US Drops Charges Against Five Detainees
http://www.truthout.org:80/102108T
San Juan, Puerto Rico - The Pentagon said Tuesday it has dropped war-
crimes charges against five Guantanamo Bay detainees after the former
prosecutor in their cases complained that the military was withholding
evidence helpful to the defense.
None of the men will be freed, and the military said it could
reinstate charges later.
America's first war-crimes trials since the close of World War II
have come under persistent criticism, including from officers
appointed to prosecute them. Some of the harshest words came this
month from the very man who was to prosecute the five men against whom
charges were dropped.
Army Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld said during a pretrial hearing for
a sixth detainee this month that the war-crimes trials are unfair.
Vandeveld said the military was withholding exculpatory evidence from
the defense in that case, and was doing so in others. He resigned over
his concerns.
But the chief Guantanamo prosecutor, Army Col. Lawrence Morris,
said Tuesday's announcement was unrelated to Vandeveld's accusations.
He said the charges were dismissed because evidence "is being more
thoroughly analyzed." He would not elaborate on the nature of the
evidence but said the review began before Vandeveld's testimony.
"Rather than refine the current charges, it was more efficient and
more just to have them dismissed and charge them anew," he told The
Associated Press.
In addition, dismissing the charges allows to Pentagon to avoid
deadlines set by the Military Commissions Act to bring the men to
trial.
"The way to stop the clock and get a new clock is to dismiss the
charges and start again," said Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former
chief prosecutor who quit in October and later testified about alleged
political interference in the military trials.
Morris has appointed new trial teams for all five cases that will
coordinate with intelligence agencies and recommend what to do next.
Clive Stafford Smith, a civilian attorney representing one of the
five, Binyam Mohamed, said he has already been notified that charges
against his client will be reinstated.
"Far from being a victory for Mr. Mohamed in his long-running
struggle for justice, this is more of the same farce that is
Guantanamo," Stafford Smith said. "The military has informed us that
they plan to charge him again within a month, after the election."
Army Lt. Col. Bryan Broyles, who represents another of the five
detainees, said the military might be preparing the tribunals to face
increased scrutiny following next month's presidential election. John
McCain and Barack Obama have both said they want to close Guantanamo
Bay.
Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties
Union, said the military's latest move showed the war-crimes trials
are a mistake.
"The implosion of these five prosecutions painfully underscores
how the Bush administration's torture and detention policies have
failed to render justice in any sense of the word," Romero said.
The military also said Tuesday it has finalized charges against an
additional detainee, Mohammed Hashim, an Afghan who is about 32. He is
accused of providing material support to terrorism and spying, and
could face life in prison.
The detainees against whom charges were dropped are Mohamed, Noor
Uthman Muhammed, Sufyiam Barhoumi, Ghassan Abdullah al Sharbi and
Jabran Said Bin al Qahtani.
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