served eight years as an enlisted man in the United States Army
, prior to being commissioned in the USN's Judge Advocate General Corps. Matthew Diaz served his country as a deputy staff judge advocate at Guantánamo. Diaz received numerous awards throughout his career and received the highest praises of his superiors in annual fitness reports.
s to an individual unauthorized to receive it, in this case the Center for Constitutional Rights
. Diaz was convicted and on May 18, 2007, he was sentenced to six months in prison and faced dismissal from the Navy.
Scott Horton
wrote:
, of the Center for Constitutional Rights
, was the recipient of the document, placed alongside an unmarked Valentines Day card.
While Olshansky had requested a list of all detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, the military had failed to provide one. The list provided by Diaz contained the names of 550 captives. The list had seven fields per entry.
The 558 names in the official list of captives whose enemy combatant status was confirmed by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal
had just three fields.
According to the background page to the charges against Diaz, the other six fields of the entries describing captives were:
The captives' names had not, at that time, been officially confirmed.
Olshansky did not know what to make of receiving the list in this manner, so she contacted Federal authorities.
Diaz was not directly involved in either the defense or prosecution of the ten detainees who faced charges before the Guantanamo military commission
s.
He served as a legal advisor to the JTF-GTMO, the command responsible for detention operations.
.
The other three individuals were Murat Kurnaz
, a former Guantanamo captive; Diane Beaver, another military lawyer, best known for drafting a memo later called "the torture memo"; and Gonzalo Boye
a Spanish lawyer who tried to lay charges, in Spain, against individuals he saw as responsible for war crimes committed in Guantanamo.
In April 2008, he was awarded the Ridenhour Prize for Truth Telling.
Family background
Diaz was born in 1965 in Gary, Indiana. He is one of six children. Diaz is a father to three children. His father is Robert Diaz, a California Registered Nurse convicted in 1984 for the murders of a dozen patients at two southern California hospitals. Robert Diaz's conviction was controversial, and he maintained his innocence until his death in 2010.Matthew Diaz dropped out of high school to enlist in the U.S. Army at the age of 17. He obtained his GED and a Bachelor's degree in Criminology during his nearly nine years of Army service. After obtaining his law degree at Washburn University School of Law in 1994, Diaz was commissioned as a naval officer in the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps. He continues to play an active role in the life of his three children.
Military career
Diaz spent most of his adult life in military service.The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot
The Virginian-Pilot is a daily newspaper based in Norfolk, Virginia, and serving the Hampton Roads metropolitan area, southeastern Virginia, the Eastern Shore of Virginia, and northeastern North Carolina. The flagship property of Landmark Media Enterprises, The Pilot is Virginia's largest daily...
reports that Diaz served eight years as an enlisted man in the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
, prior to being commissioned in the USN's Judge Advocate General Corps. Matthew Diaz served his country as a deputy staff judge advocate at Guantánamo. Diaz received numerous awards throughout his career and received the highest praises of his superiors in annual fitness reports.
Charges
On July 28, 2006, Diaz was formally charged with improperly mailing suspected classified information about detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detainment campGuantanamo Bay detainment camp
The Guantanamo Bay detention camp is a detainment and interrogation facility of the United States located within Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. The facility was established in 2002 by the Bush Administration to hold detainees from the war in Afghanistan and later Iraq...
s to an individual unauthorized to receive it, in this case the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
. Diaz was convicted and on May 18, 2007, he was sentenced to six months in prison and faced dismissal from the Navy.
Scott Horton
Scott Horton (lawyer)
Scott Horton is a New York attorney known for his work in human rights law and the law of armed conflict, as well as emerging markets and international law. He graduated Texas Law School in Austin with a JD and was a partner in a large New York law firm, Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler...
wrote:
The suspect document
Barbara OlshanskyBarbara Olshansky
-The Case for Impeachment:Olshansky is author with Dave Lindorff of The Case for Impeachment: The Legal Argument for Removing President George W...
, of the Center for Constitutional Rights
Center for Constitutional Rights
Al Odah v. United States:Al Odah is the latest in a series of habeas corpus petitions on behalf of people imprisoned at the Guantanamo Bay detention center. The case challenges the Military Commissions system’s suitability as a habeas corpus substitute and the legality, in general, of detention at...
, was the recipient of the document, placed alongside an unmarked Valentines Day card.
While Olshansky had requested a list of all detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, the military had failed to provide one. The list provided by Diaz contained the names of 550 captives. The list had seven fields per entry.
The 558 names in the official list of captives whose enemy combatant status was confirmed by a Combatant Status Review Tribunal
Combatant Status Review Tribunal
The Combatant Status Review Tribunals were a set of tribunals for confirming whether detainees held by the United States at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp had been correctly designated as "enemy combatants". The CSRTs were established July 7, 2004 by order of U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense...
had just three fields.
According to the background page to the charges against Diaz, the other six fields of the entries describing captives were:
| Internment Serial Number |
|
| Source Identification number (if present) | ? |
| GTMO Identification number | ? |
| nationality country of citizenship |
Both of the official lists name just one country associated with each captive. |
| Collection Management & Dissemination team number | ? |
The captives' names had not, at that time, been officially confirmed.
Olshansky did not know what to make of receiving the list in this manner, so she contacted Federal authorities.
Diaz was not directly involved in either the defense or prosecution of the ten detainees who faced charges before the Guantanamo military commission
Guantanamo military commission
The Guantanamo military commissions are military tribunals created by the Military Commissions Act of 2006 for prosecuting detainees held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps.- History :...
s.
He served as a legal advisor to the JTF-GTMO, the command responsible for detention operations.
Profiled in The Guantanamo trap
Diaz was one of the four individuals profiled in the award-winning documentary The Guantanamo trapThe Guantanamo Trap
The Guantanamo Trap is a documentary film about four individuals whose lives were changed by their association with the Guantanamo Bay detention camps...
.
The other three individuals were Murat Kurnaz
Murat Kurnaz
On March 3, 2006, in response to a court order from Jed Rakoff the Department of Defense published a Summarized transcripts from his Combatant Status Review Tribunal.The tribunal that examined the case against Kurnaz lasted for forty minutes....
, a former Guantanamo captive; Diane Beaver, another military lawyer, best known for drafting a memo later called "the torture memo"; and Gonzalo Boye
Gonzalo Boye
Gonzalo Boye is a human rights lawyer, based in Spain, notable for trying to use Spanish law to charge Bush administration officials for their roles in war crimes committed against citizens or residents of Spain while the US held them in extrajudicial detention.Boye was born in Chile.Many nations...
a Spanish lawyer who tried to lay charges, in Spain, against individuals he saw as responsible for war crimes committed in Guantanamo.
External links
- Affidavit of Mr. Michael Sweedo, March 1, 2007
- Defense motion to dismiss - Multiplicity and unreasonable multiplication of charges, March 12, 2007
- Defense motion for appropriate relief - Compel expert assistance, March 12, 2007
- Defense response to government motion for appropriate relief - Article 133 maximum punishment, March 31, 2007
- Government motion in limine to exclude testimony regarding certain information, April 13, 2007
- Defense response to government motion in limine to exclude certain evidence, April 23, 2007
- Memorandum Ruling - Defense motion to suppress, April 25, 2007
- Letter from defense counsel to Commander, Joint Task Force - Guantanamo Bay, April 25, 2007
- Defense motion to reconsider defense motion to suppress, April 26, 2007
- "The Persecution of LtCmdr Matthew Diaz", May 14, 2007, Scott Horton, Harpers Magazine
- "The National Lawyers Guild Denounces Diaz Sentencing", May 23, 2007