Experts spar in Virginia court over status of accused Russian fighter for Taliban

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

US | Wed Jun 17, 2015 9:56pm EDT

Experts spar in Virginia court over status of accused Russian fighter for Taliban

RICHMOND, VA. | BY GARY ROBERTSON

Attorneys for a former Russian army officer charged with terrorism and conspiracy for his role in a Taliban attack on U.S. forces in Afghanistan argued in federal court in Virginia on Wednesday that the case should be dismissed because he was a war combatant.

Irek Hamidullin, who is believed to be in his early 50s, is the first military prisoner from Afghanistan to appear in a federal court. He was arrested in November 2009 and held in Afghanistan by the U.S. Department of Defense.

A U.S. grand jury indicted Hamidullin in 2014 on charges that he joined the Taliban in a 2009 attack on an Afghan police base. The charges against him include aiding terrorists, attempting to destroy a U.S. military aircraft and attempting to kill a U.S. citizen.

A trial date has been set for July, but his attorneys at a hearing in Richmond, Virginia, argued the case should be dismissed because as a war combatant with the Taliban he was entitled to protections under the Geneva Conventions.

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Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/06/18/us-usa-russian-taliban-idUSKBN0OY05G20150618

[bemildred]

1. This is why the military prefers its own kangaroo courts,

these sorts of pesky questions can be avoided. One can set up a trial script and expect it to be followed.