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January 21, 2009
Obama Seeks Halt to Guantanamo Trials
Obama seeks halt to Guantanamo trials
GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba
(Reuters)
Hours after taking office on Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama ordered military prosecutors in the Guantanamo war crimes tribunals to ask for a 120-day halt in all pending cases.
Military judges were expected to rule on the request on Wednesday at the U.S. naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, an official involved in the trials said.
The request would halt proceedings in 21 pending cases, including the death penalty case against five Guantanamo prisoners accused of plotting the September 11 hijacked plane attacks that killed nearly 3,000 people.
Prosecutors said in their written request that the halt was "in the interests of justice."
Human rights activists and military defense lawyers had urged him to halt the special tribunals that are formally known as military commissions and urged him to move the prosecutions into the regular U.S. courts for trial under long-established rules.
"In order to permit the newly inaugurated president and his administration time to review the military commission process, generally, and the cases currently pending before the military commissions, specifically, the secretary of defense has, by order of the president directed the chief prosecutor to seek continuances of 120 days in all pending case," prosecutor Clay Trivett said in the written request to the judges.
The request said freezing the trials until May 20 would give the new administration time to evaluate the cases and decide what forum best suits any future prosecution.
Wild Thing's comment.......
Hmmmm Day ONE, well this didn't take long.
This clown is going to do a whole lot of damage.
Posted by Wild Thing at January 21, 2009 05:40 AM
Comments
Can they move in with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Murtha, Ted Kennedy, and find quarters in the CNN anchor break room?
Posted by: darthcrUSAderworldtour07 at January 21, 2009 10:41 AM
Now the terrorists know they don't even have to conduct suicide attacks. They can just attack and if they are caught, they will get good lawyers paid for by American taxpayers.
I wonder how the Indians are treating the surviving Mumbai terrorist. Supposedly the Indians have obtained a lot of info from him. Bet they used more than waterboarding.
Posted by: TomR at January 21, 2009 12:04 PM
Hell, with this SOB at the helm they'll be granted citizenship, a friggin' cabinet position and be inline for the next presidency.
Posted by: Jack at January 21, 2009 05:07 PM
Last year the Senate voted either 97-0 or 97-3 or 97-2 and 1 present, guess who that was. Not to bring them to my state. But these assholes want to shut gitmo down. Stupid is as stupid does, I guess.
Posted by: Mark at January 21, 2009 06:23 PM
Hopefully, the domestic and foreign troops in Iraq and Afghanistan get the message and no longer have live enemy prisoners to return to Gitmo or it's replacement. Barack Obama wants time to evaluate what to do with the detainees. Eric Holder, his AG nominee, knows what to do. Even though FALN terrorists didn't seek pardons, Eric Holder became their knight in shining honor recommending and succeeding in getting Bill Clinton to pardon them. So, it looks like many of the detainees in Gitmo will be able fight (us) another day.
Posted by: Les at January 21, 2009 07:20 PM
