US to Try 15-Year-Old Gitmo Detainee

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US Holds New Guantánamo 'War on Terror' Trials
Agence France-Presse

Wednesday 11 January 2006

The United States will start new military trials of "war on terror" detainees at the Guantánamo Bay naval base, amid new criticism of the camp and its courts.

Accused Al-Qaeda propaganda expert Ali Hamza Ahmad al-Bahlul will be the first of two defendants to face hearings this week. He will be followed by Omar Khadr, a Canadian who was 15 when he was detained over the killing of a US soldier in Afghanistan.

Lawyers for the two have condemned the trials, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel made a veiled call for Guantánamo to be closed ahead of her visit to Washington this week.

US authorities continue to defend the holding of hundreds of detainees without charge at the camp as part of the "war on terror" declared after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

But some Guantánamo trials have been frozen by federal judges who are waiting for a Supreme Court ruling on the validity of the special tribunals created specifically to try "war on terror" suspects.

Bahlul, a Yemeni, was indicted in February 2004 for conspiracy in terrorist activities. According to the charge, Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden placed him in charge of producing videos to recruit and train new fighters.

The Yemeni created a stir at his first hearing in August 2004 by demanding to defend himself. He has refused to meet any American lawyer, military or civilian. The tribunals have so far rejected his request.

Major Thomas Fleener, an army reservist appointed to defend Bahlul, has said the Yemeni's request is legitimate.

"It's not outlandish to request the right to self-representation," said Fleener. The military lawyer told reporters he suspected Bahlul had only been refused because his request was considered "inconvenient".

Under tribunal rules, defendants are not allowed to be present when "classified" evidence is presented.

"To force my representation on Mr. al-Bahlul may give the appearance to the outside world that I'm not here to serve as Mr. al-Bahlul's attorney but rather simply to add some air of legitimacy to an otherwise wholly illegitimate process," said Fleener.

Khadr was detained in Afghanistan in July 2002 on allegations that he killed a US military medic with a hand grenade during a battle.

Muneer Ahmad, a law professor at American University in Washington, said Khadr should not be tried as an adult, since the alleged offence was committed when he was a minor.

Ahmad, part of the defense team, expressed concern at the inexperience of the military lawyer representing the teenager, who is now 19.

"He is represented by a 31-year-old army captain who has never represented a defendant at trial in his life, even for charges of jaywalking," said Ahmad. "It would be laughable if the stakes weren't so high."

"Through torture, abuse and three years of illegal detention, this government has robbed Omar of his youth," said Ahmad. "Now, they are demanding his appearance before a kangaroo court, wholly lacking in fundamental principles of due process."

Khadr was born in Toronto and raised in Pakistan. His father, who was killed by the Pakistani army in 2003, was considered a key financier of Bin Laden's network.

One of his brothers was arrested last month in Canada at the US government's request.

Colonel Morris Davis, the chief prosecutor at the military tribunals, defended the Guantánamo trials.

"We face an enemy like we've never faced before," he said. "Some say we are changing the rules as we go along, but the law has to adapt to today's environment. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are enemies the law didn't contemplate.

"The prosecution team is committed to holding full, fair, open and transparent trials. We're here to prosecute the terrorists who attacked us, not to persecute any religious beliefs. We've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Only nine of the approximately 500 detainees held in Guantánamo have been formally charged.

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