Mark Tyson
Member
Pentagon To Review Rules for Tribunals
By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 26, 2003; Page A17
The Pentagon said last night that it is undertaking a thorough review of the rules governing military tribunals for accused al Qaeda fighters at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, after U.S. military officials granted significant concessions to Australian government negotiators who wanted a relaxing of the legal rules that would apply in the military courts.
U.S. and Australian officials announced yesterday that two Australians held at the jail will not face the death penalty if they are convicted before a U.S. tribunal or commission. The Pentagon agreed in July that two British prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who have been designated as possible defendants would not be executed if convicted.
Military officials said last night the concessions granted to the British and Australian detainees may not apply to other countries' citizens brought before the tribunals. But international lawyers said it would be difficult politically for Washington to execute other nations' citizens if it ruled out that possibility for these two allies' nationals.
One of the Australian detainees, David Hicks, has been designated by the Pentagon as being in an initial group of six captives eligible for trial by tribunal.
U.S. officials said they agreed to several other concessions. If Hicks is charged, he could talk by telephone with "appropriately cleared" family members, who also could attend the trial. Prosecutors will not bar him from the courtroom even during presentation of sensitive evidence. Military officials will not monitor conversations between him and his attorneys, and if convicted he could serve his sentence in Australia.
Some legal experts have criticized a number of the rules for the tribunals, such as allowing U.S. officials to eavesdrop on defendants' conversations with their attorneys.
"The Department of Defense is in the process of drafting clarifications and additional military commission rules that will incorporate [various legal] assurances where appropriate," the military said in a statement last night.
Military officials said they are gratified Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock said in a statement yesterday that "the rules governing the military commission trials provide fundamental guarantees for the accused [that] are similar to those found in our own criminal procedures." They include the presumption of innocence, the right to a defense lawyer, a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the right to call witnesses.
By John Mintz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, November 26, 2003; Page A17
The Pentagon said last night that it is undertaking a thorough review of the rules governing military tribunals for accused al Qaeda fighters at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, after U.S. military officials granted significant concessions to Australian government negotiators who wanted a relaxing of the legal rules that would apply in the military courts.
U.S. and Australian officials announced yesterday that two Australians held at the jail will not face the death penalty if they are convicted before a U.S. tribunal or commission. The Pentagon agreed in July that two British prisoners at Guantanamo Bay who have been designated as possible defendants would not be executed if convicted.
Military officials said last night the concessions granted to the British and Australian detainees may not apply to other countries' citizens brought before the tribunals. But international lawyers said it would be difficult politically for Washington to execute other nations' citizens if it ruled out that possibility for these two allies' nationals.
One of the Australian detainees, David Hicks, has been designated by the Pentagon as being in an initial group of six captives eligible for trial by tribunal.
U.S. officials said they agreed to several other concessions. If Hicks is charged, he could talk by telephone with "appropriately cleared" family members, who also could attend the trial. Prosecutors will not bar him from the courtroom even during presentation of sensitive evidence. Military officials will not monitor conversations between him and his attorneys, and if convicted he could serve his sentence in Australia.
Some legal experts have criticized a number of the rules for the tribunals, such as allowing U.S. officials to eavesdrop on defendants' conversations with their attorneys.
"The Department of Defense is in the process of drafting clarifications and additional military commission rules that will incorporate [various legal] assurances where appropriate," the military said in a statement last night.
Military officials said they are gratified Australian Attorney General Philip Ruddock said in a statement yesterday that "the rules governing the military commission trials provide fundamental guarantees for the accused [that] are similar to those found in our own criminal procedures." They include the presumption of innocence, the right to a defense lawyer, a standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt and the right to call witnesses.
