The alleged 9/11 terrorists are on trial at Gitmo. As previously reported the arraignment ended up a farce.
On Australia's ABC Radio National program, PM, the attorneys for 2 of the accused were interviewed.
JAMES CONNELL: These men have endured years of inhumane treatment and torture. This treatment has had serious long-term effects and will ultimately infect every aspect of this military commission tribunal.
ALISON CALDWELL: James Harrington is the defence attorney for Ramzi Binalshibh. It's alleged he was chosen to be a hijacker but because he couldn't get a US visa it's alleged he assisted by finding flight schools for the hijackers.
James Harrington says under the rules set down by the military tribunal, he's prohibited from asking certain questions of his client.
JAMES HARRINGTON: Including questions about their confinement and questions about things that have happened to them in the past. And until there’s some change in the rules that we operate under, we have severe constraints in exploring those issues and they bear significantly on this case and issues that ultimately will be litigated.
ALISON CALDWELL: Kuwaiti-born Pakistani, 47-year-old Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has admitted he was responsible for the September 11 attacks, along with 30 other plots, and the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
His defence lawyer is David Nevin. He says the system is rigged for convictions.
DAVID NEVIN: I can’t tell you what my client has said to me. I can’t tell you what his thinking is because I’m forbidden from doing that. Everything that he says is presumptively classified at the top secret level.
ALISON CALDWELL: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was water-boarded 183 times during the three years he was held in secret CIA prisons after he was captured in Pakistan in 2003. He was eventually transferred to Guantanamo Bay where he was deprived of sleep for seven days straight.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, David Nevin said his immediate priority is to improve communications with his client.
DAVID NEVIN: The thought police are out everywhere here. What I want to do right now is be able to have a conservation with my client about what happened to him while he was held incommunicado and tortured by my government for three years. I want to be able to talk to him about that. And the rules that are in place now don’t even allow me to talk to him about that.
ALISON CALDWELL: US army Brigadier General Mark Martins is the lead prosecutor in the case, he disputes the claim that defence attorneys are restricted in what they can discuss with their clients."
On Australia's ABC Radio National program, PM, the attorneys for 2 of the accused were interviewed.
"James Connell is the defence lawyer for Ali Abd Al-Aziz Ali, a Pakistani national and nephew of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. He allegedly provided money to the hijackers.
ALISON CALDWELL: James Harrington is the defence attorney for Ramzi Binalshibh. It's alleged he was chosen to be a hijacker but because he couldn't get a US visa it's alleged he assisted by finding flight schools for the hijackers.
James Harrington says under the rules set down by the military tribunal, he's prohibited from asking certain questions of his client.
JAMES HARRINGTON: Including questions about their confinement and questions about things that have happened to them in the past. And until there’s some change in the rules that we operate under, we have severe constraints in exploring those issues and they bear significantly on this case and issues that ultimately will be litigated.
ALISON CALDWELL: Kuwaiti-born Pakistani, 47-year-old Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has admitted he was responsible for the September 11 attacks, along with 30 other plots, and the murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl.
His defence lawyer is David Nevin. He says the system is rigged for convictions.
DAVID NEVIN: I can’t tell you what my client has said to me. I can’t tell you what his thinking is because I’m forbidden from doing that. Everything that he says is presumptively classified at the top secret level.
ALISON CALDWELL: Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was water-boarded 183 times during the three years he was held in secret CIA prisons after he was captured in Pakistan in 2003. He was eventually transferred to Guantanamo Bay where he was deprived of sleep for seven days straight.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, David Nevin said his immediate priority is to improve communications with his client.
DAVID NEVIN: The thought police are out everywhere here. What I want to do right now is be able to have a conservation with my client about what happened to him while he was held incommunicado and tortured by my government for three years. I want to be able to talk to him about that. And the rules that are in place now don’t even allow me to talk to him about that.
ALISON CALDWELL: US army Brigadier General Mark Martins is the lead prosecutor in the case, he disputes the claim that defence attorneys are restricted in what they can discuss with their clients."
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