Thursday, April 30, 2020

LGC Newsletter – April 2020

Guantánamo Bay
Veteran death penalty lawyer David Bruck, whose previous clients include Dylann Roof and Dzokhar Tsarnaev, has been appointed to replace James P. Harrington, former defence lawyer for Ramzi Binalshibh, a Yemeni national among the five defendants accused of terrorist attacks in New York in September 2001. Bruck has not met his client or practiced law in a military court before.
At the same time, Lieutenant Colonel Derek A Poteet, who has acted as military defence lawyer for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed in the same case since 2011, has left the case after a court approved a notice sent to the court that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed agreed to his departure. He left the case after taking up a post elsewhere. Following his official departure on 30 June, only one of the original defence lawyers from 2012 will remain: Ammar Al-Baluchi’s lawyer Lieutenant Colonel Sterling Thomas.

A petition has been rejected by three of the five defendants in the above case - Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Bin Attash and Mustafa Al Hawsawi – to have all orders made by a former judge in the case Colonel Keith Parella cancelled due to the “appearance of partiality they claim was created by his earlier work for the Justice Department’s Counterterrorism Section, his acquaintance with one of the military commission prosecutors, his lack of candor during voir dire, and the possibility he may pursue Justice Department employment after retiring from the military”.
A petition was also rejected by lawyers for the defendants in this case to grant them access to the full 2014 Senate Committee Torture Report.
LGC Activities:
Due to current social distancing measures in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the London Guantánamo Campaign’s monthly Shut Guantánamo! demonstration will be held virtually at 12-2pm on Thursday 7 May. To take part, please email a photo/video of your banner to us at london.gtmo@gmail.com before 12pm on 7 May or share your picture/video to our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/London-Guantánamo-Campaign-114010671973111/ or via Twitter (or just a message – some possible messages available through the link below) @shutguantanamo between 12 and 2pm on Thursday 7 May. More details here: https://www.facebook.com/events/224045972238026/