Tag: military commissions act

Rights Groups Deplore Order to Try 9/11 Suspects at Guantanamo

U.S. human rights groups reacted angrily to the Justice Department’s announcement Monday that the self-proclaimed mastermind of the 9/11 attacks on Lower Manhattan and the Pentagon will be tried before a military commission at the Guantanamo detention facility in Cuba.The groups, which described the move as the latest in a series of reversals by the … Continue reading “Rights Groups Deplore Order to Try 9/11 Suspects at Guantanamo”

Rights Groups: Obama’s Terrorism Courts ‘Fatally Flawed’

Human rights advocates and legal scholars are voicing sharp criticism of President Barack Obama’s revisions to the George W. Bush administration’s Military Commissions Act of 2006, characterizing them as unnecessary and saying the new law will lead to further delays and create a system of "second-class justice." One powerful advocacy group, the American Civil Liberties … Continue reading “Rights Groups: Obama’s Terrorism Courts ‘Fatally Flawed’”

9/11 Trial At Guantánamo Delayed Again

On Monday, following a request from the Obama administration, Army Col. Stephen Henley, the military judge in the proposed trial by military commission of five men charged in connection with the 9/11 attacks – Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Ramzi bin al-Shibh, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Mustafa al-Hawsawi, and Walid bin Attash – agreed to the government’s … Continue reading “9/11 Trial At Guantánamo Delayed Again”

Pioneers of Torture

When the Abu Ghraib photos were released in 2004, it seemed that most Americans were shocked by such novel and horrific images, but at least one was not. I’m talking about Alfred McCoy, who had been following the Central Intelligence Agency since the early 1970s, when it unsuccessfully tried to stop the publication of his … Continue reading “Pioneers of Torture”

Obama Considers Revamping Military Trials

Reports circulating in Washington suggest that President Barack Obama may try to revive the military commission system for prosecuting Guantánamo detainees, which Obama himself criticized during the administration of his predecessor, former president George W. Bush. While some detainees would be tried in federal courts, administration lawyers are reportedly concerned that some terrorism suspects could … Continue reading “Obama Considers Revamping Military Trials”