Guantánamo Bay
As pre-trial hearings resumed in the case of five men accused of
involvement in attacks in New York in September 2001 under a new judge Marine
Colonel Keith A Parrella, lawyers for the defendants called for the judge to
disqualify himself from the case over bias and a possible conflict of interest.
Ahead of the hearing, one of the lawyers stated that the judge lacked relevant
experience and there was a potential conflict of interest in his previous
counterterrorism work for the US Department of Justice. He has also never presided
over any death penalty cases. However, Parrella quickly dismissed the claims,
stating the defence had provided no evidence to show that he is unqualified for
the job and has no connections to any of the prosecution lawyers in spite of
his previous government work. There is also a possibility that he will not stay
in the job for long as he was “selected for an embassy security position with
the Marine Corps beginning in the summer of 2019 and announced his intention to
accept the posting”, which would further delay the case.
During the same pre-trial hearing, the judge allowed the team for
the defendant Ammar al Baluchi to raise a plea for the case’s dismissal on the
basis that in February 2018, the Pentagon official in charge of military
commissions, Harvey Rishikof, was fired for “unlawful influence” by entering
into plea discussions with the defence teams to potentially avoid the death
penalty. Lawyers argued that the judge had all the evidence to rule on whether
there was unlawful influence, “a common concept in military justice referring
to improper interference in proceedings”. The prosecution claimed that he was
fired for his management style. The hearing was cut short due to Hurricane
Florence but the judge asked the parties for written submissions within two
weeks so that he can make a decision before the next hearing in November.
Following the end of the hearing,
the judge ordered prosecutors to look for a top secret location in the
Washington DC area to hold closed hearings on 7-9 November, when the pre-trial
hearing resumes. This is in order to avoid a scheduling conflict at the Guantánamo
court. If the hearing goes ahead elsewhere this will be for the first time in
the case’s 6-year history and according to some lawyers, “could strengthen the
argument that the accused terrorists are entitled to constitutional rights like
confidential attorney-client conversations, to confront one’s accuser, to not
be subjected to cruel or unusual punishment, to attend all portions of their
trial — some of which the Bush administration sought to deny those tried at the
U.S. naval base in Cuba when it set up the war court in the first place.”
However, it would prevent the defendants from being able to take part in the
hearing.
Despite the new judge’s determination
to press ahead, pre-trial hearings in the case of Abd al Hadi Al-Iraqi did not
go ahead in the last week of September. Marine Lieutenant Colonel Michael
Libretto was due to make his first appearance at this military commission and
in this case but the case was postponed each day as the defendant, “who says
his real name is Nashwan al Tamir” was suffering from serious back pain and was
in some cases unable to stand or even sit. Over the past year he has had
surgery on his spine five times, most recently in May. After he had fallen ill
the week before, his lawyer had asked for the hearing to be postponed, “arguing
that it would be an enormous waste of time and resources while putting
Nashwan’s health at serious risk.” Some of his back problems are linked to
previous inadequate treatment at Guantánamo.
Extraordinary Rendition
US national security advisor John Bolton launched an attack on the
International Criminal Court and has threatened sanctions if the court
prosecutes US servicemen over war crimes in Afghanistan. Although the US is not
a member of the court, Americans can be tried during the periods that
Afghanistan, a member, was under US authority. A 2016 investigation by the
prosecutor found that the US may have committed war crimes through the extraordinary
rendition programme. The bulk of the claims in this case are against the
Taliban but any revelations in court about extraordinary rendition could also
reveal further details about the role of other states in assisting and
facilitating CIA torture, not just Afghanistan.
LGC Activities:
The LGC held its monthly Shut Guantánamo! demos outside the US Embassy
in Nine Elms on 6 September at 12-2pm. Our next monthly demo for October is on
Thursday 4 October at 12-2pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/2148850955370083/
This protest is just days before the 17th anniversary of the ongoing
war in Afghanistan, which led to Guantánamo opening. We will be showing
solidarity with the people of Afghanistan too. All are welcome to join us.
