FINDINGS, SENTENCE DISAPPROVED IN TERRORISM CASE AGAINST NOOR UTHMAN MUHAMMED

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Release No: NR-013-15
January 09, 2015
Findings and sentence disapproved in US v. Noor Uthman Muhammed

On Jan. 9, pursuant to his authority under 10 U.S.C. § 950b, the convening authority for military commissions disapproved the findings and sentence, and dismissed the charges in the case of United States v. Noor Uthman Muhammed.
Muhammed, a native of Sudan, pled guilty in February 2011 at a military commission to providing material support for terrorism and conspiracy to provide material support for terrorism. A panel of military officers sentenced him to fourteen years confinement. In accordance with the provisions of a pretrial agreement, a previous convening authority granted a deferment of confinement effective Dec. 3, 2013.

Muhammed was repatriated from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to Sudan on Dec. 19, 2013.

Subsequent to his commission proceedings, decisions by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals in separate commissions cases established that it was legal error to try the offense of providing material support for terrorism before a military commission. The decisions of the D.C. Circuit are binding on commissions cases and the convening authority’s action to disapprove the findings and sentence in Muhammed’s case is required in the interests of justice and under the rule of law.

SECRETARY OF DEFENSE HAGEL APPOINTS PAUL M. LEWIS FOR CLOSURE OF GUANTANAMO FACILITY

FROM:  U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT 
Hagel Appoints Special Envoy for Guantanamo Closure
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8, 2013 - Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel today announced the appointment of Paul M. Lewis as special envoy for the closure of the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The announcement reflects the Defense Department's commitment to implementing President Barack Obama's directive to close the facility, Pentagon officials said.

Lewis brings experience from his previous position as the minority general counsel of the House Armed Services Committee, where he oversaw Guantanamo-related issues, officials said. In addition to facilitating transfer determinations for Guantanamo detainees, he will oversee efforts to transfer third-country nationals currently being held by the United States in Afghanistan, they added.

He also has served as the general counsel for the House Armed Services Committee, and previously served in the Office of Legislative Counsel in the Defense Department general counsel's office, where he became the director. Before his Defense Department appointment, he was the counsel to the chairman of the House Ethics Committee and a senior counsel for the House Armed Services Committee.

Lewis will begin his work at the Pentagon on Nov. 1.

USS COLE BOMBER SUSPECT HEARINGS DELAYED

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
Mental Health Test Delays Cole Bombing Suspect Hearings
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service


FORT MEADE, Md., Feb. 7, 2013 - Pretrial hearings for the suspected USS Cole bomber are on hold until mid-April as doctors assess his mental competency and the military commission determines how that will affect future proceedings.

The latest round of hearings for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri kicked off Jan. 4 at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and had been scheduled to conclude today.

However, that schedule got derailed after the prosecution requested a mental-health assessment, challenging the defense claim that Nashiri suffers from long-term post-traumatic stress allegedly caused by enhanced interrogation techniques the CIA used on him before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.

Members of the defense questioned what such an assessment would provide, telling the commission judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, they lack faith in any medical practitioner the convening authority might appoint to conduct it. Pohl authorized the exam, but granted the defense's request that Dr. Vincent Iacopino, a member of the Physicians for Human Rights organization with expertise in torture, be called on to provide advice on how to conduct it without "doing harm."

Iacopino testified via teleconference Feb. 5, explaining special requirements for mental health exams on torture victims. He acknowledged that he has neither met nor examined Nashiri.

Dr. Sondra Crosby, who reportedly has examined hundreds of torture victims as director of medical care at the Boston Center for Refugee Health and Human Rights, is expected to conduct the exam.

Pohl told the court Feb. 4 that he would not take up other legal and administrative issues surrounding the case until after the mental-health assessment is complete. He recessed the court following Iacopino's testimony, and proceedings are expected to continue in mid-April.

Nashiri is the alleged mastermind behind the attack off the Yemeni coast that killed 17 sailors. He is charged with perfidy, murder in violation of the law of war, attempted murder in violation of the law of war, terrorism, conspiracy, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects and hazarding a vessel.

The charges arise out of an attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in January 2000, the actual attack on the USS Cole in October 2000, and an attack on the motor vessel Limburg -- a civilian oil tanker -- in October 2002.

Nashiri is a Saudi-born member of al-Qaida. U.S. officials allege he was under the personal supervision of Osama bin Laden, and that bin Laden personally approved the attacks on the U.S. Navy ships.

9-11 PRE-TRIAL HEARINGS ENDS FIRST WEEK

970215-N-3093M-001
Aviation Ordnanceman 1st Class David Ahearn (Diver) attaches an inert Satchel Charge to a training mine, during exercises in waters off Naval Base Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. U.S. Navy Photograph by Photographers Mate 2nd Class Andrew Mckaskle (Released)

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

First Week of Pre-trial Hearings Wraps Up For 9/11 Suspects
By Donna Miles
American Forces Press Service

FORT MEADE, Md., Oct. 19, 2012 - All five suspects charged with planning and orchestrating the 9/11 terrorist attacks skipped court today, the Muslim weekly holy day, as the first week of pre-trial hearings to continue through spring concluded at Naval Air Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, continued the hearing in their absence, once again taking up the issues of how open the proceedings should be and to what extent classified information can be used as the case goes to trial.

The defendants in the case are Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-described mastermind behind the attacks; his nephew, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali; Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, charged with selecting and training some of the hijackers; and Ramzi Binalshibh and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi, accused with helping finance the attacks.

They are charged with terrorism, conspiracy, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, murder in violation of the law of war, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft. If found guilty, they could receive the death penalty.

The commission devoted the first five days of pretrial hearings dealing with administrative and legal issues before the case goes to trial sometime next year.

The prosecution and defense teams spent the bulk of the week exchanging views on how to provide the accused a fair trial without compromising classified information that the government says could jeopardize national security.

They debated for hours on issues ranging from whether the proceedings are covered by the U.S. constitution and should be televised to what information will be included in the court record and whether the defense should have to reveal what its witnesses will say to justify the government flying them to Guantanamo Bay.

Ultimately, the judged ruled on four issues over the course of the week:

-- The defendants have the right to skip court proceedings regarding their case. Based on Pohl's ruling, they would have the right to submit a waiver request each morning that court convenes, and waivers would cover only that single day. Defendants who change their minds during the day could notify the guard force and attend court if it's possible to get them to the court facility after they make their request.

-- The defendants can wear pretty much what they want to their court proceedings, including camouflage clothing that both Mohammed and bin Attash have requested. Pohl stipulated, however, that the clothes must not be legitimate U.S. military uniform items, and, if prison garb, must not be in a color that misrepresents the detainee's security status.

-- Transcripts from so-called "802 conferences," during which the judge discusses issues with attorneys, will be made public, "as practicable," Pohl ruled. "This is not a blanket rule," he said. "It is not a 100 percent firm rule in every case."

-- A confidential consultant will be assigned to Hawsawi's defense team to assess his English proficiency. His counsel, Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, requested a translator to help him better defend his client.

That leaves a broad range of major issues yet to be decided when the hearings resume Dec. 3 to 7.

Ruiz told reporters after a news conference following today's proceedings that Pohl had essentially "kicked the can down the road" on the most significant issues confronting the commission. The judge "greased the skids" by entertaining motions that enable the process to move forward without addressing those related to the fundamental issue of the commission's legitimacy, Ruiz said.

Today, the defense urged the judge to open the proceedings wider than what's available through closed-circuit TV beamed to viewing areas here at Fort Meade and at Fort Hamilton, N.Y.; Fort Dix, N.J.; and Fort Devens, Mass.

While not ruling on the motion, Pohl challenged the defense's argument that broadcasting the proceedings by closed-circuit TV to only limited sites jeopardizes the outcome. "Are you telling me that if we don't go on the public airways, that the accused won't get a fair trial?" he asked.

Pohl also did not rule on the prosecution's request for a protective order addressing classified information. The prosecution has asked for "presumptive classification," which essentially means that anything the defendants say is treated as classified unless it's proven not to be.

James Connell, learned counsel for Aziz Ali, told reporters following today's proceedings that he believes that presumptive classification, if granted, could become "a major issue on appeal."

Pohl also has not ruled on issues of constitutionality. The prosecution says the burden should be on the defense to prove what issues are constitutionally protected. The defense has asked that the judge address any congressional challenges one by one, as they arise during the proceedings.

Army Maj. Robert McGovern, representing the United States, said the government is ready to turn over documents once a protective order is in place. He argued, however, that the defense's request is overly broad, warning of "fishing expeditions" with no need to prove the relevance of what the defense requests.

Cheryl Bormann, learned counsel for bin Attash, emphasized the importance of open proceedings as she addressed the court for the first time this week in western-style clothing rather than a traditional Muslim hijab.

"This is one of the most important cases to be handled ... in a very, very long time," Bormann told Pohl. "This is a situation where transparency is paramount," she said, saying that other closed commission proceedings she has observed appear to be "not transparent, not fair and not just."

Army Brig. Gen. Mark S. Martins, the chief prosecutor, recognized that some people are impatient with the pace of the proceedings. But a deliberate approach is needed so that justice is served, he said. "We are a government of the rule of law," he told reporters.

No one is more interested in seeing the case move forward than the victims' families, some who attended this week's sessions, Martins said. "Our hearts go out to the victims and family members," he told reporters, calling their strength an inspiration.

Bormann told reporters she empathizes with the victims' families.

"I feel for them, very much so," she said. However, she defended accommodations the court is making to respect the defendants' religious beliefs, saying they are the same kind of accommodations the United States makes for all its own citizens.

9/11 HEARINGS POSTPONED BECAUSE OF STORM

FROM: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

Sailors pile sandbags against the walls of Naval Security Forces headquarters at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Aug. 22, 2012, in preparation for wind and rain from tropical storm Isaac. DOD photo by Cheryl Pellerin

Judge Postpones 9/11 Hearings as Guantanamo Preps for Storm

By Cheryl Pellerin
American Forces Press Service

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Aug. 23, 2012 - Lawyers, observers and media are leaving the island today after the base commanding officer recommended their evacuation ahead of tropical storm Isaac's projected path to Cuba.

Military commissions judge Army Col. James L. Pohl postponed hearings of five accused 9/11 detainees that were scheduled to begin today after an unrelated one-day delay due to technical issues.

No new date was set for the hearings.

Pohl said he based the decision on impending weather conditions, concern for the safety and welfare of personnel, and a recommendation by the station's commanding officer, Navy Capt. John R. Nettleton.

The hearings -- in the case of the United States v. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi -- were originally scheduled to begin yesterday. But in the early morning hours of Aug. 21, a coal-train derailment in suburban Baltimore killed two young women and damaged fiber-optic lines that carry Internet traffic to and from Guantanamo Bay.

The damage caused loss of Internet connectivity for the base and for the Office of Military Commissions, and it hindered the ability of the defense team, according to an emergency motion filed by the team.

"Our hearts go out to the families of the two young women who were killed by the train wreck that resulted in our communications in Guantanamo being cut off," Army Brig. Gen. Mark S. Martins, chief prosecutor in the Office of Military Commissions, said in a news conference yesterday.

Instances of delay and disruption are nothing new to civilian and military courts, "but we're going to certainly move forward methodically [and] the court is going to take up these issues," Martins said.

Pohl said a forthcoming docketing order would set a date for the next sessions in the case.

Around the 45-square-mile naval base, people were busy with preparations for tropical storm Isaac. Some weather models are forecasting that the storm's winds and rain could make landfall on the island the afternoon of Aug. 25, affecting Cuba's southeast corner, where the base was established in 1903.

"I recommended that all the lawyers and everybody [who is part of the Office of Military Commissions] leave and come back [at a later date] and restart. But it's not my decision, it's my recommendation," Nettleton told reporters before the postponement. His recommendation for evacuation, he noted, included nonessential personnel and visitors.

The commanding officer, who's been at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station for about six weeks, said the last major hurricane that affected the base was Inez in 1963. That storm dumped 36 inches of rain onto the island, he added.

"Right now, [Isaac] is a big swath of projected winds," the captain said. "It's down from 110 to 115 [knots] to about 60 to 70 knots in the last projection we have. But it could speed up, and the wind speed could go up or it could go down."

As the storm pushes rain and heavy winds toward Cuba, he said, preparations on the island include cleaning up debris that the winds could turn into missiles, closing the hangars, securing buildings, moving people who are at risk into sturdier buildings, and hauling boats out of the water.

At the wharf yesterday, a 600-ton crane began hauling boats out of the water and rolling on giant tires over heavy concrete tracks to a dry dock several hundred feet away.

Over a 24-hour period, a port operations officer said, they'll move up to 17 boats and ferries -- from 22-foot center-console oil-spill response boats to 120-foot amphibious landing craft -- out of the water to avoid waves and storm surge.

Dark clouds moved over half the sky as the crane worked and as sailors snugged sandbags up against the walls of Naval Security Forces headquarters, located in a low-lying area near the harbor.

Nettleton said several hundred nonessential personnel and visitors will leave the island, leaving roughly 5,600 residents, including service members, workers and families, and their pets.

"Everybody on the base is pretty good at [storm preparation], because this is one of the things that we drill to constantly. ... This is actually one of the best harbors in the Caribbean, so the thing I worry about is a little bit of complacency," he said. "[But] procedurally, we're solid."

As the storm gets close, he said, an orderly shutdown of services will begin.

"We'll turn the water plant off, we'll turn the electricity off, [and] we'll go on backup generators because it's easier on the system than letting the power fail," Nettleton said. They'll also shut down activity on the beaches and on the bay.

Just before hurricane season, he said, base personnel take coconuts off the trees so the hard shells don't become deadly missiles in a storm.

Isaac may postpone the island's fresh food flight, which comes in on Saturdays, Nettleton added, and heavy rain on an island made of clay and coral could cause rockslides and close roads.

"But we'll be fine," the captain said. "We have massive amounts of support. The U.S. government will make sure everybody's good."

Once everything is shut down, the residents will shelter in place, he said. "Once the storm's passed, the first thing we'll do is sweep the area and make sure everything's clear, then slowly open services back up," he added.

It's been so long since Cuba experienced a major hurricane, some observers think it's unlikely that Isaac will be a problem here

The suggestion to evacuate nonessential personnel and visitors was "a conservative call," he said, "[but] it's one I'm always going to make, because it's about lives."

ARRAIGNMENTS OVER, 9/11 TRIAL IS COMING

DETENTION CAMP – A U.S. Army soldier stands guard as a detainee spends time in the exercise yard outside Camp Five at the Joint Task Force Guantanamo detention center on Naval Base Guantanamo Bay.  U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Jon Soucy.   

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE
Arraignment Ends as Legal Teams Gird for Long 9/11 Trial
By Karen Parrish
NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, May 6, 2012 - Defense and prosecution teams said today they expect the trial of five alleged 9/11 co-conspirators to take many months or years, while family members of those killed Sept. 11, 2001, said they're glad the trial is in the military's hands.

Yesterday's roughly 13-hour arraignment here of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak bin Attash, Ramzi bin al Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi was the first chapter of what attorneys on both sides describe as an epically complicated trial to come.

Army Col. James Pohl, the judge in the case, yesterday set the first motions hearing for June 12. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins, chief prosecutor, said he expects "hundreds of motions" during the proceedings.

"For so many determined people involved in this trial, the pursuit of justice is worth every moment spent," he said.

Martin noted many of the motions the defense team has filed and likely will file involve classification issues. The motions process -- in which either side can file, the other side responds, and finally the judge rules – serves to "tee up" a common approach to contested issues, the general said.

Martins acknowledged government investigations have concluded defendants were tortured during the early stages of their confinement. That greatly complicates the case, he said, but doesn't lessen the trial's importance. Torture is deplorable and shameful, he said. "The remedy is not to just dismiss all charges; it's harder than that," he added.

Martins said the government's case will not include any evidence resulting from torture. He added he doesn't agree with defense attorneys' contention that classification rules prevent them from discussing their clients' mistreatment or torture with them.

"They can talk to their clients about anything," the chief prosecutor said. What attorneys can't do, he said, is provide their clients with information that involves "sources and methods": locations of detention facilities; identities of cooperating governments; identities of anyone involved in the capture, transfer, detention or interrogation of detainees; interrogation techniques applied to individual detainees unless that information has been declassified; and conditions of confinement.

"If, in those five categories, there's material that relates to source and method that can still protect people from terrorist attacks, ... then that's going to be classified, and we're going to work to protect it," he said. Typically, that sort of information would be discussed in closed court, he said.

Defense attorneys have a "healthy skepticism" about the level of transparency possible in the case, Martins noted.

"What we're trying to do is put the question of the fate of these individuals – their guilt or innocence ... and the appropriate sentence – to a panel of 12 jury men and women," he said.

Defense attorneys differed in the views they shared with reporters today on yesterday's arraignment.

James Harrington is "learned counsel" for Shibh, which means he is experienced in death penalty cases. Under military commissions rules, each defendant in a capital case is assigned a learned counsel.

While the arraignment was very long, Harrington said, "I could say it went smoother than some people had anticipated. ... Things are set to progress."

Defense teams' jobs are to defend their clients, regardless of public opinion or the sympathy the attorneys feel for 9/11 victims' families, he added. "[The defendants] are entitled to a fair trial," he said. "It's our obligation to try and get them a fair trial."
Navy Cmdr. Walter Ruiz, learned counsel for Hawsawi, said yesterday's proceedings were "terrible."

"We had some measure of hope" that legal issues raised by defense attorneys would be heard, Ruiz said. "They were not."

He said that after the arraignment yesterday, he discussed the likely duration of the coming hearings and eventual trial with a colleague. Ruiz recounted what he told his coworker: "I said, 'I didn't believe you when you said I might retire from here.' And then I said, 'I may never have another legal job.'"

He added he hopes the second trial for the accused – the first was suspended, and the military commission process changed – doesn't repeat the mistakes of the earlier proceedings.

"What is important to understand is that the reason this process has to drag on ... is because [proceedings under the previous rules] tried to cut corners constitutionally ... [and] procedurally," Ruiz said.

While attorneys on both sides predict a hard grind ahead, several family members of 9/11 victims who attended the arraignment said they are glad the proceedings happen here.
Mary Henwood and her sister, Tara Henwood-Butzbaugh, attended the proceedings in memory of their brother, John Henwood, who was 35 when he was killed in the World Trade Center's Tower 1.

"He was murdered that day. He was terrorized, and he was murdered," she said. To the question of whether military commissions are appropriate to the case, she replied, "Absolutely."

Henwood said she has met with the prosecution and has seen the trial facilities here. "I feel very comfortable that this is finally happening," she said.

Cliff and Christina Russell came here in honor of Cliff's brother, Stephen, a New York City firefighter who died in Tower 1.
"I'm comfortable with it being [a capital case], ... I'm comfortable with it being military, and I'm comfortable with it being here, as opposed to being in [a] federal courthouse," he said.

Russell added he came to see the proceedings not out of a desire for vengeance, but for "some kind of psychological satisfaction."
Eddie Bracken came to Cuba to pay tribute to his sister, Lucy Fishman, who died in Tower 2. Bracken said a fair and just trial for the accused will show the world what America is based on.

"Do I respect the people that are defending them? Yes," he said. "It's about our justice system and how we uphold it."
On the location, Bracken said, "I'd rather have it here. This is the safest place in the world."

Bracken offered a comment he'd direct to Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta if he were here: "Your people are doing a great job."

Martins said the reading of the charges in yesterday's arraignment provided a "stirring reminder" of the crimes that occurred Sept. 11, 2001.

GUANTANAMO BAY ARRAIGNMENT

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Lawyers, Onlookers Prepare for Guantanamo Bay Arraignment

By Karen Parrish

NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, May 4, 2012 - Two planeloads of people arrived here today to participate in or watch court proceedings against five detainees who allegedly conspired in the 9/11 attacks on the United States that killed nearly 3,000 people.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is accused of obtaining approval and funding from the late al-Qaida chieftain Osama bin Laden for the attacks, overseeing the entire operation and training the hijackers in all aspects of the operation in Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Charges were referred April 4 in the case of the United States vs. Mohammed, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. Tomorrow's arraignment is the next step in the military commissions process.

Overall charges allege that the five accused are responsible for the planning and execution of the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Shanksville, Pa., resulting in the deaths of 2,976 people.

The defendants will hear the charges against them and have the opportunity to enter a plea. The judge may then entertain motions from the defense or prosecution. The five detainees are charged with terrorism, hijacking aircraft, conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the law of war.

The Office of Military Commissions sent 91 people here, including prosecution and defense teams. A dozen family members of 9/11 victims also traveled here with military escorts. Representatives of human rights groups and other organizations sent a total of 11 people, and nearly 60 media representatives rounded out today's new arrivals here.

Motions filed this week include a defense notice of intent to disclose classified information, and a motion and supplemental motion filed by the American Civil Liberties Union for public access to proceedings and records.
A trial date has not been set, and defense officials have said a trial is not likely to begin for at least several months.

If convicted following trial, the defendants could be sentenced to death. In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2009, each of the accused has been provided learned counsel with specialized knowledge and experience in death penalty cases. As the act also stipulates, military commissions cannot admit into evidence statements obtained through cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.

The accused are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, officials emphasized.

PROSECUTOR REFORMED GUANTANAMO TRIALS ENSURE JUSTICE

FROM:  AMERICAN FORCES PRESS SERVICE

Prosecutor Says Reformed Guantanamo Trials Ensure Justice

By Jim Garamone

FORT MEADE, Md., April 12, 2012 - The chief prosecutor at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba took exception with defense lawyers' characterizations of proceedings on the base as being done without the protections of the U.S. Constitution.

Army Brig. Gen. Mark Martins told a small news conference at the base that the reformed military commissions provide the protections of the U.S. Constitution and will follow the procedures of U.S. federal courts and military courts martials.

"All officials in the federal government have an obligation within their areas of responsibility to help fulfill these requirements, which are among the fundamental guarantees of fairness and justice demanded by our values," Martins said.

Martins spoke at the conclusion of a hearing on motions made for the trial of alleged Cole bombing mastermind Abd al-Rahim Hussein Mohammed Abdu al-Nashiri. The bombing killed 17 U.S. sailors and wounded 39 in Aden, Yemen in October 2000. Al-Nashiri is charged with capital crimes and could be put to death if found guilty. This tinges every decision the commission makes.

Defense motions questioned the prosecution on constitutional grounds, including that the charges violate the equal protection clause, that it was charging him under an ex post facto law, and that it was a bill of attainder. Trial judge Army Col. James Pohl denied all. He further denied a request for all documents given to the defense team be translated into Arabic. There are more than 70,000 pages to date.

The judge granted more time for the defense to present him with a theory of the case, their request for a Yemeni investigator, letters asking for Yemeni evidence and a motion asking for the amount of money and resources the government has expended on this prosecution.

Martins said the scene in the Guantanamo Bay courtroom proved the adversarial nature of American jurisprudence was alive and healthy in the reformed military commissions program.

"Contrary to dark suggestions of some whose minds appear already made up to oppose military commissions regardless of how they are conducted, these protections are implemented by officers, I submit, are worthy of the public trust," Martins said.

In the news conference, Martins listed the rights Al-Nashiri has. The defendant is innocent until proven guilty. He has the right to present evidence, the right to cross-examine witnesses and compel the appearance of witnesses in his defense. The U.S. government has provided more than $100,000 to fund defense requests, which include a full time investigator, a translator and four lawyers – two military and two civilian.

The al-Nashiri prosecution is complicated, the general said. It is further complicated because the crime was 12 years ago, and in another country. Federal trials have stretched years in similar situations, he said.

"Those who state or imply that what you are seeing here would not happen in the federal systems are simply wrong," the general said.

The trials at Guantanamo, while few, are important to the United States and to justice, and are worth every penny invested in them, he said.

"Not only must we continue to pursue the truth for the victims of these bombings, but we must also pursue it because that is what justice requires," he said. "A civilized and open society facing very real and modern security threats can demand no less."