.Another 60-day delay for Gitmo trials
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) - A military judge agreed Monday to another delay in the war crimes trial of five Guantanamo prisoners charged in the Sept. 11 attacks to give U.S. officials more time to decide how to try them.
Army Col. Stephen Henley granted the 60-day continuance at the request of President Barack Obama's administration, which has said it will decide by Nov. 16 which Guantanamo cases will be tried in a revamped military court and which ones moved to civilian courts.
Henley scheduled the hearing at the U.S. base in Cuba to allow Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants - all of whom are serving as their own lawyers - to voice any objections to the delay. Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks, and the other defendants sent a note saying they had none, and Henley issued a written order without taking testimony.
The two other prisoners have not yet received clearance to represent themselves and their lawyers did not oppose the continuance.
It was the third time the government sought a continuance in the Sept. 11 case, and the other pending war crimes trials since Obama took office in January and immediately ordered a review of the system for prosecuting terrorists created under President George W. Bush.
Navy Capt. John F. Murphy, the chief military prosecutor, told reporters after the hearing that he remains convinced that the tribunals are the best venue for the "worst war crimes against the United States in our entire history" and that the military will be ready to start if directed.
"The prosecution team remains ready to commence this trial immediately," Murphy said.
There are 226 prisoners at Guantanamo and Murphy said there are about 65 "viable" cases for prosecution. If any are tried before military commissions they would have to be somewhere other than the U.S. base in Cuba if Obama is to keep his pledge to close the jail by the end of January. Officials have not yet announced where the prisoners could be relocated or the trials held.
Several relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, who traveled to Guantanamo to observe the hearing, expressed frustration at the delay.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Lee Hanson, whose son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter were killed when terrorists crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
"We're told it's a 60-day delay now, but we all know a 60-day delay is going to be about a two-year delay by the time they transfer this to a federal court," said Hanson, who lives in Easton, Connecticut.
Observers from human rights groups said the cases would likely move more quickly in civilian federal courts, which have long established rules of criminal procedure unlike the military tribunals, which are still being overhauled by Congress.
"We agree with the family members in saying that it's been eight years and nothing's happened," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The reason nothing has happened is that the Guantanamo military commissions are incapable of rendering justice. These are rules we've made up along the way."
The court also was scheduled to address a series of legal motions from the three Sept. 11 defendants representing themselves - Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali - including a request to dismiss the ACLU lawyers and standby military attorneys assigned to help with their case.
Two other Sept. 11 defendants - Ramzi bin al Shibh and Mustafa al Hawsawi - have not yet been ruled mentally competent to act as their own lawyers and were excluded from the hearing.
Romero said he didn't know for certain why the three defendants in question Monday, who have said they want to plead guilty to charges that carry a potential death sentence, wanted to dismiss the lawyers who were assisting them.
"Many speculate that perhaps they wish to be martyred for their acts and the quicker they can dismiss with both legal counsel and all the motions, the quicker they can get on with the desired outcome," he said.
The defendants also are seeking supplies to help prepare their defense such as a printer, Arabic dictionaries and several movies, including "Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William Calley" a 1975 movie starring Harrison Ford about the 1968 slayings of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai by U.S. soldiers.
MyWay
Army Col. Stephen Henley granted the 60-day continuance at the request of President Barack Obama's administration, which has said it will decide by Nov. 16 which Guantanamo cases will be tried in a revamped military court and which ones moved to civilian courts.
Henley scheduled the hearing at the U.S. base in Cuba to allow Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and two co-defendants - all of whom are serving as their own lawyers - to voice any objections to the delay. Mohammed, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the attacks, and the other defendants sent a note saying they had none, and Henley issued a written order without taking testimony.
The two other prisoners have not yet received clearance to represent themselves and their lawyers did not oppose the continuance.
It was the third time the government sought a continuance in the Sept. 11 case, and the other pending war crimes trials since Obama took office in January and immediately ordered a review of the system for prosecuting terrorists created under President George W. Bush.
Navy Capt. John F. Murphy, the chief military prosecutor, told reporters after the hearing that he remains convinced that the tribunals are the best venue for the "worst war crimes against the United States in our entire history" and that the military will be ready to start if directed.
"The prosecution team remains ready to commence this trial immediately," Murphy said.
There are 226 prisoners at Guantanamo and Murphy said there are about 65 "viable" cases for prosecution. If any are tried before military commissions they would have to be somewhere other than the U.S. base in Cuba if Obama is to keep his pledge to close the jail by the end of January. Officials have not yet announced where the prisoners could be relocated or the trials held.
Several relatives of victims of the Sept. 11 attacks, who traveled to Guantanamo to observe the hearing, expressed frustration at the delay.
"Justice delayed is justice denied," said Lee Hanson, whose son, daughter-in-law and granddaughter were killed when terrorists crashed United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower of the World Trade Center.
"We're told it's a 60-day delay now, but we all know a 60-day delay is going to be about a two-year delay by the time they transfer this to a federal court," said Hanson, who lives in Easton, Connecticut.
Observers from human rights groups said the cases would likely move more quickly in civilian federal courts, which have long established rules of criminal procedure unlike the military tribunals, which are still being overhauled by Congress.
"We agree with the family members in saying that it's been eight years and nothing's happened," said Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union. "The reason nothing has happened is that the Guantanamo military commissions are incapable of rendering justice. These are rules we've made up along the way."
The court also was scheduled to address a series of legal motions from the three Sept. 11 defendants representing themselves - Mohammed, Walid Bin Attash, and Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali - including a request to dismiss the ACLU lawyers and standby military attorneys assigned to help with their case.
Two other Sept. 11 defendants - Ramzi bin al Shibh and Mustafa al Hawsawi - have not yet been ruled mentally competent to act as their own lawyers and were excluded from the hearing.
Romero said he didn't know for certain why the three defendants in question Monday, who have said they want to plead guilty to charges that carry a potential death sentence, wanted to dismiss the lawyers who were assisting them.
"Many speculate that perhaps they wish to be martyred for their acts and the quicker they can dismiss with both legal counsel and all the motions, the quicker they can get on with the desired outcome," he said.
The defendants also are seeking supplies to help prepare their defense such as a printer, Arabic dictionaries and several movies, including "Judgment: The Court Martial of Lt. William Calley" a 1975 movie starring Harrison Ford about the 1968 slayings of Vietnamese civilians at My Lai by U.S. soldiers.
MyWay
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