The military lawyers for the 9/11 suspects, in what is believed to be an unprecedented legal move, are accusing the Defense Department of sanctioning “practices that are unlawful” that will “effectively stall this case.”
In a letter to the head of detainee affairs obtained by Fox News, military attorneys for the 9/11 suspects, including the self-described architect of the attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, as well as lawyers for other high-value detainees, claim that correspondence between the detainees and their attorneys is routinely opened, read and even confiscated by Defense Department officials.
“The policies and practices are unlawful and will effectively stall this case: these procedures violate attorney-client confidentiality privilege,” the letter says. And in what appears to be a thinly veiled critique of broader policy, the lawyers write, “A failure to act on this concern belies any claim to transparency and fairness.”
In the three-page letter, signed by nine military attorneys, Defense Department officials are scolded for allegedly ignoring rules laid out by the military commissions. The 9/11 case was first designated for a federal court trial in New York City two years ago, but it was ultimately sent back to the commissions by Attorney General Eric Holder in April after opposition by New York City officials, the public and some members of Congress.
More than a decade after the murder of nearly 3,000 Americans in the 9/11 attacks, there is still no public timetable for an arraignment at the Guantanamo Bay facility.
“The Military Commission Rules of Evidence, in Rule 502, specifically protect attorney-client privileged material from disclosure to anyone aside from the client and his legal team,” the lawyers state. While claiming the correspondence is not classified, the attorneys add that “Violations of attorney-client privilege are acutely egregious in the context of death penalty litigation, where the Supreme Court has long held that heightened Due Process applies.”
The letter says the lawyers first sought redress through the office that oversees the detention operation at the Navy base at Guantanamo – before taking the complaint to the senior Defense Department official responsible for detainee affairs.
Join the official YWN WhatsApp status
One Response
These savages should not even be getting any kind of trial.
Like any non-uniformed combatant they are not entitled to Geneva Convention protections.
They should be put up against a wall and shot.