By Brittney Hodnik
Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
GUANTANAMO BAY, U.S. Naval Base – On May 5, a routine arraignment turned into a daylong spectacle. Five men, including Khalid Shaikh Mohammed refused to cooperate at the arraignment by refusing to answer even fundamental questions. The protest is a sign of things to come for future hearings.
The arraignment was supposed to be a simple reading of charges, appointment of counsel and entry of pleas. According to The Wall Street Journal, it turned into a 13-hour “spectacle of disruptions.” The defendants’ attorneys argued that the military commission trial was unconstitutional. Some believe that this rocky start will further divide opposing sides on whether a tribunal on a faraway Caribbean island is the appropriate place for justice, reported The LA Times.
The five men, now known as the “Gitmo 5” shifted from disgust to boredom throughout the proceedings, according to The LA Times. The day started with defendant Walid bin Attash being carried into the room with restraints because he refused to come on his own. He was eventually freed from the restraints after promising to behave.
One of the men pretended he was reading an English law book; some of the men knelt and bowed in quiet prayer. All five men refused to wear the headphones that translated the judge’s questions from English to Arabic, according to The National Post. Eventually, a translator came in and translated the questions for the whole room to hear.
Finally, three hours into the hearing, detainee Ramzi Binalshibh waved his finger at the judge and protested: “It’s about the treatment we have received at the camps. You want to kill us,” reports The LA Times.
The judge overseeing the hearing, Army Colonel James Pohl, refused to stop the arraignment and insisted the proceedings continue. He later said that even if Mohammed had a perfect reason to refuse cooperation and everyone agreed it was reasonable, he would move forward with the trial anyway.
Mohammed’s civilian attorney, David Nevin told The LA Times, “I can’t force Mr. Mohammed to cooperate or not.” He said that Mohammed would not cooperate because of past torture (water boarding) at a CIA “black” site. Walid bin Attash’s civilian attorney, Cheryl Borman insisted that the treatment of her client at Guantanamo Bay had interfered with his ability to participate in the proceedings.
The men could all face the death penalty, according to The National Post, for their involvement in the September 11 attacks that killed 2,976 people in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.
This was the men’s first appearance since Jan. 21, 2009 a day after President Obama’s inauguration, according to The Star Telegram. Four years ago, Mohammed tried to plead guilty, saying, “This is what I wish – to be martyred.” The trial is set to start a year from now, moving it into President Obama’s last term, or onto Republican hopeful Mitt Romney’s lap, reported The Wall Street Journal. The next hearing is scheduled for June 12.
For more information, please visit:
The Star-Telegram — 5 Terror Suspects Refuse to Cooperate During Arraignment — 6 May 2012
The Wall Street Journal — Chaos at Sept. 11 Hearing Suggests Long Road for Case — 6 May 2012
National Post — Accused 9/11 Plotters Refuse to Cooperate at Arraignment, Citing ‘Torture’ Complaints — 5 May 2012
The LA Times — 9/11 Trial Begins at Guantanamo — 5 May 2012
