U.S. Human Rights Groups Deplore Order to Try 9/11 Suspects Before a Military Commission at Gitmo

[Better Believe It]

Rights Groups Deplore Order to Try 9/11 Suspects at Guantanamo
by Jim Lobe
April 4, 2011

U.S. human rights groups reacted angrily to the Justice Department's announcement Monday that the self-acclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on Lower Manhattan and the Pentagon will be tried before a military commission at the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba.

The groups, which described the move as the latest in a series of reversals by the administration of President Barack Obama on the fate of Guantanamo detainees, charged that the decision was politically motivated and warned that it will prove counter-productive.

"This administration had two years to bring and his co-defendants to federal courts for trial, and failed to exercise its authority to do so," said Daphne Eviatar of Human Rights First. "It can still prepare to do so now and begin those trials as soon as the temporary ban Congress has imposed is lifted." The current legislation will expire at the end of September.

"Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is no warrior. He is a criminal and should not be treated otherwise through commissions," said ret. Gen. Joseph Hoar, a former chief of U.S. Central Command.

Read the full article at:

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/04/04-8#comments


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PRESS RELEASE

In Admission of Political Failure Obama Administration Reverses and Will Try 9/11 Defendants in Flawed Military Commissions

CCR Condemns Political Nature of Decision

April 4, 2011, New York – Today, in response to news that the Obama administration will try the 9/11 defendants in the military commissions system rather than Article III civilian courts, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement:

"The Obama administration all but admitted political failure today as it announced it would try the 9/11 defendants before the deeply flawed military commission system rather than in Article III civilian courts as originally planned. The announcement underscores the fact that decisions about whether to try detainees in federal court or by military commission are purely political. The decision is clearly driven not by the nature of the alleged offense, or where and when it was committed, but by the unpopularity of the detainee and the political culture in Washington.

"It also sets a bad precedent, as shown by Egypt’s apparent plans to use military trials for protesters at Tahir Square. In the same breath that the U.S. is calling for the rule of law in the Middle East, it is subverting it at home.

"The decision to abandon criminal prosecution of the 9/11 defendants in favor of a military commission undermines the prosecutorial discretion of the Justice Department and the independence of the judiciary.

"As Attorney General Holder and Secretary Gates explained in a February 2010 letter to Congress, eliminating federal court trials takes away the most effective tool for combating terrorism. As Obama said during his campaign, the existence of Guantánamo threatens our national security, as do the military commissions themselves.

"President Obama should have followed through on his promise to challenge the congressional ban on the transfer of men from Guantánamo to the U.S. for prosecution before caving to political pressure."

CCR has led the legal battle over Guantanamo for the last nine years – sending the first ever habeas attorney to the base and sending the first attorney to meet with an individual transferred from CIA “ghost detention” to Guantanamo. CCR has been responsible for organizing and coordinating hundreds of pro bono lawyers across the country to represent the men at Guantanamo, ensuring that nearly all have the option of legal representation. In addition, CCR has been working to resettle men who remain at Guantánamo because they cannot return to their country of origin for fear of persecution and torture.

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

http://www.ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/admission-of-political-failure-obama-administration-reverses-try-9/11-defendants-flawed-military-com


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Obama Administration Will Prosecute 9/11 Suspects In The Broken Military Commissions System
April 4, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NEW YORK – In a move that undermines civil liberties and the rule of law, the Obama administration today announced that it will prosecute the suspects accused of planning the 9/11 attacks in the Guantánamo military commissions system.

In one of the first acts of his new presidency, President Obama called a halt to the military commissions. A joint Department of Justice and Department of Defense task force was then created to conduct careful review of the appropriate forum for trials for accused terrorists held on Guantánamo. Attorney General Eric Holder had announced the result of that process in November 2009: the 9/11 defendants would be prosecuted in federal courts. The administration delayed in response to political pressure, and has now backtracked under pressure from within and outside of Congress.

The following can be attributed to Anthony D. Romero, Executive Director of the ACLU:

“The Obama administration’s decision to use the broken and deficient military commissions system to prosecute the most important terrorism cases of our time is completely wrong. There is a reason this system is condemned: it is rife with constitutional and procedural problems and undermines the fundamental American values that have made us a model throughout the world for centuries. Attorney General Holder’s previous decision to try the 9/11 defendants in federal court was absolutely the right call but this flip flop on the part of the Obama administration is devastating for the rule of law and greatly undermines America’s standing abroad.

“These cases have already been delayed for years by the Bush administration’s legally and morally disastrous decision to subject the 9/11 defendants to torture and indefinite detention. Cases prosecuted by the Obama administration in the commissions now are sure to be subject to continuous legal challenges and delays, and their outcomes will not be seen as legitimate. That is not justice. Americans deserve better.”

http://www.aclu.org/national-security/obama-administration-will-prosecute-911-suspects-broken-military-commissions-syste


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Military Commissions No Place for 9-11 Terrorism Cases
For Immediate Release: April 4, 2011

Washington, DC – On the same day that President Obama announced his re-election campaign, his administration will reportedly cave on a key promise of the last election cycle and what used to be one of its core principles: to bring suspected terrorists to justice in legitimate U.S. courts. This afternoon, Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to announce that alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four of his co-conspirators in the attacks that claimed nearly 3,000 lives will be tried in military commissions, a move Human Rights First is criticizing as a response to political pressure, not implementation of smart national security policy.

“In his first presidential campaign, President Obama stressed the importance of closing the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison and pledged in his first days of office to follow through on that promise. Now, more than two years later, we’re seeing him backtrack, in announcing that we will not have legitimate, reliable trials in the United States for the alleged perpetrators of the most heinous terrorist attack on U.S. soil in our history,” said Human Rights First’s Daphne Eviatar. “The only thing that has changed is the politics. Decisions on where to prosecute suspected terrorists should be made based on careful legal analysis, not on politics. This purely political decision risks making a second-class justice system a permanent feature U.S. national security policy – a mistake that flies in the face of core American values and would undermine U.S. standing around the world.”

Retired General Joseph Hoar, responding to the expected announcement, added: “Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is no warrior. He is a criminal and should not be treated otherwise through commissions. Our federal courts have convicted more than 400 terror suspects since 9/11. Commissions have only convicted six.”

“This will entrench the very problems in US counterterrorism policy that President Obama declared he wanted to change,” said Eviatar. “Former Vice President Cheney, in referring to the Bush Administration’s resort to torture, indefinite detention, and military commissions, called it ‘the new normal.’ Today’s decision to try the suspected mastermind of the 9/11 attacks as a military combatant, in tribunals that are widely viewed around the world as illegitimate, will help make former VP Cheney’s prediction seem prophetic.”

In 2008, Obama criticized the Bush administration’s prosecution of KSM and his co-defendants in military commissions because the trials are “too important to be held in a flawed military commission system” that has been “embroiled in legal challenges.” Attorney General Eric Holder in November 2009 laid out why civilian courts are the better place to try these defendants than military commissions, noting that “we can prosecutor terrorists in our federal courts safely and securely because we have been doing it for years,” explaining that “we can protect classified material during trial.” He also noted that KSM “will have no more of a platform to spew his hateful ideology in federal court than he would have in military commissions.” The Attorney General made the case then for why this trial should be held in federal court, and those same facts remain the case today.

According to Human Rights First, President Obama cannot only blame Congress for the decision that is expected to be announced today. “This Administration had two years to bring KSM and his co-defendants to federal courts for trial, and failed to exercise its authority to do so. It can still prepare to do so now, and begin those trials as soon as the temporary ban Congress has imposed is lifted,” Eviatar stated.

Even though the Military Commissions Act was amended in 2009, the commissions continue to violate international legal standards of due process and will be the subject of litigation for years to come, with a good chance of being rejected by the courts in the end. Federal courts, on the other hand, are not subject to such infirmities or challenges. Human Rights First says this decision merely prolongs the failed experiment in military commissions and the day of final reckoning for the perpetrators of 9/11.

Civilian federal courts have convicted more than 400 terrorists since the 9/11 terrorist attacks. The discredited military commissions at Guantanamo Bay have convicted only 6, almost all via plea bargains that resulted in much lighter sentences, due to the shaky legal ground of many of the military commission charges and procedures. U.S. national security would be far better served by relying on the most experienced federal prosecutors and time-tested federal court system to finally bring the 9/11 perpetrators to justice.

For more information or to speak with Retired General Joseph Hoar or Daphne Eviatar, please contact Brenda Bowser Soder at [e-mail] or 202-370-3323.

http://www.humanrightsfirst.org/2011/04/04/military-commissions-no-place-for-9-11-terrorism-cases/


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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
At Guantanamo, Detainees Are Presumed Guilty

WASHINGTON, DC (April 4, 2011) – The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) agrees with Attorney General Eric Holder’s assessment that the federal courts have proven to be an unparalleled instrument for trying terrorism cases. The federal courts have handled numerous terrorism cases with just, reliable results without security breaches and federal prosecutors have the tools for prosecuting persons believed to be terrorists, including over 40 specific terrorism statutes and nearly 100 other federal laws.

But when the attorney general spoke of “bring the conspirators to justice,” he was ignoring the constitutional and common law mandate that the accused are innocent until proven guilty. That principle is the bedrock upon which our system of justice is founded.

The military commission system is not about seeking justice as much as it is about obtaining convictions. At Guantanamo, the detainees are presumed guilty by virtue of their detention, and are hamstrung in defending themselves.

“Despite some cosmetic changes since the Bush-era commissions, the commission rules still permit the government to introduce secret evidence, hearsay and statements obtained through coercion,” said the association’s Executive Director, Norman Reimer. “NACDL maintains that the rules and procedures for these commission trials raise serious questions about the government’s commitment to constitutional principles upon which our country was founded. Therefore a vigorous and properly resourced defense is essential.”

If the Department of Defense decides to seek the death penalty for any detainee, NACDL calls upon the Convening Authority to ensure that adequate funding and resources are provided to defense counsel to ensure that the commission proceedings comport with the American Bar Association’s Guidelines for the Appointment and Performance of Defense Counsel in Death Penalty Cases and the capital defense provisions of the Uniform Code of Military Justice.

In the long term, the best weapon in the war on terror is adherence to the Bill of Rights. True Americans accept no less.

The National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers is the preeminent organization advancing the mission of the criminal defense bar to ensure justice and due process for persons accused of crime or wrongdoing. A professional bar association founded in 1958, NACDL’s 10,000-plus direct members in 28 countries – and 90 state, provincial and local affiliate organizations totaling more than 40,000 attorneys – include private criminal defense lawyers, public defenders, military defense counsel, law professors and judges committed to preserving fairness and promoting a rational and humane criminal justice system.

http://www.nacdl.org/public.nsf/NewsReleases/2011mn10?OpenDocument

[Bragi]

1. And he's a constitutional lawyer!

This is sad and seriously wrong decision.

[jaxx]

2. Nobody likes it, including Holder and Obama.

The alternative is continuing to let the detainees sit in Gitmo forever, without tribunal or trial. It sucks all the way around. Give the shit to the congress who screamed "not in my backyard" and voted to not let the trials be done on US soil.