At Guantanamo, Army officers testify for Hamdan in secret

[struggle4progress]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Court is cleared because their encounter with the terrorism suspect has been classified. The prosecution's last witness is allowed to testify about statements that the defense says were coerced.
By Carol J. Williams, Staff Writer
August 1, 2008

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- ...

After the witnesses identified themselves, only those with top secret security clearances were allowed to remain in the courtroom, leaving neither media nor human rights monitors present at the trial of Hamdan, who was Osama bin Laden's driver and is the first person to be brought before the war crimes tribunal ...

It was a day replete with secrecy, as the military judge issued a ruling explaining why he would allow a federal counter-terrorism agent to testify for the prosecution despite defense motions seeking to suppress statements that the defense alleged were coerced. About 80% of Navy Capt. Keith J. Allred's five-page ruling delivered Thursday was blacked out by censors as classified evidence ...

"They talk about holding full, fair and transparent proceedings, yet a page from the 9/11 Report can be classified as well as the entire testimony of two important witnesses," said Sahr MuhammedAlly, a lawyer with Human Rights First.

A counter-terrorism advisor for Human Rights Watch, Stacy Sullivan, said: "The reason closed sessions are so troubling at Guantanamo is because the government has so frequently claimed things have had to be classified to cover up abuse and torture ...

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-hamdan1-2008aug01,0,7681652.story

[gratuitous]

1. Didn't Bush say that people with something to hide have usually done something wrong?

I'm so old, I remember a time when the United States was the bulwark against dictatorial regimes that tried people in secret tribunals using anonymous testimony. We used to call that tyranny and the very antithesis of a free society.

My, how times have changed with the Republicans running things.

[Supersedeas]

2. a day and a presidency replete with secrecy