Afghan national Gholan Ruhani maintained his innocence after coalition forces captured him alongside a drug-trafficking militia commander and tossed him in the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ruhani, represented by white shoe lawyer Rebecca Dick, said he was “a simple shopkeeper who helped Americans.”
Not quite. Days ago, Al Jazeera news captured Ruhani with fellow Taliban militants in the presidential palace in Kabul, as they announced the formation of an Islamic emirate. Ruhani, who cradled a machine gun, recited from the Quran and spoke of his time at Guantanamo.
Dick, then a top-flight attorney at Dechert LLP, represented Ruhani and advocated for his repatriation to Afghanistan. She said in a 2008 interview that her clients were not extremists.
“None expresses any interest in harming the U.S.,” she said. “Most affirmatively express support for the Karzai government; the others simply do not want to think about or discuss politics.”
Her statements were squarely at odds with Defense Departments assessments, which were vindicated by Ruhani’s role in the collapse of the Ghani government. Government reports connected Ruhani to the Taliban’s intelligence outfit, highlighted his familial ties to senior Taliban leaders, and correctly anticipated that he would join terrorist groups if released.
Now retired, Dick represented Ruhani and seven other Guantanamo detainees from Dechert’s Washington offices.
Lots of top-shelf firms represented accused terrorists because “everyone deserves a defense.” On the other hand, firms representing Donald Trump were terrorized into dropping him by social media mobs.