Guantanamo suspects face hearings without lawyers

clipmarks on March 9th, 2007 filed in Politics

Imagine going to court without a lawyer. Now, imagine going to court in a foreign country, possibly not being able to speak or understand what’s taking place even if you are provided with an “approved” translator, and having no one there to tell you what’s really happening, or to defend you against charges that up to that moment you didn’t even know you faced. This is not justice, this is a kangaroo court.

Panels of three military officers will decide whether the suspects should continue to be held as “enemy combatants” at Guantanamo. No defense lawyers or reporters will be present at the hearings, which the Pentagon says is to prevent classified information from being leaked.

Clipped from www.dw-world.de

Technorati Tags: courts, detainees, Guantanamo, hearings, Law, pentagon, Politics