9/11 families condemn tribunals

[seemslikeadream]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7776666.stm




The five accused 9/11 plotters said they want to plead guilty


Thirty-three relatives of people killed in the 9/11 attacks on the US have denounced the Guantanamo war crimes trials as illegitimate and unfair.

In a letter posted on a civil liberties website, the relatives say the military trials are politically motivated.

Pre-trial hearings began on Monday in Guantanamo for five prisoners charged with plotting the 9/11 attacks.

Other 9/11 relatives brought to the hearings by the Pentagon praised them as giving the accused a fair trial.

"Many of us do not believe these military commissions to be fair, in accordance with American values, or capable of achieving the justice that 9/11 family members and all Americans deserve," says the statement posted on the website of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

"These prosecutions have been politically motivated from the start, are designed to ensure quick convictions at the expense of due process and transparency, and are structured to prevent the revelation of abusive interrogations and torture engaged in by the US government."

CHARGES
Conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, terrorism and providing material support for terrorism
Hijacking or hazarding a vessel (except Mustafa al-Hawsawi)




The statement continues: "No comfort or closure can come from military commissions that ignore the rule of law and stain America's reputation at home and abroad."

Nearly 3,000 people were killed on 11 September 2001 when four planes were hijacked and crashed into New York City's World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a farm field in Pennsylvania.

Alleged mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four co-defendants said they wanted to plead guilty at Monday's pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo Bay.

He said they would postpone their pleas until an investigation to determine whether two of the defendants are mentally competent to stand trial is complete.

The five men face death sentences if convicted.

No trial date has been set and there seems little chance that one will begin before President-elect Barack Obama takes office in January.

He has said he is opposed to the military tribunals and has pledged to close down the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay.








He said they would postpone their pleas until an investigation to determine whether two of the defendants are mentally competent to stand trial is complete.

[Bolo Boffin]

1. "Are you saying if we plead guilty we will not be able to be sentenced to death?"

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/08/AR2008120801087.html

[seemslikeadream]

2. Tell it to the families

[Bolo Boffin]

6. The members that were there heard it for themselves. n/t

[Thorandmjolnir]

12. Why are you dissing the 9/11 families? nt.

[Bolo Boffin]

13. I'm not. Thank you kindly for your factually inaccurate opinion. n/t

[SidDithers]

3. "Other 9/11 relatives brought to the...

hearings by the Pentagon praised them as giving the accused a fair trial."

Is the opinion of one group of families more valid than the opinion of another group of families?

Sid

[seemslikeadream]

4. Other 9/11 relatives brought to the... hearings by the Pentagon

:eyes:

[whatchamacallit]

5. Yes, the right wing, bush trusting, kool-aid swilling families are less valid. n/t

[pjt7]

7. Hard to believe

that any family members that wanted to attend, would be denied.

[JackRiddler]

9. Well then you'll have to get over it and believe in reality instead...

Because that's how it started, earlier this year: with hand-picked family member Debra Burlingame invited in secret to be in attendance and give her blessing. This was simply announced; the Pentagon didn't publish an open invitation or make clear an application process for families wishing to attend the Guantanamo proceedings.

I understand perfectly those who don't want to go to Guantanamo, then or now, but who instead lobby for its immediate closure, like the Peaceful Tomorrows group.


http://www.peacefultomorrows.org/article.php?id=879


9/11 Families and the Military Commission Trials
We do not honor our loved ones memories by perpetuating injustice.
by John Leinung
June 4th, 2008


When the high-value prisoners at Guantanamo Bay are formally charged this week with planning the killing of nearly 3,000 people on 9/11, the only victim family member allowed to be present will be a secretly invited administration supporter, Debra Burlingame, whose brother Charles died in the attacks. According to some press reports, she was invited to offer a political counterpoint to human rights watchdogs critical of the military commission system.

This is not the first time the Bush/Cheney administration has attempted to use 9/11 families to justify their policy decisions. No one knows better than we the effects of terrorism -- the pain of losing a loved one to someone else’s political agenda. But we do not honor our loved ones memories by perpetuating injustice.

September 11th was indeed a crime against humanity, not just against the United States or the 3,000 individuals of many nationalities who died that day. At the end of the Second World War, the United States was in the forefront of cooperative international efforts to establish legal processes to bring justice to war crimes and violations of international law. But if the world is to demand that nations and individuals alike act in accordance with international laws and norms, how can we justify a military commissions system that ignores inconvenient American legal traditions and norms, and international treaties?

Many of us feel that, along with our grief came a responsibility and challenge to see that the disregard for the rights of other human beings evidenced on 9/11 not be imposed on anyone else. Whether we are in someone’s eyes lawful or unlawful combatants, noncombatants, or innocent civilians, the only protection any of us ultimately have is the willingness of other nations and individuals to follow the rule of law. This is behavior that can be encouraged only through leading by example. It can not be imposed by force of will, or by more lawless behavior.

Unfortunately, the Bush/Cheney administration has chosen to interpret international treaties, the Constitution, and legal traditions only in ways convenient to them. Displaying a single, hand-picked, 9/11 family member at a Military Commissions arraignment will not convey any legitimacy to fatally flawed policies. Neither will it convince anyone that the Military Commissions have the blessing, or confidence, of 9/11 family members.

John M. Leinung
Step-Father of Paul J. Battaglia, WTC Tower 1

[reinvestigate911]

10. thanks for posting this n/t

[JackRiddler]

8. "Is the opinion of one group of families more valid than the opinion of another group of families?"

Yes. Obviously.

These courts are extraconstitutional and unconstitutional. They are a travesty of justice.

They are in violation of habeas corpus rules and the most basic post-Enlightenment understanding of human rights and justice. Even the category of the prisoners (who are not POWs but also not civilian detainees) does not exist under a recognized body of law. They cannot produce a valid verdict.

Some questions have a single, right answer. It shouldn't matter who is giving that answer, but if the government is going to present selected Sept. 11 family members in support of its kangaroo proceedings, then it's only fair that other family members should answer, in the spirit of "not in our name."

[JackRiddler]

11. Should add:

According to official admission, the prisoners (assuming they really are prisoners and not actors) were held at secret locations for years and tortured; they could have been brainwashed into believing any story during that time, something that the Inquisition and the organizers of Stalinist show trials understood and put into practice long before the CIA itself started its decades of experiments in mind control.