Lawyer Says Cuba Detainees Face Unfair System
By NEIL A. LEWIS
International Herald Tribune via NYT
Published: January 22, 2004
WASHINGTON, Jan. 21 — The military lawyer assigned to defend an Australian, David Hicks, detained at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, said on Wednesday that the military commission system under which his client might soon be tried was inherently unfair and was explicitly created to improve the likelihood of convictions. The lawyer, Maj. Michael D. Mori, said, "Using the commission process just creates an unfair system that threatens to convict the innocent and provides the guilty a justifiable complaint as to their convictions."
Major Mori was one of five uniformed military lawyers assigned as defense counsel to Guantánamo detainees who filed a brief with the Supreme Court last week arguing that President Bush had overstepped his bounds as commander in chief by planning to prosecute prisoners in a system that does not allow for any appeal to civilian courts.
The administration says the detainees are illegal enemy combatants. Major Mori said: "The military commissions will not provide a full and fair trial. The commission process has been created and controlled by those with a vested interest only in convictions."
He said that one example of unfairness was that the individual with the authority to approve any charges was also detailed to rule on defense motions. "This rule alone demonstrates that the designers of the commissions intend to exercise central control of the process without interference by independent checks and balances," Major Mori said.
Maj. John Smith, a spokesman for the office of military commissions, said in response that the military commissions were needed because they took into account battlefield conditions and were thus preferable to courts-martial. "Courts-martial, which are used to maintain order and discipline, do not make as much sense with acts committed on the battlefield," Major Smith said. "While the commission rules may be different in some respects, they are certainly very fair."
He said they provided for considerations like the presumption of innocence and the burden of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.
posted by Richard at
Friday, January 23, 2004
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
Links to this post:
Create a Link
<< Home