Guantanamo tribunals

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9/11 Trial Pushed to August. But Even That's Unlikely

Pandemic has brought proceedings to a standstill

(Newser) - The trial of five alleged 9/11 plotters is unlikely to begin anytime before the 20th anniversary of the terrorist atrocity. Col. Stephen Keane, the judge who began overseeing the case against the five men earlier this month, has canceled all hearings for the rest of the year, citing pandemic travel...

State Dept. Shuts Office in Charge of Closing Gitmo

Daniel Fried gets moved to sanctions-policy issues

(Newser) - The State Department all but raised the white flag on closing Gitmo today, quietly reassigning the special envoy in charge of shutting down the notorious prison, the New York Times reports. The office of Daniel Fried is being closed, with no one to replace him, as his work is "...

9/11 Hearings Begin Today Amid Rats, Mold

Judge won't allow further delays to Guantanamo trial

(Newser) - The Guantanamo trial of five 9/11 suspects has already been postponed thanks to a tropical storm, religious observances, an Internet outage, and more—but an invasion of rats and mold isn't going to push it back any further. Pretrial hearings are set to begin today for alleged mastermind Khalid...

Was This Pic of 9/11 Suspect Smuggled Out of Gitmo?

Officials scrambling to find out how photos landed on jihadist website

(Newser) - US officials are at a loss to explain how apparently recent photos of the suspected 9/11 master plotter ended up on a jihadist website . They fear the photos may have been taken and smuggled out of Guantanamo Bay. The photos show a calm, often smiling Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other...

9/11 Victim's Spouse Goes to Gitmo to Save Plotters' Lives

Blake Allison meets with defendants' lawyers

(Newser) - The husband of a 9/11 victim opposes the death penalty in all cases—and he went to Guantanamo to fight for his beliefs. Blake Allison won one of 10 slots in a 9/11 mourners' lottery, allowing him to visit the island for the arraignment of admitted mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammed....

Tomorrow: 9/11 Case Back On at Gitmo

3 years later, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, 4 others set for arraignment

(Newser) - It's been three years since President Obama paused the case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other alleged planners of the 9/11 attacks. Tomorrow, the case resumes in a military tribunal at Guantanamo after efforts to move the proceedings to a civilian court failed . Things could be a little...

Obama Restarts Guantanamo Trials

Administration ends 2-year military prosecution freeze

(Newser) - President Obama today reversed a two-year freeze on military prosecutions against Guantanamo Bay detainees, the AP reports. In an executive order, the president restarted the process of trying the high-risk detainees—the latest acknowledgment of the political difficulties of fulfilling his campaign promise to close the Cuban detention facility. Defense...

Gitmo Juror Rejected for Agreeing with Obama

Khadr trial halted after lawyer collapses

(Newser) - A military officer who says he believes the Guantanamo Bay detention center should be closed was disqualified from serving on the jury at detainee Omar Khadr's trial this week. The other 15 officers considered for the panel all either said that Gitmo should stay open or that they had no...

Don't Close Gitmo Just for Symbolism
 Don't Close Gitmo 
 Just for Symbolism 

MICHAEL GERSON

Don't Close Gitmo Just for Symbolism

Detention center is ugly but necessary, writes Michael Gerson

(Newser) - Guantanamo Bay is an ugly place to Americans and the rest of the world but there's no point in closing it just for the sake of symbolism, writes Michael Gerson. George Bush decided against closing it because of the problem of what to do with the detainees. President Obama opted...

Bush AG: Court Terror Trials Too Dangerous

Challenges to security, secrecy would be 'overwhelming'

(Newser) - The Obama administration wants to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and other Guantanamo detainees in federal courts—and that's a major mistake, says Michael Mukasey. Terrorism trials pose "overwhelming" security challenges, and classified information would have to be revealed, warns George Bush's relatively moderate third attorney general...

White House Counsel May Quit Over Gitmo Struggles

Craig taking heat as January closing deadline slips away

(Newser) - The Obama administration's promise to close Guantanamo Bay within a year is in serious danger of being broken, and White House counsel Greg Craig may be leaving his post because of it, senior officials say. Craig ordered the January deadline after being advised not to by outgoing Bush administration officials...

US Has Decided Fate of Half of Gitmo Prisoners

(Newser) - About a quarter of the 229 detainees at Guantanamo Bay will face trial, says Attorney General Eric Holder. Speaking to a Senate panel today, Holder said the US had decided the fate of about half the remaining prisoners, though he did not offer specifics, reports Reuters. President Obama plans to...

US May Execute 9/11 Detainees Without Trials

(Newser) - The Obama administration may let accused 9/11 terrorists at Guantanamo Bay plead guilty and be executed without facing trial, the New York Times reports. A proposed change in military law, which governs Guantanamo tribunals, would give the alleged attackers what they seek—martyrdom—and avoid trials that could reveal harsh...

Easy to Find Middle Ground on Gitmo: Klein
Easy to Find Middle Ground on Gitmo: Klein
OPINION

Easy to Find Middle Ground on Gitmo: Klein

Military courts wouldn't allow torture evidence, get civilian review

(Newser) - Lawyers and soldiers are divided on how to deal with enemy combatants, but “it shouldn’t be too hard to find a middle ground,” writes Joe Klein in Time, because both arguments “are being made by unappealing extremists.” It’s unrealistic to try detainees in open...

Obama to Restart Gitmo Tribunals
Obama to Restart Gitmo Tribunals

Obama to Restart Gitmo Tribunals

But this time, suspects will have more rights, legal protections

(Newser) - President Obama will restart military tribunals for a small number of Guantanamo detainees—reviving a trial system he once said the Bush administration had abused—but with new legal protections for terror suspects, officials said. The trials will remain frozen for another 4 months as the administration adjusts the legal...

Obama to Revive Gitmo Military Tribunals

(Newser) - The Obama administration will reinstate the military tribunal system for trying Guantanamo Bay detainees, after moving the proceedings onto American soil and instituting several changes, including barring evidence obtained by techniques like waterboarding, officials tell the Washington Post. Human rights groups had hoped Obama’s 120-day suspension of the tribunals,...

Obama Meets With 9/11 Families
 Obama Meets With 9/11 Families 

Obama Meets With 9/11 Families

President moves to reassure families over his plans for terror suspects

(Newser) - Barack Obama met yesterday with people who lost relatives in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the bombing of the USS Cole in an effort to reassure them about his plans for detained al-Qaeda suspects, McClatchy Newspapers reports. The president hugged some of the 40 attendees at the highly emotional...

Gitmo Judge Refuses Obama's Order to Delay Trials

Delay in USS Cole case 'does not serve the interest of justice,' Army colonel says

(Newser) - The lead judge in the Guantanamo Bay military tribunals has refused President Obama’s order to suspend legal proceedings against one of the terror prison’s detainees, Reuters reports. Army Col. James Pohl said tribunal rules give him sole authority to delay litigation in the case of Abd al Rahim...

Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't What It Seems
Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't
What It Seems
ANALYSIS

Obama's Gitmo Order Isn't What It Seems

Experts see potential loopholes, gray areas in revised policies

(Newser) - With a stroke of the pen, President Obama rewrote American detention and interrogation policy yesterday. Or not, writes Josh Gerstein for Politico. He offers reasons not to overstate Obama’s policy changes:
  • "Everyone has to follow the Army Field Manual—for now…": Obama is convening a group to
...

Prez Orders Halt to Gitmo Trials

Prosecutors seeking 120-day delay while Obama sorts things out

(Newser) - Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors to seek a 120-day halt to legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay—due to resume today—against five accused 9/11 conspirators, and another case against a Canadian defendant. Documents already filed said the request is made "in the interest of justice and at the direction...

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