All Annotations of My Way News - Guantanamo court day for alleged 9/11 mastermind[Preview]

saved byliveinfreedom . on 2008-06-05

• Army Col. Steve David, chief defense counsel for the tribunals, said the military commissions - which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2006 as unconstitutional before they were altered and resurrected months later - are "fundamentally flawed."
• The tribunals have been mired in confusion over courtroom rules and dogged by delays.
• "We will zealously identify and expose each and every" flaw, he said.
• Military commissions have been conducted since George Washington used them after the end of the Revolutionary War, but this is the first time the United States has used them during an ongoing conflict, Hartmann said.
• Two weeks ago, Deputy Secretary of State Gordon England declared that providing "fair trials" at Guantanamo is the No. 1 legal services obligation for the Defense Department,
• Mohammed is represented by two officers from the Navy and the Air Force. Two civilian attorneys from Idaho, including one who defended a client accused in the white supremacist Ruby Ridge case, also represent the Pakistani.
• The arraignment will launch the highest-profile test yet of a tribunal system that faces an uncertain future.
• The U.S. Supreme Court struck down an earlier system as unconstitutional in 2006, and is to rule this month on the rights of Guantanamo prisoners, potentially delaying or halting the proceedings.
• Dozens of U.S. and international journalists arrived at Guantanamo on Wednesday on a military plane for the joint arraignment, which the military expects to last just one day.
• All five are charged with murder in violation of the law of war, conspiracy, attacking civilians, terrorism and other crimes.
• due to appear with Mohammed are: Ramzi Binalshibh, said to have been the main intermediary between the hijackers and al-Qaida leaders; Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, known as Ammar al-Baluchi, a nephew and lieutenant of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed; al-Baluchi's assistant, Mustafa Ahmad al-Hawsawi; and Waleed bin Attash, a detainee known as Khallad, who allegedly selected and trained some of the 19 hijackers.