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http://www.newsmax.com/international/guantanamo_hijackers_kin/2008/04/09/86606.html
Saudi Snubs Gitmo War Crimes Court
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- A relative of a Sept. 11 hijacker said
Wednesday he would boycott his upcoming military trial on terrorism charges,
calling the U.S. effort to prosecute Guantanamo prisoners a "crime against
humanity."
Ahmed al-Darbi told a military judge he does not want a civilian or military
lawyer and doesn't even plan to attend his trial _ creating another delay in
a process that has been repeatedly stalled by legal and logistical
challenges.
"I declare my objection to this court and I will not be present at this
trial," al-Darbi said through a court translator.
The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, questioned the prisoner repeatedly about
his intentions, seeking to make sure he was aware of his right to an
attorney.
The prisoner, noting he had been held for six years and could spend the rest
of his life in prison, was unmoved.
"In reality, I consider my presence and the presence of everyone here to be
a crime against humanity," he told the judge.
Before ruling whether the trial could proceed without al-Darbi's
participation, Pohl called a halt to the hearing because of technical
troubles with the court's simultaneous translation system.
The military says Al-Darbi, a Saudi, is a brother-in-law of one of the
hijackers who crashed a plane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
He has been charged with conspiring to attack civilians and providing
material support to terrorism for allegedly plotting to attack a ship in the
Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen as a member of al-Qaida.
His trial is also expected to include allegations that he was abused while
in U.S. custody.
Al-Darbi has said he was interrogated in Afghanistan by Army Pfc. Damien M.
Corsetti, a counterintelligence specialist who was acquitted of charges
including dereliction of duty, maltreatment and assault in a 2006
court-martial. Prosecutors at the court-martial said fellow soldiers called
him the "King of Torture."
Al-Darbi's attorney, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, said that Corsetti struck
his client and that he and other soldiers left the Saudi hanging from his
handcuffs during extended interrogations.
The U.S. holds about 275 prisoners at Guantanamo and has announced plans to
prosecute about 80 in the first American military trials since the World War
II era.
Saudi Snubs Gitmo War Crimes Court
Wednesday, April 9, 2008
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba -- A relative of a Sept. 11 hijacker said
Wednesday he would boycott his upcoming military trial on terrorism charges,
calling the U.S. effort to prosecute Guantanamo prisoners a "crime against
humanity."
Ahmed al-Darbi told a military judge he does not want a civilian or military
lawyer and doesn't even plan to attend his trial _ creating another delay in
a process that has been repeatedly stalled by legal and logistical
challenges.
"I declare my objection to this court and I will not be present at this
trial," al-Darbi said through a court translator.
The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, questioned the prisoner repeatedly about
his intentions, seeking to make sure he was aware of his right to an
attorney.
The prisoner, noting he had been held for six years and could spend the rest
of his life in prison, was unmoved.
"In reality, I consider my presence and the presence of everyone here to be
a crime against humanity," he told the judge.
Before ruling whether the trial could proceed without al-Darbi's
participation, Pohl called a halt to the hearing because of technical
troubles with the court's simultaneous translation system.
The military says Al-Darbi, a Saudi, is a brother-in-law of one of the
hijackers who crashed a plane into the Pentagon on Sept. 11, 2001.
He has been charged with conspiring to attack civilians and providing
material support to terrorism for allegedly plotting to attack a ship in the
Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen as a member of al-Qaida.
His trial is also expected to include allegations that he was abused while
in U.S. custody.
Al-Darbi has said he was interrogated in Afghanistan by Army Pfc. Damien M.
Corsetti, a counterintelligence specialist who was acquitted of charges
including dereliction of duty, maltreatment and assault in a 2006
court-martial. Prosecutors at the court-martial said fellow soldiers called
him the "King of Torture."
Al-Darbi's attorney, Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, said that Corsetti struck
his client and that he and other soldiers left the Saudi hanging from his
handcuffs during extended interrogations.
The U.S. holds about 275 prisoners at Guantanamo and has announced plans to
prosecute about 80 in the first American military trials since the World War
II era.
