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Prosecutors Seek Death Penalty for Terror Suspects
by
findingDulcinea Staff
Six men held at Guantanamo in connection with 9/11 face criminal charges. But critics question the legality of the military court that will try them.
30-Second Summary
Military prosecutors will demand the death penalty for the six high-profile Guantanamo detainees being charged with planning and executing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.
Among the suspects is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has reportedly confessed to planning 9/11 and beheading the U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.
However, seeking capital punishment may slow down a process already fraught with difficulties, The New York Times reports.
The military court that will hear the cases was established specifically to try suspected terrorists.
But the legality of both the tribunal system and the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay have been challenged in U.S. courts.
In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal for U.S. citizens suspected of terrorist activity to be held indefinitely and without trial.
And a 2006 Supreme Court decision declared that the Guantanamo military commission that preceded the one currently in place did not comply with either U.S. military law or the Geneva Convention.
In addition, top U.S. officials have in the past called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Civil rights groups have argued that the Bush administration’s war on terror jeopardizes civil liberties, and that the Guantanamo detainees are being held illegally.
The administration and its supporters have argued that the nature of the terrorist threat justifies special measures, and that the Guantanamo tribunal system does comply with U.S. law.
Among the suspects is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has reportedly confessed to planning 9/11 and beheading the U.S. journalist Daniel Pearl.
However, seeking capital punishment may slow down a process already fraught with difficulties, The New York Times reports.
The military court that will hear the cases was established specifically to try suspected terrorists.
But the legality of both the tribunal system and the detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay have been challenged in U.S. courts.
In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it is illegal for U.S. citizens suspected of terrorist activity to be held indefinitely and without trial.
And a 2006 Supreme Court decision declared that the Guantanamo military commission that preceded the one currently in place did not comply with either U.S. military law or the Geneva Convention.
In addition, top U.S. officials have in the past called for the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
Civil rights groups have argued that the Bush administration’s war on terror jeopardizes civil liberties, and that the Guantanamo detainees are being held illegally.
The administration and its supporters have argued that the nature of the terrorist threat justifies special measures, and that the Guantanamo tribunal system does comply with U.S. law.
Headline Links: Prosecutors to seek death penalty
Military prosecutors will seek the death penalty for six high-profile Guantanamo detainees who are to be charged with planning and executing the 9/11 attacks. The defendants will be tried by a military commission system set up by the Bush administration.
Source: The New York Times
Military prosecutors are expected to charge six Guantanamo detainees with having central roles in the 9/11 suicide hijackings. The special military court that will hear the cases was set up specifically to try suspected terrorists. However, the legality of the court has been disputed. The U.S. Supreme Court struck down the original tribunal system in 2006 for deviations from established military practice.
Source: The Wall Street Journal
Background: The Guantanamo system
The detention of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo and the constitutionality of the military commission set up to try them have repeatedly been challenged in U.S. courts. In 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that “the White House does not have a ‘blank check’ to indefinitely hold and deny legal access to detainees who are U.S. citizens." In addition, a 2006 Supreme Court decision stated that the original Guantanamo military commission was in breach of U.S. military law, the laws of war and the Geneva Convention.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he favors closing the Guantanamo detention facility because it has hurt America’s image in the world, the Baltimore Sun reported on Jan. 14. Mullen pointed out that even President Bush and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates have expressed support for the prison’s eventual closure.
Source: Baltimore Sun
Key Players: The Guantanamo detainees
One of the six Guantanamo inmates facing charges is Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center. The BBC offers short profiles Mohammed and the other five defendants.
Source: The BBC
Opinion & Analysis: For and against Guantanamo
Not all conservatives rally behind the Bush administration’s war on terror. Some say the administration’s policies jeopardize civil liberties, as revealed by libertarian think tank the Cato Institute. Bruce Fein, a deputy attorney general under Ronald Reagan and current chairman of the American Freedom Agenda, spoke out against the military commissions and said the government’s policies amounted to the creation of a “police state.” However, says Andrew McCarthy, director of the Center for Law and Counterterrorism at the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies, “What is actually an aberration is having unlawful enemy combatants in wartime have access to the courts of the United States.”
Source: Cato
Critical of Gitmo
Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over the Guantanamo military tribunals, saying they fall short of international and U.S. legal standards.
Source: Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch has consistently criticized the U.S. government’s detention of Guantanamo inmates and challenged the legality of its military tribunals. The organization’s Web site has an archive of its statements.
Source: Human Rights Watch
In support of Gitmo
The Guantanamo military facility operates in accordance with U.S. law, says James Jay Carafano, senior research fellow at the Heritage Foundation. Carafano says the tribunal system ensures that inmates get their status reviewed periodically, and that they will be released if they do not pose a threat to the United States. Gabor Rona, international legal director at Human Rights First, disagrees and says that the detention and interrogation of Guantanamo inmates is unlawful.
Source: Council on Foreign Relations
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