Judge Rules For Censorship Of Torture Testimony At Guantánamo Military Commission [View all]
Source: ENews Park Forest
NEW YORK --(ENEWSPF)--December 12 - The judge presiding over the Guantánamo Bay military commission 9/11 trial has approved the governments request to censor any testimony from the defendants relating to their torture. The American Civil Liberties Union had challenged the governments request, arguing that the American public has a First Amendment right to hear the testimony. The ACLU plans to seek further review of the ruling, which was released today.
Military Judge Col. James Pohl ruled that any statements by the defendants concerning their treatment including torture while in U.S. custody could be kept from the public as classified, and upheld the continued use of a 40-second delay audio feed of the proceedings.
Were profoundly disappointed by the military judges decision, which didnt even address the serious First Amendment issues at stake here. The government wanted to ensure that the American public would never hear the defendants accounts of illegal CIA torture, rendition and detention, and the military judge has gone along with that shameful plan, said Hina Shamsi, director of the ACLU's National Security Program. For now, the most important terrorism trial of our time will be organized around judicially approved censorship of the defendants own thoughts, experiences and memories of CIA torture. The decision undermines the governments claim that the military commission system is transparent and deals a grave blow to its legitimacy.
In its request, the government had contended that any statements by the defendants concerning their exposure to the CIAs detention and interrogation program are classified as sources, methods and activities of the U.S. and can be withheld from the public.
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