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Editors note: This is the first in a two-part series concerning the military commissions.
GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba - Military commissions resumed at U.S. Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from Feb. 16-18. Khalid Shaikh Mohammad also known as KSM, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin ‘Attash, Ramzi Bin al Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hasawi, also known as the “9/11 Five,” were in front of the judge for preliminary hearings, during their capital punishment case.
All five men are charged with 2,976 counts of murder and other acts of terrorism as the alleged conspirators in the 9/11 attacks, in which 19 hijackers crashed airplanes into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field.
Before the men can be tried for their alleged crimes, Army Col. James L. Pohl, the judge for the military commissions, must first sort through hundreds of motions filed by both the prosecution and defense attorneys. During week one of the two-week session in the Office of Military Commissions courtroom, several key topics were covered including Bin ‘Attash’s struggles with his legal representation and Khalid Shaikh Mohammad’s lack of interpreter.
As the commissions began, Bin ‘Attash requested his attorneys sit in the back of the courtroom away from him. He claims he can no longer work with them because he does not trust his legal team. Bin ‘Attash wrote a letter directly to Pohl requesting his lawyers, Cheryl Bormann and Michael Schwartz, be relieved. Pohl denied this request.
Recently, Army Maj. Matthew Seeger was added to Bin ‘Attash’s defense team. Bin ‘Attash said he feels he can work with Seeger so long as Seeger is not “controlled” by Bormann or Schwartz.
After listening to Bin ‘Attash’s arguments, Pohl first instructed Bin ‘Attash to stop writing to him directly, and to instead use proper channels in order to communicate with the court. Then Pohl explained to Bin ‘Attash that in order to fire his legal team, he would first need legitimate legal grounds to do so and he would have to file a motion. However, only lawyers can file a motion, to which Bin ‘Attash argued his lawyers would not be willing to do so because their jobs are at stake.
After the back and forth between Bin ‘Attash and Pohl, Jay Connell, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali’s lawyer, explained to the judge that, as an attorney, you do not have to do as the client wishes. An attorney’s responsibility is to represent their clients as best as possible and win the case. Sometimes this means going against the client’s wishes, if it is in the client’s best interest.
To help Bin ‘Attash, Pohl agreed to get him independent counsel to advise him on his situation and if need be file a motion. Pohl added, if Bin ‘Attash wished to represent himself, “Pro Se,” he had the option to do so.
Seeger informed the commissions the defense team had no intentions on filing a motion to relieve Bormann or Schwartz. The issue with Bin ‘Attash representing himself, is that he is ineligible to attain the security clearances necessary to view the classified evidence. Without the ability to view evidence, Bin ‘Attash would not be able to effectively defend himself.
After Connell left the podium, Bormann approached and filed a motion before the court stating she would like to step down as Bin ‘Attash’s attorney. Bormann, an experienced death-penalty defense attorney from Chicago, said the OMC’s process is systemically flawed and she has been hindered from working effectively with her client.
“I can’t help him,” said Bormann as she pleaded her case. “Mr. Bin ‘Attash no longer trusts me, and I don’t blame him.”
Bormann said her communication with her client has been blocked on several occasions and, because the way the system is set up, no counsel can help him. Additionally, she claimed conversations she had with Bin ‘Attash were supposed to remain privileged but did not.
Prosecution attorney Ed Ryan objected to Bormann’s motion, claiming she had no legal grounds to withdraw and blaming the system was not an acceptable reason.
Ryan argued if Bormann were allowed to withdraw, the trial would be dramatically slowed down. Finding a replacement would take too long. Additionally, if the individual has been identified, it will take too long for them to obtain the necessary clearances and to review the years worth of case materials.
Pohl denied Bormann’s initial motion to withdraw. After the arguments were heard, Bin ‘Attash elected to not attend the rest of the sessions, as he does not trust his attorneys and refuses to attend further sessions until provided new legal representation.
Next on the docket was KSM’s lack of an interpreter. KSM did have one but there were issues with his security clearance and he was removed from the team.
David Nevin, KSM’s defense lawyer, argued the session should be halted until a translator could be found. Pohl denied the request and put the issue on the record to be sorted out later in order to move on to the other items on the docket. The commissions are set to carry on through Feb. 26. For more information about the Office of Military Commissions, visit www.mc.mil.
| Date Taken: | 02.25.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.25.2016 18:51 |
| Story ID: | 190151 |
| Location: | GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Progress in proceedings: '9/11 Five' court continues, by SPC Justin Malone, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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