Khadr's khangaroo khourt trial, khontinued
Mon, 2008-09-08 09:32
#1
M. Spector
Khadr's khangaroo khourt trial, khontinued
Mon, 2008-09-08 09:32
#2
M. Spector
Continued from [url=http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic&f=13&t=004174]H...
----
Omar Khadr was not the only teenager rounded up and sent off to Guantanamo, as [url=http://www.antiwar.com/orig/worthington.php?articleid=13426]this interesting article by Andy Worthington[/url] relates:
quote:
...Mahbub Rahman, was born in 1985, according to the Pentagon's own records, and was, therefore, either 17 or 18 years old at the time of his capture, sometime around August or September 2003. If he was 17, then his treatment directly contravenes the terms of the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict, to which the U.S. is a signatory, which recognizes that juvenile prisoners – defined as those accused of a crime that took place when they were under 18 years of age – "are particularly vulnerable to recruitment or use in hostilities" and requires its signatories to promote "the physical and psychosocial rehabilitation and social reintegration of children who are victims of armed conflict."If Mahbub Rahman was a child soldier, in other words, the U.S. was supposed to promote his rehabilitation rather than hauling him off to Guantбnamo, along with other, more well-known juveniles – including [b]Omar Khadr[/b] and [b]Mohamed Jawad[/b], who are both facing a trial by military commission, and [b]Mohammed El-Gharani, a Saudi resident and citizen of Chad, who was just 14 when he was seized.[/b]
It transpires, however, that there was no proof that Rahman was a child soldier at all. Although he was accused of spying on American forces, shooting an Afghan soldier and two civilians, and being caught with two automatic rifles, he denied all the allegations, insisting that his only crime – which had no impact on the United States whatsoever – was to shoot, in self-defense, an enemy of his family who was threatening him with a gun and who had killed one of his brothers several years before. In a long and rambling story, he explained how, after the shooting, he had fled to the madrassa (religious school) at which he had been studying in Pakistan, and was captured after returning to Afghanistan to visit his family.
To complicate matters, three other prisoners were seized at the same time as Mahbub Rahman, although only one of these, [b]Azimullah[/b] (who was released in April 2007), was also transferred to Guantбnamo, where he too was ensnared in the "spying" allegation, which purportedly revolved around a plot to attack a U.S. base. He was also accused of being involved in a firefight with Afghan soldiers. Azimullah, who knew Mahbub Rahman because they studied at the same madrassa, also denied the allegations against him, explaining to his tribunal, "I was walking toward the village with my friend, and the Afghan soldiers were in there and they saw us and arrested us." He said that he was not told why he was arrested at the time, but that "when they took me to the base they told me that I attacked them and that I did this and this."
There is far more to this story than I can cover here (including, as an intriguing aside, the fact that [b]Salim[/b], the friend mentioned by Azimullah, was last heard of in Bagram, having somehow avoided the flight to Guantбnamo), but what's clear about the cases of Mahbub Rahman and Azimullah is that, [b]even if the allegations about spying and being involved in a firefight with Afghan soldiers were true, these actions had nothing to do with terrorism, al-Qaeda or the 9/11 attacks.[/b]
Thu, 2008-09-11 18:21
#3
M. Spector
quote:
Omar Khadr’s war crimes trial won’t go ahead as planned on Oct. 8 – which means the results of both the Canadian and U.S. elections could now impact his case.The judge, Col. Patrick Parrish, delayed Khadr’s trial today and was critical of the slow pace with which the U.S. government has turned over evidence to Khadr’s defence team.
But Parrish has not yet set a new date for the trial....
NDP Leader Jack Layton said today that he would return Khadr as soon as possible, adding that the Conservatives’ refusal to do so is a "stain" on Canada’s reputation.
"It is really unconscionable that other countries who have had prisoners in Guantanamo have been able to bring their citizens home," Layton said.
"But our prime minister steadfastly refuses to what’s right. The fact that Mr. Harper will not act is a stain on this country’s stand on human rights and it is reprehensible." - [url=http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/OmarKhadr/article/497472]Toronto Star[/url]
Mon, 2008-09-15 20:43
#4
M. Spector
quote:
The charges in the latest case to be put forward for trial by military commission demonstrate the commissions' misplaced zeal with alarming clarity. Obaidullah, a 26-year-old Afghan, is charged with "conspiracy" and "providing material support to terrorism," based on the thinnest set of allegations to date: essentially, a single claim that, "[o]n or about 22 July 2002," he "stored and concealed anti-tank mines, other explosive devices, and related equipment," that he "concealed on his person a notebook describing how to wire and detonate explosive devices," and that he "knew or intended" that his "material support and resources were to be used in preparation for and in carrying out a terrorist attack."It doesn't take much reflection on these charges to realize that it is a depressingly clear example of [b]the administration's disturbing, post-9/11 redefinition of "war crimes," which apparently allows the U.S. authorities to claim that they can equate minor acts of insurgency committed by a citizen of an occupied nation with terrorism.[/b] It's also clear that the charges involve [b]no mention whatsoever of al-Qaeda, the 9/11 attacks, or any of the other terrorist attacks for which the commissions were supposedly established.[/b] - [url=http://www.antiwar.com/orig/worthington.php?articleid=13459]Source[/url]
Mon, 2008-09-15 20:50
#5
M. Spector
quote:
"We have called for Mr. Khadr to be brought back to Canada. If there is justice to be meted out, then it should be happening here," Mr. [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080912.GITMO12/TPStor... said[/url].
And so once again the NDP calls for Khadr to face charges in Canada, instead of demanding his unconditional release.
Shame on you, Mr. Layton!
[ 15 September 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Mon, 2008-09-15 23:02
#6
Cueball
Thanks for keeping us up-to-date on this important story, Spector.
Tue, 2008-09-16 10:37
#7
M. Spector
The Pentagon Tuesday announced a [b]Nov. 10 war crimes trial date[/b] for alleged Canadian teen terrorist Omar Khadr, meaning the terror murder trial will follow both the U.S. and Canada's elections and likely straddle American Thanksgiving.
- Miami Herald Sept. 16
I wonder how much political pressure there was from Harper and Bush to postpone the trial date to beyond the elections. Neither wanted to have the Khadr trial making headlines during the campaigns.
[ 16 September 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Wed, 2008-09-17 10:35
#8
M. Spector
[b]Khadr's legal team to be honoured[/b]
quote:
The 2008 Canadian National Pro Bono Awards will be presented... at the [url=http://www.probonoconference.ca/]2nd National Pro Bono Conference Dinner & Canadian Pro Bono Awards Ceremony in Vancouver[/url] on September 18....Edmonton lawyers Dennis Edney and Nathan Whitling [will be honoured].
These awards are a national celebration of the dedication and commitment of the many lawyers who give their time freely to represent those who need but cannot afford legal assistance or qualify for legal aid....
[b]Dennis Edney and Nathan Whitling have devoted countless hours jointly fighting for the rights of Omar Khadr who has been imprisoned in Guantanamo Bay since 2002. The significance of their commitment is based not only on the tremendous time, energy, and personal resources spent advocating on Mr. Khadr's behalf, but also based on the complexity of the litigation, which was argued before Canadian and U.S. courts and military tribunals. Their commitment in the face of potential personal repercussions of representing an unpopular case is a testament to the finest tradition of the legal profession.[/b] The fruits of their labour have not only increased access to justice for one individual, but impacted human rights the world over.
[url=http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/September2008/17/c5513.html]P... release[/url]
[ 17 September 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Wed, 2008-09-17 10:38
#9
The Chretien-Paul Martin Liberals violated international laws in abandoning 15 year-old Khadr to his own devices. Whigs&Tories, Tories&Whigs™
[ 17 September 2008: Message edited by: Fidel ]
Wed, 2008-09-17 10:39
#10
M. Spector
Whereas Jack Layton wants to bring him home to face criminal charges here.
Wed, 2008-09-17 10:43
#11
It'll probably be a formality, show up in court, all charges dismissed on the grounds that any time served has already been done in Gitmo.
At least I hope any judge that tries the case will see it that way.
Wed, 2008-09-17 12:45
#12
M. Spector
Judges don't dismiss charges on those grounds.
Time spent in jail is only considered [b]after[/b] conviction, when the sentence is being decided.
quote:
Originally posted by DrConway:
[b]At least I hope any judge that tries the case will see it that way.[/b]
Too bad Jack Layton doesn't.
[ 17 September 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Wed, 2008-09-17 13:05
#13
quote:
New Democrats support the call to have Omar Khadr returned to Canada where the legal consequences of his alleged actions should be adjudicated in the Canadian criminal justice system.
Since he has committed no crime under Canadian law he would be released for lack of evidence.
Wed, 2008-09-17 13:16
#14
The case sounds like a total farce, surely Canadaґs legal system isnґt that bad..
Wed, 2008-09-17 13:25
#15
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
[b] Since he has committed no crime under Canadian law he would be released for lack of evidence.[/b]
So what the fuck is Layton talking about?
Wed, 2008-09-17 13:30
#16
There is no way the US will release him without his going into the Canadian system. Once in our criminal system there will be no sustainable charges and he will have to be released. You tell me what chance of success there is of our government getting the Americans to admit they made a mistake? If we release him then their right wing assholes can scream about Canada but not their own government.
Real leaders find ways of accomplishing their goals they don't just bang their heads against a brick wall all the while saying how rightious they are.
Wed, 2008-09-17 14:04
#17
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]So what the fuck is Layton talking about?[/b]
Chretien Liberals handed Omar Khadr over to the Americanos for Gitmo law to deal with him. Except, our Liberals neglected to realize that there is no law at Gitmo. Other countries realized it and were successful in repatriating their citizens from Gitmo at the time. Chretien-Liberian Steamships Liberals were quick to ignore Khadr's basic child rights, and now Khadr is paying the price for Liberal kow-towing to Uncle Sam and his phony-baloney war on terror/poor people and democracy in general.
Liberals A-Ok'd Khadr to be tortured at Gitmo. And in doing so, the Liberals were too busy being the Libranos to fight for Khadr's Canadian citizens' rights, as well as his international child rights in 2002.
If you want another four years of Crazy George II's Republican-Conservative policies wafting through Ottawa, then make sure to vote for either the Harpers or the other wing of the party, the Whigs/Liberals "Whigs&Tories™
[ 17 September 2008: Message edited by: Fidel ]
Wed, 2008-09-17 18:39
#18
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by kropotkin1951:
[b]There is no way the US will release him without his going into the Canadian system.[/b]
First of all, you don't know that. John McCain, for example, has said he would send Khadr to Canada if Harper asked.
Second, do you think the US government is going to be tricked into thinking Khadr will be tried in Canada and then once he gets here he's set free? There's no shortage of lawyers in Canada who would be pleased to give the US government a legal opinion on what Canada could charge Khadr with and what the prospects for conviction are. If they are as smart as you, they will tell the US that Khadr will walk scot free.
Third, why should the US be allowed to dictate to Canada how our justice system will deal with a particular person?
quote:
[b]Once in our criminal system there will be no sustainable charges and he will have to be released.[/b]
Yeah, right. Canadian Crown prosecutors would never make a defendant go through a trial unless the case was absolutely airtight! Are you a newcomer to Canada, by any chance?
You don't think Harper would love to have Khadr tried for high treason, if not murder?
Ever heard of Security Certificates?
The absence of sustainable charges didn't stop GW Bush from torturing and imprisoning Khadr. What makes you think Harper is better than that?
quote:
[b]You tell me what chance of success there is of our government getting the Americans to admit they made a mistake?[/b]
They don't have to admit they made a mistake. They just have to release the prisoner. Period. They've done that already with hundreds of Guantanamo detainees who were never tried.
quote:
[b]Real leaders find ways of accomplishing their goals they don't just bang their heads against a brick wall all the while saying how rightious they are.[/b]
Your idea of a "real leader" is a man who is prepared to have Omar Khadr, after six years of torture, imprisonment, and interrogation, tried for resisting an illegal invasion of Afghanistan by the imperial forces of the USA, while he was a 15-year-old boy.
So thanks, but I need no lectures from you about what a real leader is.
Wed, 2008-09-17 18:56
#19
quote:
[b]Third, why should the US be allowed to dictate to Canada how our justice system will deal with a particular person?[/b]
Liberals should have thought about that when three other countries were successful in repatriating their citizens from Gitmo. Now khadr is an "illegal enemy combatant" and a third of his young life stolen by fascists and with the Libranos help. Goddamn Liberals. They're as useless as tits on nuns.
Wed, 2008-09-17 20:35
#20
M. Spector
I don't know why you keep going on about Liberals. Nobody here is defending what the Liberals ever did. We're talking about what the NDP should be proposing with regard to the repatriation of Omar Khadr.
What's your position on that? Should Khadr be tried for treason in a Toronto court? Do we have to pretend we're going to try him for treason in order to trick those gullible yanks into returning him to Canada - and then when they do, we say "ha ha" and let him go free?
Wed, 2008-09-17 21:20
#21
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]I don't know why you keep going on about Liberals. Nobody here is defending what the Liberals ever did. We're talking about what the NDP should be proposing with regard to the repatriation of Omar Khadr.[/b]
And once again for emphasis, the reason why Omar Khadr is the last and only western world national still there at Gitmo is because the Liberals failed to act during a window of opportunity when other countries' lawyers were defending the rights of their citizens at Guantanamo. Those clever British and Australian and New Zealand lawyers pointed to gaping holes in U.S. military law at Gitmo for which international laws since Geneva and WW II as well as an international children's rights declaration superceded. Since then though, Yanquis have drafted new bogus military law describing Khadr as an "illegal enemy combatant" Yanquis have a grip on Toronto Omar now and refuse to let go citing the new anti-terrorism and bogus Gitmo military law which our Liberals abandoned 15 year-old Khadr to.
quote:
[b]What's your position on that? Should Khadr be tried for treason in a Toronto court? Do we have to pretend we're going to try him for treason in order to trick those gullible yanks into returning him to Canada - and then when they do, we say "ha ha" and let him go free?[/b]
What we do is elect a lot fewer Liberal stooges and dump all their overpaid lawyers on the taxpayer payroll. That's a good first step, imo. Next up is to have Michael Byers NDP candidate in British Columbia and authority on international law to begin fighting for Khadr's release any way possible. I'm no lawyer, but I think former Liberals should be sued by Khadr's lawyers for failing to protect his basic Canadian citizens' rights and several more defined by international law. Liberals really messed up Khadr's chances for early release.
Wed, 2008-09-17 21:42
#22
M. Spector
Khadr's already got competent lawyers working for him. He doesn't need advice from Michael Byers.
I want to know what you think the NDP should be saying about Khadr's fate. Sure, the US should release him, but should he face criminal charges in Canada?
Wed, 2008-09-17 21:52
#23
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]Khadr's already got competent lawyers working for him. He doesn't need advice from Michael Byers.[/b]
Where is Khadr now and since 2002? His lawyer thinks the process now is a sham. Perhaps Khadr could use some extra help from an expert in international law. Why would you deny him that if everything is going smoothly since Chretien's Liberals abandoned this Canadian boy to a U.S. military gulag for torture and basic human rights violations in 2002?
quote:
[b]I want to know what you think the NDP should be saying about Khadr's fate. Sure, the US should release him, but should he face criminal charges in Canada?[/b]
You seem to have all the answers. What do you think? I think Khadr is not the same person he was in 2002. I think he could be out of his mind somewhat today after having been tortured and detained illegally for a third of his life. I think Khadr needs special treatment before being released into the Canadian public. I actually don't believe Khadr is ready for prime time in Canadian society. We're talking about military torture and mind control based on MK Ultra, a U.S. taxpayer funded program that was as big or even bigger than the Manhatten Project. No, Khadr is not ready to resume highschool classes just yet. I don't think any social worker would recommend putting Khadr on the streets right away in haste.
Wed, 2008-09-17 22:11
#24
You're completely obsessed by what the Liberals did. You're the only one to mention them. No one defends them.
When someone says "what's the NDP doing about this", you throw up this incomprehensible stream of "Liberal Liberal Liberal Libranos Steamship Liberals blah blah blah". Christ, it gets tiresome.
M. Spector asks "What's your position on that? Should Khadr be tried for treason in a Toronto court?", and your answer is something about what the Liberals did.
No one cares what the Liberals did. It's irrelevant. We're asking what should be done, now, to repatriate Khadr.
Lemme guess: "Cretien is in bed with the stoogeocrat Yanqui fascists who ran a Gladio operation for Paul Martins Steamship lines".
Wed, 2008-09-17 22:28
#25
quote:
Originally posted by Jingles:
[b]You're completely obsessed by what the Liberals did. You're the only one to mention them. No one defends them.[/b]
I'm not defending the Liberals or their second term successors the Libranos either. But Khadr's case does require context. It's part of the truth, and I would have to imagine very important to Khadr's case to look back on why other countries' nationals freedom was fought for and won by their governments at the most opportune time. Our Liberal government turned their backs on Khadr when his child rights as well as Canadian citizens' rights needed defending from attack by a vicious military regime.
quote:
[b]M. Spector asks "What's your position on that? Should Khadr be tried for treason in a Toronto court?", and your answer is something about what the Liberals did.[/b]
Well that's very close to what a Liberal MP in Jean Chretien's government suggested be done with Khadr at the time - to try him on terrorism charges or some bullshit Liberal propaganda in-line with Crazy George II's military governments' trumped up charges. I know you hate the Liberals, and so do I. And so will Omar Khadr loathe the stoogeocratic Liberal regime who failed him the most crucial and trying time of his life, we can be sure.
NDP candidate Michael Byers said this government should be bargaining for Khadr's freedom after the Liberals failed to during a once in Khadr's lifetime opportunity to do so. Liberals sided with Crazy George II's illegit guv in 2002. And now it's time to bring in a fighter like Michael Byers to get the job done where Liberals fell down on the job and the Harpers continuing on with that Liberal strategy of kow-towing to the vicious empire.
Thu, 2008-09-18 16:59
#26
M. Spector
quote:
For six years, and for no pay, Dennis Edney has represented Omar Khadr, the next prisoner at Guantanamo Bay to face trial in a military tribunal system that the lawyer calls a sham.So he's stepping outside the courtroom, speaking out about his client and hoping to win a victory in another venue. His goal is to sway public opinion and pressure the Canadian government into bringing his Toronto-born client home.
[url=http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5il5LCDHbI5AJxB88NybC5-JGwgEgD9391LC00... more...[/url]
Thu, 2008-09-18 17:12
#27
M. Spector
quote:
Appointed by the Pentagon, navy Lt.-Cmdr. Bill Kuebler is awaiting the judge's rulings on a host pretrial matters, principally [b]whether he can have the Toronto-born youth undergo independent psychiatric and psychological assessments.[/b]"If he grants the experts, the trial's not going to be able to happen before January," Kuebler said.
In January, a new president enters the White House. Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes the military commissions at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, that the Bush administration established outside traditional U.S. court systems to prosecute terror suspects.
But Kuebler denied his strategy was to press for delays in the trial start date in the hope of an Obama victory.
"We've simply been litigating this case as zealously as possible," he said, adding [b]he wasn't confident anything would quickly change with the commissions system regardless of who wins the Nov. 4 presidential election.[/b]
The analysts identified by Kuebler would assess the degree to which Khadr - 15 when plucked from an Afghan battlefield in 2002 after being raised in terrorist settings in Afghanistan and Pakistan - has been capable of acting in his own best interest since his detention began….
Kuebler said that having the statements ruled inadmissible could lead to the prosecution dropping its case, but prosecutors have said they have other evidence independent of what Khadr has said in detention. – [url=http://www.canada.com/topics/news/world/story.html?id=2ef3f15f-ecad-4889...
Thu, 2008-09-25 19:49
#28
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]Omar Khadr was not the only teenager rounded up and sent off to Guantanamo...[/b]
quote:
The prosecutor in a Guantanamo war crimes case has asked to quit his assignment due to ethical concerns, defence attorneys and the lead military prosecutor said yesterday.The departure would make at least four Guantanamo prosecutors who have left with misgivings about the fairness of the process, which has drawn international criticism as inhumane and unjust.
Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld gave notice within the last few weeks that he wanted to quit the prosecution team early and cited "personal reasons," Col. Lawrence Morris, the Guantanamo military commissions chief prosecutor, told reporters.
The request was accepted and Vandeveld is winding down his involvement with the commission, Morris said.
Vandeveld was prosecuting Afghan murder suspect Mohammed Jawad and the case will go on, Morris said....
Jawad is charged in the Guantanamo tribunal with throwing a grenade into a U.S. military jeep at a bazaar in Kabul in December 2002, injuring two U.S. soldiers and their Afghan interpreter. He was 16 or 17 when Afghan police arrested him and turned him over to U.S. forces.
- [url=http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/09/25-9]Reuters[/url]
Tue, 2008-09-30 19:25
#29
[url=http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/09/30/bar-khadr.html?ref=rss]Return Khadr to Canada, bar association and legal groups demand[/url]
Fri, 2008-10-03 21:29
#30
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld gave notice within the last few weeks that he wanted to quit the prosecution team early and cited "personal reasons," Col. Lawrence Morris, the Guantanamo military commissions chief prosecutor, told reporters.[/b]
Well, not exactly personal reasons:
quote:
Although Col. Morris attempted to explain that Lt. Col. Vandeveld was leaving “for personal reasons,” the real reasons were spelled out in a [url=http://s3.amazonaws.com/propublica/assets/docs/vandeveld_declaration_080... issued by Vandeveld[/url] (PDF), in which he expressed his frustration and disappointment that “potentially exculpatory evidence” had “not been provided” to Jawad’s defense team:[b]My ethical qualms about continuing to serve as a prosecutor relate primarily to the procedures for affording defense counsel discovery. I am highly concerned, to the point that I believe I can no longer serve as a prosecutor at the Commissions, about the slipshod, uncertain “procedure” for affording defense counsel discovery. One would have thought … six years since the Commissions had their fitful start, that a functioning law office would have been set up and procedures and policies not only put into effect, but refined.
Instead, what I found, and what I still find, is that discovery in even the simplest of cases is incomplete or unreliable. To take the Jawad case as only one example -- a case where no intelligence agency had any significant involvement -- I discovered just yesterday that something as basic as agents’ interrogation notes had been entered into a database, to which I do not have personal access … These and other examples too legion to list are not only appalling, they deprive the accused of basic due process and subject the well-intentioned prosecutor to claims of ethical misconduct.[/b]
Vandeveld also stated, “My view of the case has evolved over time,” and proceeded to explain how he had come to suspect that Jawad, who has always denied throwing the grenade, was duped into joining a militant group, and was drugged before the attack. Michael Berrigan, the Commissions’ deputy chief defense counsel, added that prosecutors also knew that the Afghan Interior Ministry said that two other men had confessed to the same crime, although Vandeveld did not mention this in his statement.
Vandeveld added, “Based on my view of the case, I have advocated a pre-trial agreement under which Mr. Jawad would serve some relatively brief additional period in custody while he receives rehabilitation services and skills that will allow him to reintegrate into either Afghan or Pakistani society.” This, however, was turned down by his commanding officers. He continued: “One of my motivations in seeking a reasonable resolution of the case is that, as a juvenile at the time of capture, Jawad should have been segregated from the adult detainees, and some serious attempt made to rehabilitate him. I am bothered by the fact that this was not done.”
On October 26, as Jawad’s defense lawyer, Maj. David Frakt, sought to have the case dismissed due to “gross government misconduct,” Lt. Col. Vandeveld testified for the defense by video link from Washington D.C., explaining, as the Associated Press described it, that “the embattled military tribunal system may not be capable of delivering justice for Jawad or the victims.” “They are not served by having someone who may be innocent be convicted of the crime,” Vandeveld said, reiterating that, even after six years, “it is impossible for anyone in good conscience to stand up and say he or she is provided all the discovery in a case.”
[b]Explaining more of his reasons for quitting his job, Vandeveld told the court that he “reached a turning point” when he chanced upon “key evidence among material scattered throughout the prosecutors’ office.” In another case file, he said he “saw for the first time a statement Jawad made to a military investigator probing prisoner abuse in Afghanistan,” and described it as “an episode that helped convert him from a ‘true believer to someone who felt truly deceived.’” He added that he had “even developed sympathy” for Jawad. “My views changed,” he said. “I am a father, and it's not an exercise in self-pity to ask oneself how you would feel if your own son was treated in this fashion.”[/b]
[url=http://www.counterpunch.org/worthington10032008.html]Source[/url]
[ 03 October 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Sun, 2008-10-05 12:16
#31
M. Spector
quote:
[F]ederal appeals judges issued a decision this summer that ridiculed as inadequate the Pentagon's secret evidence for holding one of the Uighurs, Huzaifa Parhat, a former fruit peddler who said he had gone to Afghanistan to escape China.Since then, [b]the Pentagon has conceded that it would "serve no useful purpose" to continue to try to prove that any of the 17 Uighurs were ever enemy combatants.[/b]
The Uighurs say they have never been enemies of the United States, though they were in Afghanistan in 2002, where they were detained. They say they would be persecuted or killed if they were returned to China. The Bush administration says it has failed to find another country willing to accept them.
[b]On Tuesday, a federal district judge, Ricardo M. Urbina, is to hear an urgent claim by lawyers for the Uighurs, that they should be released immediately into the United States since they are no longer considered enemy combatants.[/b]
The government argues that they should be held at Guantбnamo until another country can be found to accept them. In filings, the Justice Department lawyers make expansive arguments that, while Judge Urbina can hear the Uighurs' case, he cannot order their release. The judiciary "simply has no authority" to release the Uighurs into the United States, one filing said.
The Justice Department said the government's executive branch, not the judicial branch, has the authority to conclude military detentions, as it has in prior wars. It noted that in World War II "no court ever questioned that it was solely for the political branches - not the courts" to decide how Italian prisoners of war were handled.
P. Sabin Willett, one of the Uighurs' lawyers, said such claims appeared to be laying the groundwork for government appeals in the event that a judge orders a detainee freed. - [url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/05/us/05gitmo.html]NYT[/url]
[ 05 October 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Thu, 2008-10-09 14:36
#32
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]...the Pentagon has conceded that it would "serve no useful purpose" to continue to try to prove that any of the 17 Uighurs were ever enemy combatants.The Uighurs say they have never been enemies of the United States, though they were in Afghanistan in 2002, where they were detained. They say they would be persecuted or killed if they were returned to China.[/b]
quote:
Lawyers working to free 17 Chinese Muslim Uighurs detained at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp voiced bitter disappointment Thursday over an appeals court ruling temporarily blocking their release."This is a terribly disappointing development for no one more so than our clients -- [b]innocent men who once again are left to wonder whether they will ever know life beyond barbed wire[/b]," said Neil McGaraghan, a lawyer representing some of the imprisoned Uighur prisoners.
Emi MacLean, an attorney for the Center for Constitutional Rights, which coordinates representation of many Guantanamo detainees, also expressed regret over the ruling late Wednesday.
[b]"Seventeen men were told yesterday that they were going to be released after nearly seven years of wrongful detention," she said.
"Now, they have to be told that their detention will continue to be indefinite."[/b]
The Uighurs were living in a self-contained camp in Afghanistan when the US-led coalition bombing campaign began in October 2001. They fled to the mountains, but were turned over to Pakistani authorities, who then handed them to the United States.
The group has been held in limbo at Guantanamo -- despite being cleared for release by the US government -- because officials can not find a country willing to take them. The men cannot be returned to China because they would be tortured there as political dissidents.
In Tuesday's historic ruling, a US federal judge ordered that the group be released in the United States, and said the men should be brought to Washington by Friday -- the first time a court had ordered that "war on terror" prisoners detained at the US base should be released onto US soil.
But the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia halted the process late Wednesday to give the US Justice Department time to prepare an appeal. - [url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5g1B2Sahwp8WuP3n5TrOrDA8Y3ulw]AFP[/url]
Wed, 2008-10-22 20:16
#33
M. Spector
quote:
Despite no pay and intense opposition, Dennis Edney has remained passionate about representing high-profile Guantanamo Bay detainee Omar Khadr for over six years.Edney and colleague Nathan Whitling, who has also been representing Khadr, were recognized for their dogged commitment to the Khadr case with a National Pro Bono Award in September….
Edney became involved with the Khadr case in 2002. Before committing himself, he spoke with his family and Whitling, all of whom felt that Khadr’s was a just cause. Even after more than six years, countless hours of non-billable labour and many thousands of personal dollars, Edney, Whitling and their families are still fervently committed to the Khadr case.
It hasn’t been easy. First, there is the lack of funding. Khadr doesn’t qualify for legal aid because he was not detained in Canada. The Canadian government had declined help, notwithstanding that Edney and Whitling were appointed by the Pentagon as foreign attorney consultants and so saw themselves as representing Canadian interests. Other organizations, while sympathetic, have stopped short of offering financial assistance.
There have been many abuses. Edney described how, at one point, he was denied access to Guantanamo Bay and his client because of his position on the military tribunal’s lack of jurisdiction. On another occasion, en route to Cuba, Edney’s plane was diverted by the American government to a private airfield in Florida. Once on the ground, Edney was subjected to questioning and his laptop was seized. He pointed out that these blatant abuses garnered no outcry from anybody.
“Where have the voices been — of lawyers, law societies? If I have been abused, then what protection is there for anybody?” asked Edney.
Khadr was only 15-years-old when he was detained in 2002. Edney listed a litany of abuses he says Khadr has been subjected to since then, including being: interrogated for hours at a time, tortured, and denied eye protection against the glare from his cell lighting. He has never been psychologically assessed. Edney and Whitling have never been allowed access to his medical files.
Edney said this case is not about Khadr’s guilt or innocence (which has yet to be argued). It is about upholding the rule of law, which Edney considers “under siege.” He believes lawyers have an obligation in this fight.
“We’re part of an ancient tradition. We are sworn to uphold the cause of justice,” said Edney. “Whether that’s representing some guy in a rent dispute or whether it’s representing somebody who’s detained in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.”
[url=http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=789]Lawyers' Weekly[/url]
Thu, 2008-10-23 11:42
#34
M. Spector
quote:
The American Civil Liberties Union is at Guantбnamo monitoring the military commission hearings of Omar Khadr and Mohammed Kamin and the arraignment of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani scheduled to take place this week. The ACLU has been present as an independent observer at nearly every commission hearing since 2004 and continues to see no indication that the proceedings are fair, impartial or in accordance with constitutional principles."From the get go, these deeply flawed commissions have stacked the deck in favor of the Bush administration. Any judicial system that allows evidence obtained through torture is fundamentally incompatible with the American system of justice" said Judy Rabinovitz, an ACLU attorney who is observing this week’s proceedings. "With the whole world watching these proceedings, the U.S. must stand up, reject this system and reaffirm its commitment to the rule of law"
Tainted by political interference, the proceedings have been riddled with ethical and legal problems from day one. Among other things, the proceedings allow the admission of secret evidence, hearsay and evidence obtained through torture. The Bush administration has admitted that at least three detainees in its custody have been subjected to waterboarding.
In September, a military judge banned Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, a Pentagon general, from acting as a legal advisor in Khadr’s case because of bias towards the prosecution. Several weeks later, the Department of Defense announced that Hartmann would be "reassigned" to a newly created post – director of court logistics – and replaced by his deputy as the military commissions’ legal advisor. Pledging to prosecute detainees at a quick pace, Hartmann said that his goal in his new post is "to keep the process moving, really intensely" an objective that raises questions about trials that cut corners, deny basic fairness and are aimed at convictions rather than uncovering the truth.
"The Khadr case in particular has illustrated the legal black hole that Guantбnamo represents" said Rabinovitz. "Our government should end this farce and make a fresh start in America’s traditional civilian or military courts where the Constitution still means something."
[url=http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?aId=78143]Press release[/url]
Thu, 2008-10-23 12:04
#35
M. Spector
quote:
There are 12 days until the presidential election and three months until the White House is inhabited by a leader who has vowed to close the U.S. naval prison here.The question now is, when will Omar Khadr go to trial?
Military judge Army Col. Patrick Parrish yesterday denied a request by Khadr's lawyers for an "indefinite delay," saying he would decide this week whether to postpone the proposed Nov. 10 trial start date.
[url=http://www.thestar.com/SpecialSections/OmarKhadr/article/522840]Star[/url]
Fri, 2008-10-24 12:22
#36
M. Spector
Good news!
quote:
Omar Khadr's trial will now not begin until January 26, a U.S. Military judge has ruled, pushing the trial date past the point where a new administration will take over in Washington, and casting serious doubt as to whether the detained Canadian will face trial in Guantanamo Bay at all.Colonel Patrick Parrish, the judge overseeing Mr. Khadr's trial on charges of terrorism-related offences and the murder of a U.S soldier during a 2002 Afghan firefight, ruled Friday that the Canadian will now go to trial in late January instead of early November.
The judge's ruling is based on a number of factors, including the defence team's argument that it will take more time for an independent psychologist to fully examine Mr. Khadr. - [url=http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081024.wkhadr1024/B...
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:10
#37
M. Spector
What kind of lame-ass national "human rights" organization would call for its own government to put a former child soldier on trial for murder "if there is sufficient and admissible evidence" - even after he has been imprisoned without trial and tortured for seven years by a foreign rogue regime?
Why, Amnesty International Canada, of course!
Their [url=http://www.amnesty.ca/take_action/actions/canada_bring_khadr_justice.php... Omar Khadr to Justice[/url] campaign (which makes it sound like Khadr is some sort of war criminal) involves duping a lot of well-meaning people into signing a petition addressed to Stephen Harper that literally invites him to repatriate Khadr to Canada and then put him on trial here. Yes, this would be the same Stephen Harper who heads the government that the Supreme Court has found [url=http://www.thestar.com/News/Canada/article/429301]was complicit in the torture of Khadr at Guantanamo Bay![/url]
I suppose if Harper does exactly that it will be up to other human rights organizations besides A.I.C. to demand that the charges be dropped and Khadr be released.
[ 24 October 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:20
#38
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]What kind of lame-ass national "human rights" organization would call for its own government to put a former child soldier on trial for murder "if there is sufficient and admissible evidence" - even after he has been imprisoned without trial and tortured for seven years by a foreign rogue regime?[/b]
[url=http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5ii3NzDmgXBQ99SuN5zbrPmCa1y...'s more[/url] on the same theme - the Anglican Diocese of Montrйal, Amnesty International, and others, going to bat for a [i]non-Canadian[/i] Guantanamo detainee, and saying (in oh-so-genteel terms) why his cause is worthier than Omar Khadr's:
quote:
Human-rights officials are calling on the Canadian government to fast-track Ameziane's case, given his detention and and taking into account he has a brother in Canada.Ameziane's case is not like the high-profile detention of Omar Khadr, the only western citizen left at Guantanamo, says Janet Dench, executive director of the Canadian Council for Refugees.
"The Canadian government, whether you agree with them or not, say (Khadr) must face charges against him," Dench said. "That is not the case with Djamel. He's there without any charges against him."
[ 24 October 2008: Message edited by: unionist ]
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:25
#39
I don't see a huge problem with that tactic.
Given where Khadr is now, being in front of a Canadian court would be a huge step up.
I have every expectation that a Canadian judge would respond favourably to a motion to dismiss on child soldier grounds.
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:30
#40
quote:
Originally posted by jrootham:
[b]
I have every expectation that a Canadian judge would respond favourably to a motion to dismiss on child soldier grounds.[/b]
So he lives his life with a reputation as a terrorist and murderer?
And the U.S.'s crime was only that he should have been turned over to a youth version of Guantanamo?
I don't think so. The Canadian government should just try demanding his return, period. They haven't even tried.
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:32
#41
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by jrootham:
[b]I have every expectation that a Canadian judge would respond favourably to a motion to dismiss on child soldier grounds.[/b]
Are you going to pay for his defence lawyer, so we can find out if you're right?
And how many months do you think it would be fair to have him sit in a Canadian jail awaiting trial?
[ 24 October 2008: Message edited by: M. Spector ]
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:32
#42
It's the Canadian authorities that should be put on trial, not Omar Khadr (sorry Professor Byers).
Fri, 2008-10-24 13:50
#43
I didn't claim that this was the most amazing piece of justice and mercy to ever happen.
I just claimed it was not an unreasonable tactic.
The Cons have nailed their colours to the mast on Khadr being bad. The call to try him here is more likely to be accepted by them than an immediate acceptance of innocence.
As far as defense lawyers are concerned, at a minimum he gets legal aid, and I suspect there are a number of lawyers willing to work pro bono on a case with this much publicity.
Fri, 2008-10-24 15:49
#44
I think Byers is being realistic about what it will take to bring Khadr home. Jean Chretien, Paul Martin, and now Steve Harper have all legitimized Crazy George's phony war on terror by going along with the [url=http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=va&aid=10144]American inquisition[/url] surrounding 9-11, and now that is the context within which the feds must maneuver. The Yanks aren't going to consider requests for Khadr's release based on anything other than their new and improved phony military legal framework setup since those citizens from other western countries were released from Guantanamo.
Yes sir, Uncle Sam, Khadr was a bad juvenile delinquent at the time. And Now it's time to hand him over to Canadian authorities. Just get it done, even it means listening to the advice of an NDP candidate and expert on international law. The time for gettin khadr while the gettin was good has come and gone, no thanks to the previous Liberal government.
Fri, 2008-10-24 16:04
#45
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by jrootham:
[b]I didn't claim that this was the most amazing piece of justice and mercy to ever happen.[/b]
You didn't have to do that in order for us to figure out that you have precious little regard for human rights or principles of justice.
You construct fantasy scenarios based on hopes and suspicions in order to justify treating Omar Khadr as a criminal, rather than as a victim of crime.
Your cavalier suggestion that Canada, already complicit in crimes against humanity in this case, continue the persecution of this child soldier, who has already done seven years of hard time, much of it in solitary confinement and under torture, is revolting to anyone who has any regard for justice and human rights.
Fri, 2008-10-24 16:37
#46
M. Spector
quote:
Originally posted by Fidel:
[b]The Yanks aren't going to consider requests for Khadr's release based on anything other than their new and improved phony military legal framework setup since those citizens from other western countries were released from Guantanamo.[/b]
You keep on saying that, and I'll keep on reminding you that even [url=http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/447159]John McCain has said he would release Khadr if Harper asked.[/url]
Fri, 2008-10-24 16:40
#47
It is somewhat troubling, nay terrifying, that posters here would make up excuses for Canada not even trying to just plain old simply [b]ask[/b] the U.S. to send him back.
Fri, 2008-10-24 17:38
#48
quote:
Originally posted by M. Spector:
[b]You keep on saying that, and I'll keep on reminding you that even [url=http://www.thestar.com/News/USElection/article/447159]John McCain has said he would release Khadr if Harper asked.[/url][/b]
Oh right! Jean Chretien could have asked at any time when there existed [i]another[/i] opportunity to bring Khadr home at the same time other western countries were acting swiftly to bring their nationals home from Guantanamo.
And now you say Khadr's release forms are all but signed and rubber-stamped? All it will take is a dose of viagra for the Harpers and 76 Liberal opposers in Ottawa? Sounds good to me! Omar can rest assured that our stoogeocrats in Ottawa will get right on it asap-pronto-arriba aye-aye!
Fri, 2008-10-24 17:42
#49
See what I mean?
Fri, 2008-10-24 17:53
#50
It's a pretty sad state of affairs when we point to John McCain as a champion of Omar's child rights under international law. John McSame is even nuttier than Crazy George.
[ 24 October 2008: Message edited by: Fidel ]
Fri, 2008-10-24 23:11
#51
It looks as though Khadr will be released on U.S. terms, whenever that happens, and not ours. And we will be able to say that Michael Byers, candidate for the "fourth party" in Ottawa, didn't make it happen, as if improving the Liberal-Tory plus-minus rating is all that matters here. Khadr's story is tragic, just tragic. Sad,sad, sad. I'm more ashamed of our stoogeocrats than usual for this one.