Pentagon sets rules for terrorism suspect trials
Source: Reuters
By Kristin Roberts WASHINGTON, Jan 18 (Reuters) - The Pentagon on Thursday gave broad discretion to judges to decide what evidence may be presented against suspected al Qaeda and Taliban members facing trial in the new military commissions court system. In its Manual for Military Commissions, the Defense Department laid out rules and procedures required to implement the law on the commissions enacted last year. Completion of the manual is a step toward the trials, which are expected to start in summer 2007. It did not set standards for prosecutors to meet in presenting hearsay and classified evidence but instead gave authority to judges to determine what evidence is appropriate. The Pentagon said the rules fully conform with the Geneva Conventions on detainee treatment and trials. "The goal of everybody who has been involved in this process of crafting the manual has been to design a system that meets our responsibilities under Common Article 3 (of the Geneva Conventions) and that provide a fair trial," said Brig. Gen. Thomas Hemingway. "I am satisfied that these rules provide rules and a basis on which you can conduct a fair trial," he said. President George W. Bush last year signed into law a measure creating the military commissions system to try terrorism suspects. He said it would help bring to trial some of those responsible for the Sept. 11 attacks. Under the rules for the commissions, defendants get access to all evidence presented against them, including hearsay and summaries or redacted accounts of classified evidence. Judges, however, are given wide discretion to decide what hearsay and classified evidence may be allowed. Rather than setting minimum standards for the evidence, the manual requires judges to review each piece of evidence on a case-by-case basis to determine whether it should be allowed. The rules also specify that no statements obtained through torture will be allowed. That is in accordance with a 2005 U.S. law outlawing "cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment." However, judges will decide case by case whether coerced evidence obtained before that law may be used. "If it was obtained prior to that time, the judge has to make an independent finding that it is nevertheless reliable evidence," Hemingway said. NOT ENOUGH EVIDENCE FOR MOST Military prosecutors are expected to bring cases against 60 to 80 of the 395 detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, according to defense officials. There is not enough evidence against the other detainees, being held indefinitely, to pursue trials, Hemingway said. He said if prosecutors do not bring cases against some detainees, "that means that the office of the chief prosecutor has not found evidence to try them for a violation of the law of war." The United States has faced international criticism over its continued detention of Guantanamo detainees, many held for more than four years without charges. Many have called for the detainees to be charged with crimes or released. U.S. officials say the detainees are a threat to the United States and could return to the battlefields of Afghanistan and Iraq if released. Cases will be brought against 14 of the U.S. government's top terrorism suspects, such as the suspected mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks, Khalid Sheik Mohammed, Hemingway said.
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