2008 Woodie Awards
Guantanamo attorneys criticize holding trials during campaign season
May 30, 2008
By Carol Rosenberg - McClatchy Newspapers
Issue date: 5/29/08 Section: Real News
By law, U.S.-held detainees charged at the war court must be tried within 120 days of finalization of charges _ unless the defense team is granted a delay.
All five men in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack case face possible execution, if convicted. Civilian and military criminal defense lawyers have predicted it will take a year to prepare, in part because it's a death penalty case and classified information is being used.
Defense lawyers have for some time claimed that the Pentagon is rushing to trial before President Bush leaves the White House in January, or cited alleged internal debates by appointees about whether charges could be brought for political gain or to capture the imagination of the American people.
The latest brief raises the allegations a notch a week before the five men go before a military judge for their arraignment, or official reading of charges.
The Pentagon is organizing for large-scale coverage of the first-ever appearances of the former CIA-held captives. They have invited 60 national and international journalists to be airlifted to Guantanamo from Andrews Air Force Base a day ahead of the trial date and then evacuated back to the Washington Beltway the next day.
All five men in the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attack case face possible execution, if convicted. Civilian and military criminal defense lawyers have predicted it will take a year to prepare, in part because it's a death penalty case and classified information is being used.
Defense lawyers have for some time claimed that the Pentagon is rushing to trial before President Bush leaves the White House in January, or cited alleged internal debates by appointees about whether charges could be brought for political gain or to capture the imagination of the American people.
The latest brief raises the allegations a notch a week before the five men go before a military judge for their arraignment, or official reading of charges.
The Pentagon is organizing for large-scale coverage of the first-ever appearances of the former CIA-held captives. They have invited 60 national and international journalists to be airlifted to Guantanamo from Andrews Air Force Base a day ahead of the trial date and then evacuated back to the Washington Beltway the next day.
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