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Day Two of Military Judge Questioning 9/11 Accused About Self-Representation
Public amnesty international USA Guantánamo: Day two of military judge questioning 9/11 accused about self-representation 11 July 2008 AI Index: AMR 51/077/2008 On 10 July 2008, military commission judge US Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann held further proceedings to question the men accused of orchestrating the attacks of 11 September 2001 about their decision to represent themselves at their forthcoming death penalty trial in the US Naval Base in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Amnesty International had an observer at the proceedings. The primary purpose of the hearings was to inquire of each of the accused individually about whether they had been intimidated before or during their arraignment on 5 June 2008 into making a choice to represent themselves, or whether this decision had been made knowingly and voluntarily. Judge Kohlmann had questioned two of the accused, ‘Ali ‘Abd al-‘Aziz ‘Ali (‘Ammar al Baluchi) and Mustafa al Hawsawi at individual sessions held on 9 July (see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/076/2008/en). He had scheduled sessions for the other three men, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid bin Attash and Ramzi bin al-Shibh on 10 July. In the event, Ramzi bin al-Shibh refused to come to his session. It seems unlikely that the military judge will question him again on the matter of legal representation until the issue of Ramzi bin al-Shibh’s mental competency is addressed at a hearing scheduled to take place next month (see http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AMR51/074/2008/en). Both Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Walid bin Attash denied that they had been intimidated or that any intimidation had taken place. -
Observer Dispatch by Mary Ann Walker
Interrogating the Interrogator at Guantánamo Bay GTMO OBSERVER PROGRAM FEBRUARY 5, 2020 By: Mary Ann Walker As part of the Pacific Council’s Guantánamo Bay Observer Program, I traveled to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, in January 2020 to attend the 9/11 military pre-trial hearing of alleged plotter and mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohammad and four others charged with assisting in the 9/11 attacks: Walid bin Attash, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, and Mustafa al-Hawsawi. Pretrial hearings have been ongoing in Guantánamo Bay since 2008. The trial itself is scheduled to begin in January 2021, nearly 20 years after the 9/11 attacks. I was among 13 NGO observers from numerous organizations. Media outlets including Al Jazeera, The Guardian, the Los Angeles Times, and The New York Times were also present in order to cover this historic hearing along with many family members of the 9/11 victims. It was an eye-opening experience to be an observer. Defense attorney for Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, James Connell, met with the NGOs and media the evening we arrived on January 18. He explained the current status of pretrial hearings and what we could expect in the days to come. Chief Defense Counsel General John Baker met with the NGOs on Martin Luther King, Jr., Day to give background on the upcoming trial and military commissions. At the start of the meeting, Baker commended Pacific Council on International Policy for its excellent work on the three amendments to the FY2018 defense bill allowing for transparent and fair military commission trials in Guantánamo Bay, which includes the broadcast of the trials via the internet. -
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Stephen Abraham Exhibits EXHIBIT 1 Unlikely Adversary Arises to Criticize Detainee Hearings - New York Times http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/23/us/23gitmo.html?pagewanted=print July 23, 2007 Unlikely Adversary Arises to Criticize Detainee Hearings By WILLIAM GLABERSON NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Stephen E. Abraham’s assignment to the Pentagon unit that runs the hearings at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, seemed a perfect fit. A lawyer in civilian life, he had been decorated for counterespionage and counterterrorism work during 22 years as a reserve Army intelligence officer in which he rose to the rank of lieutenant colonel. His posting, just as the Guantánamo hearings were accelerating in 2004, gave him a close-up view of the government’s detention policies. It also turned him into one of the Bush administration’s most unlikely adversaries. In June, Colonel Abraham became the first military insider to criticize publicly the Guantánamo hearings, which determine whether detainees should be held indefinitely as enemy combatants. Just days after detainees’ lawyers submitted an affidavit containing his criticisms, the United States Supreme Court reversed itself and agreed to hear an appeal arguing that the hearings are unjust and that detainees have a right to contest their detentions in federal court. Some lawyers say Colonel Abraham’s account — of a hearing procedure that he described as deeply flawed and largely a tool for commanders to rubber-stamp decisions they had already made — may have played an important role in the justices’ highly unusual reversal. That decision once again brought the administration face to face with the vexing legal, political and diplomatic questions about the fate of Guantánamo and the roughly 360 men still held there. -
David Hicks, Mamdouh Habib and the Limits of Australian Citizenship
9/17/2015 b o r d e r l a n d s ejournal limits of australian citizenship vol 2 no 3 contents VOLUME 2 NUMBER 3, 2003 David Hicks, Mamdouh Habib and the limits of Australian Citizenship Binoy Kampmark University of Queensland I will continue to take an interest in the wellbeing of Mr Hicks as an Australian citizen to ensure that he is being treated humanely. Alexander Downer, Answer to Question on notice, 18 March 2003. 1. Citizenship is delivered in a brown paper bag at Australian ceremonies. You apply beforehand, and, if lucky, you are asked to attend a ceremony, where you are invited to take an oath (whether to God or otherwise), and witness the spectacle of having citizenship thrust upon you. ‘There has never been a better time to become an Australian citizen’ is marked on the package, which is signed by the Immigration Minister. Brown bags signify this entire process: we await the displays, the cameo aboriginal troupe intent on welcoming the naturalised citizen with a fire ceremony that misfires (or never fires), a lady with a speech impediment who deputises for the minister for Citizenship, and the various tiers of government expounding the virtues of civic responsibility. In short, the entire ceremony is a generous selfmocking; it is citizenship as comedy, a display of cultural symbols that are easily interchanged and shifted. The mocking of citizenship lies at the centre of Australia’s discourse on what it means to be an Australian citizen. It is parodic; it does not take itself seriously, which, some might argue, is its great strength. -
Yearbook of International Humanitarian Law — Volume 18, 2015 Correspondents’ Reports
YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL HUMANITARIAN LAW — VOLUME 18, 2015 CORRESPONDENTS’ REPORTS 1 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Contents Overview – United States Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law ............................ 1 Cases – United States Federal Court .......................................................................................... 3 Cases – United States Military Courts – Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces (CAAF) ...... 4 Cases — United States Military Courts – United States Army ................................................. 4 Cases — United States Military Courts – United States Marine Corps .................................... 5 Issues — United States Department of Defense ........................................................................ 6 Issues — United States Army .................................................................................................... 8 Issues —United States Navy .................................................................................................... 11 Issues — United States Marine Corps ..................................................................................... 12 Overview – United States Detention Practice .......................................................................... 12 Detainee Challenges – United States District Court ................................................................ 13 US Military Commission Appeals ........................................................................................... 16 Court of Appeals for the -
Print: Bush's Plan to Erode Our Liberties
Print: Bush's Plan to Erode Our Liberties http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070625/huq/print Bush's Plan to Erode Our Liberties by AZIZ HUQ June 8, 2007 Early this week, judge advocates halted two prosecutions in the Guantánamo military commissions established under the 2006 Military Commissions Act (MCA). This is not the first setback the Administration's second-tier court system has hit; the Supreme Court invalidated an earlier iteration of the commissions in 2006. And it won't be the last. But while this week's setback likely will be speedily surmounted, it casts an unexpected light on the MCA's real purposes, and what's at stake when the Bush Administration plays politics with national security. Understanding the significance of this week's ruling means delving into a bit of procedural arcana. The devil in the MCA is, almost literally, in the details--and unless we attend closely to the rococo details of the statute, we'll miss the ways in which the Administration intends to slowly erode our liberties. At the beginning of this week, the military commissions' two judges--Army Col. Peter Brownback and Navy Capt. Keith Allred--dismissed charges filed against Omar Khadr and Salim Hamdan. The rulings focused on a question of categorization--basically, the judges found that Khadr and Hamdan had been wrongly classified. But how did this happen? The MCA, which created the military commissions, states that only an alien who is an "unlawful enemy combatant" can be tried in a military commission. It also defines "unlawful enemy combatants" in tremendously sweeping terms to include anyone who has "materially supported hostilities." Many civil libertarians, including myself, expressed grave concerns about the scope of this provision. -
Forming and Maintaining Productive Client Relations with Al Qaeda Members and Their Supporters
FCDJ Volume V FORMING AND MAINTAINING PRODUCTIVE CLIENT RELATIONS WITH AL QAEDA MEMBERS AND THEIR SUPPORTERS 1 TRAVIS J. OWENS 1 This article is written in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the California Western School of Law L.L.M. in Trial Advocacy. My thanks to Professor Justin Brooks for his contributions to my writing process and to a host of attorneys and interpreters who provided their practical insights on the substance of this article. The author is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati College of Law (J.D.) and the Naval Postgraduate School (M.A. in Security Studies: Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.). He is a Lieutenant Commander in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of the Department of Defense or the United States Navy. 50 FCDJ Volume V I. INTRODUCTION As a Federal Defender, you have just been assigned to the case of Ahmed Warsame, a Somalian general detained for two months on a ship by the United States, questioned by intelligence services, and now indicted in federal district court. The indictment alleges, among other things, that Mr. Warsame materially supported “Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula.” As a defense attorney, you have represented a multitude of difficult clients - sexual predators, drug dealers with diagnosed mental disorders, and foreign nationals who speak no English and have never been in an American jail. You are respected for how you can win in court and for having brought clients to the table for deals that people thought could never be made. -
CTC Sentinel 4
JULY 2011 . VOL 4 . ISSUE 7 COMBATING TERRORISM CENTER AT WEST POINT CTC SentineL OBJECTIVE . RELEVANT . RIGOROUS Contents The JRTN Movement and Iraq’s FEATURE ARTICLE 1 The JRTN Movement and Iraq’s Next Insurgency Next Insurgency By Michael Knights By Michael Knights REPORTS 6 Anwar al-`Awlaqi’s Disciples: Three Case Studies By Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens 10 Will Al-Qa`ida and Al-Shabab Formally Merge? By Leah Farrall 12 The Somali Diaspora: A Key Counterterrorism Ally By Major Josh Richardson 15 David Hicks’ Memoir: A Deceptive Account of One Man’s Journey with Al-Qa`ida By Ken Ward 17 Hizb al-Tahrir: A New Threat to the Pakistan Army? By Arif Jamal 20 The Significance of Fazal Saeed’s Defection from the Pakistani Taliban By Daud Khattak JRTN leader Izzat Ibrahim al-Duri, seen here in 1999. - Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images 22 Recent Highlights in Terrorist Activity he stabilization of iraq This article argues that one driver for 24 CTC Sentinel Staff & Contacts has become wedged on a the ongoing resilience, or even revival, plateau, beyond which further of Sunni militancy is the growing improvement will be a slow influence of the Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al- Tprocess. According to incident metrics Naqshabandi (JRTN) movement, which compiled by Olive Group, the average has successfully tapped into Sunni Arab monthly number of insurgent attacks fear of Iraq’s Shi`a-led government and between January and June 2011 was the country’s Kurdish population, while 380.1 The incident count in January offering an authentic Iraqi alternate to About the CTC Sentinel was 376, indicating that incident levels al-Qa`ida in Iraq (AQI). -
Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan
Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan in Pakistan and Militancy Religion a report of the csis program on crisis, conflict, and cooperation Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan a literature review 1800 K Street, NW | Washington, DC 20006 Project Director Tel: (202) 887-0200 | Fax: (202) 775-3199 Robert D. Lamb E-mail: [email protected] | Web: www.csis.org Author Mufti Mariam Mufti June 2012 ISBN 978-0-89206-700-8 CSIS Ë|xHSKITCy067008zv*:+:!:+:! CHARTING our future a report of the csis program on crisis, conflict, and cooperation Religion and Militancy in Pakistan and Afghanistan a literature review Project Director Robert L. Lamb Author Mariam Mufti June 2012 CHARTING our future About CSIS—50th Anniversary Year For 50 years, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) has developed practical solutions to the world’s greatest challenges. As we celebrate this milestone, CSIS scholars continue to provide strategic insights and bipartisan policy solutions to help decisionmakers chart a course toward a better world. CSIS is a bipartisan, nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. The Center’s 220 full-time staff and large network of affiliated scholars conduct research and analysis and de- velop policy initiatives that look into the future and anticipate change. Since 1962, CSIS has been dedicated to finding ways to sustain American prominence and prosperity as a force for good in the world. After 50 years, CSIS has become one of the world’s pre- eminent international policy institutions focused on defense and security; regional stability; and transnational challenges ranging from energy and climate to global development and economic integration. -
Hearing for Majid Khan
C05403115 o (b)(1) (b)(3) Verbatim Transcript of Combatant Status Review Tribnnal Hearing for ISN 10020 OPENING PRESIDENT: This hearing shall come to order. RECORDER: This Tribunal is being conducted at 08:42 on 15 April 2007 on board U.S. Naval Base Guantanarno Bay, Cuba. The following personnel are present: Colonel United States Air Force, President, Commander United States Navy, Member, Lieutenant Colonel United States Air Force, Member, Major United States Air Force, Personal Representative, Sergeant First Class United States Army, Reporter, Major_United States Air Force, Recorder. Lieutenant Colonel_is the Judge Advocate member ofthe Tribunal. OATH SESSION 1 RECORDER: All rise. PRESIDENT: The Recorder will be sworn. Do you, Major-swear or affirm that you will faithfully perform the duties as ~signed in this Tribunal, so help you God? RECORDER: I do. PRESIDENT: The Reporter will now be sworn. The Recorder will administer the oath. RECORDER: Do you, Sergeant First Class swear that you will faithfully discharge your duties as Reporter assigned in this Tribunal, so help you God? REPORTER: [ do. PRESIDENT: We'll take a briefrecess while the Detainee is brought into the room. RECORDER: The time is 08:43 on IS Apri12007. This Tribunal is now in recess. All rise. [All personnel depart the room.] CONVENING AUTHORITY RECORDER: [All personnel return into the room at 08:48.] All rise. PRESIDENT: This hearing will come to order. You may be seated. Good morning. DETAINEE: Good morning. How are you guys doing? ISN # 10020 Enclosure (3) Page1 of50 C05403115 PRESIDENT: Very good, fine, thank you. This Tribunal is convened by order ofthe Director, Combatant Status Review Tribunals under the provisions ofhis Order of 12 February 2007. -
The Personal Jurisdiction of Military Commissions1 (August 9, 2008)
Taking Liberties: The Personal Jurisdiction of Military Commissions1 (August 9, 2008) Madeline Morris2 with Yaniv Adar, Margarita Clarens, Joshua Haber, Allison Hester-Haddad, David Maxted, James McDonald, George (‘Wes’) Quinton, Dennis Schmelzer, and Jeffrey Ward I. Introduction On September 11, 2001, Al Qaeda operatives attacked civilian and military targets on US territory, causing thousands of deaths and billions of dollars of economic loss. The next day, the United Nations Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1368 characterizing the attack by Al Qaeda as a “threat to international peace and security” and recognizing the right of states to use armed force in self defense.3 NATO, for the first time in its history, invoked the obligation of collective self defense under Article 5 of the NATO Treaty.4 On September 14, the US Congress passed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force, authorizing the President to use “all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations, or persons he determines planned, authorized, committed, or aided the terrorist attacks. .” 5 Terrorism, conceived until then as crime, was reconceived—as war. On November 13, 2001, invoking the law of war, President Bush announced that enemy combatants in the US “war on terror” would be subject to trial by military commission—a form of military tribunal last convened in the aftermath of World War II. Issuing a Presidential Military Order (PMO), he stated: 1 © Madeline Morris 2007. 2 Professor of Law, Duke Law School. 3 S.C. Res. 1368, U.N. SCOR, 56th Sess., 4370th mtg., U.N. Doc. S/RES/1368 (Sept. 12 2001). -
The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: an Empirical Study
© Reuters/HO Old – Detainees at XRay Camp in Guantanamo. The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empirical Study Benjamin Wittes and Zaahira Wyne with Erin Miller, Julia Pilcer, and Georgina Druce December 16, 2008 The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empiricial Study Table of Contents Executive Summary 1 Introduction 3 The Public Record about Guantánamo 4 Demographic Overview 6 Government Allegations 9 Detainee Statements 13 Conclusion 22 Note on Sources and Methods 23 About the Authors 28 Endnotes 29 Appendix I: Detainees at Guantánamo 46 Appendix II: Detainees Not at Guantánamo 66 Appendix III: Sample Habeas Records 89 Sample 1 90 Sample 2 93 Sample 3 96 The Current Detainee Population of Guantánamo: An Empiricial Study EXECUTIVE SUMMARY he following report represents an effort both to document and to describe in as much detail as the public record will permit the current detainee population in American T military custody at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station in Cuba. Since the military brought the first detainees to Guantánamo in January 2002, the Pentagon has consistently refused to comprehensively identify those it holds. While it has, at various times, released information about individuals who have been detained at Guantánamo, it has always maintained ambiguity about the population of the facility at any given moment, declining even to specify precisely the number of detainees held at the base. We have sought to identify the detainee population using a variety of records, mostly from habeas corpus litigation, and we have sorted the current population into subgroups using both the government’s allegations against detainees and detainee statements about their own affiliations and conduct.