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Chief Gitmo Prosecutor Steps Down

Chain-of-command issue leads to resignation at controversial military jail

By John Barley,  Newser User

Posted Oct 5, 2007 7:50 PM CDT
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(Newser) – The US military’s lead prosecutor in trials of terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay has resigned, the Pentagon announced today. Air Force Col. Davis sought a new post after the Pentagon rejected his complaint that an officer supervising his work did not have the authority to do so. “Clearly, there was a disagreement with respect to roles and authorities,” a Pentagon spokesman said.

Davis stepped down following the finding of a Pentagon-directed team of military experts who concluded that it was proper for Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, legal adviser to the body that will run the trials, to maintain oversight. The trials were suspended in June, Reuters notes, when military judges dismissed charges against the two detainees who had been charged; the charges were reinstated last month.

In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, a detainee sits alone inside a fenced area during his daily outside period, at Camp 5 maximum security detention prison, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. The Bush administration is nearing a decision...
In this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official, a detainee sits alone inside a fenced area during his daily outside period, at Camp 5 maximum security detention prison, Guantanamo...   (Associated Press)
Guards sit in a tower overlooking the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba, Tuesday, in this May 15, 2007 file photo reviewed by U.S. Department of Defense. On Monday June 4, a military judge dismissed terrorism related charges against a prisoner charged with killing an American...
Guards sit in a tower overlooking the detention camp at Guantanamo Bay US Naval Base, Cuba, Tuesday, in this May 15, 2007 file photo reviewed by U.S. Department of Defense. On Monday June 4, a military...   (Associated Press)
FILE ** The sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, Thursday, in this Dec. 8, 2006, file photo. Lawyers for Guantanamo detainee Jamil el-Banna claim that based on faulty evidence, he has been locked up by the United States for...
FILE ** The sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Camp Delta, Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, Thursday, in this Dec. 8, 2006, file photo. Lawyers for Guantanamo detainee Jamil el-Banna...   (Associated Press)
US troopers walk on a road as the sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, in this Dec. 7, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official. The Bush administration is nearing a decision to close the Guantanamo...
US troopers walk on a road as the sun rises over the razor-wired detention compound at Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba, in this Dec. 7, 2006 file photo, reviewed by a U.S. Dept of Defense official....   (Associated Press)
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Files raise questions on Gitmo decisions
Associated Press

Gitmo panels struggle to assess facts
Associated Press

Transcript of Davis interview with Australian TV
ABC News (Australia)

World • US

 
military • enemy combatants • Guantanamo Bay • terror suspects

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