Bad News For Dog-And-Pony Trials
Published by BG on Tuesday, June 05, 2007 at 10:51 AM.Reuters AlertNet - Guantanamo war crimes trials screech to halt
Via Little Green Footballs, who hopes this isn't a case of "monumental incompetence" where the government might not be able to appeal because they apparently haven't set up an appellate court that covers this jurisdiction yet.
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba, June 4 (Reuters) - U.S. military judges dropped all war crimes charges on Monday against the only two Guantanamo captives facing trial, rulings that could preclude trying any of the 380 prisoners held at the U.S. base in Cuba any time soon.
The judges said they lacked jurisdiction under the strict definition of those eligible for trial by military tribunal under a law the U.S. Congress enacted last year.
"It's another demonstration that the system simply doesn't work," said the tribunals' chief defense counsel, Marine Col. Dwight Sullivan.
The rulings did not affect U.S. authority to indefinitely hold the 380 foreign terrorism suspects detained at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in southeast Cuba.
But it was the latest setback for the Bush administration's efforts to put the Guantanamo captives through some form of judicial process. It was forced to rewrite the rules last year after the U.S. Supreme Court deemed the old tribunals illegal.
Via Little Green Footballs, who hopes this isn't a case of "monumental incompetence" where the government might not be able to appeal because they apparently haven't set up an appellate court that covers this jurisdiction yet.
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