U.S. general ejected from 2nd Guantanamo trial
Last Updated: Thursday, August 14, 2008 | 3:18 PM ET
The Associated Press
A military judge on Thursday barred a Pentagon official from taking part in a second war crimes trial at Guantanamo Bay, providing more ammunition for lawyers of detainees who allege that political interference taints the proceedings.
A former chief prosecutor and defence lawyers have accused Air Force Brig Gen. Thomas Hartmann, the legal adviser to the tribunals, of demanding that certain cases be pursued over others based on political considerations.
Judge and Army Col. Steve Hanley ruled that Hartmann compromised his objectivity in public statements aligning himself with prosecutors and defending the Pentagon's system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.
Hartmann, who was also barred from the first Guantanamo war crimes trial, will not be allowed to provide further advice in the case against an Afghan detainee, Mohammed Jawad. But the judge rejected a defence request to dismiss war crimes charges against Jawad.
The former chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, testified that Hartmann pushed for Jawad to be charged because the American public would be gripped by the details of the case — a grenade attack on two U.S. soldiers and their interpreter in Afghanistan.
"The guy who threw the grenade was always at the top of the list," Davis said.
The ruling "really affects some of the high-profile cases that Gen. Hartmann has had his hands in," said Jawad's attorney, Air Force Maj. David Frakt.
Khadr Case
Canadian Omar Khadr is due to stand trial for war crimes before a military commission in Guantanamo Bay in October.
The Hartmann ruling has already fuelled a defence challenge by Khadr's lawyers, who want the charges against the 21-year-old thrown out because of Hartmann's presence at the U.S. naval base, the Toronto Star reported Thursday.
If that doesn't happen, they want Hartmann expelled from future legal processes, said the Star.
Khadr is the only citizen of a Western nation still being held at the base in Guantanamo Bay. Khadr's lawyers filed suit on Aug. 8 in an effort to compel Prime Minister Stephen Harper to demand the Canadian citizen be repatriated.
Harper has said he won't get involved in the case because a legal process against Khadr is underway.
Legal influence
Hartmann supervises the chief prosecutor at Guantanamo and has extensive powers over the tribunal system. He testified Wednesday that he believed he was doing his job properly and said he has not offered to resign.
A judge in the trial of another prisoner, Salim Hamdan, disqualified Hartmann from participating in that case.
Hamdan was convicted last week and sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison, concluding the first Guantanamo war crimes trial.
Share Tools
Top News Headlines
- Ottawa wins appeal to block RCMP union
- Ontario's Court of Appeal has overturned a 2009 ruling that said it was unconstitutional to prevent members of the RCMP from forming a labour association. more »
- 2,000 jobs cut as GM to close Oshawa plant
- The Canadian Auto Workers union says General Motors is going ahead with plans to close its consolidated plant in Oshawa, Ont. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- Flooding closes Toronto subway hub Union station
- The Toronto Transit Commission has closed a portion of the Yonge Street subway line because of what it says is severe flooding at Union station. more »
Latest World News Headlines
- Gaza border clash kills Palestinian militant, Israeli soldier
- A Palestinian militant infiltrated into Israel and set off a shootout that left the infiltrator and one Israeli soldier dead, the military says. more »
- Mistrial declared in John Edwards case
- The campaign fraud trial of disgraced former U.S. senator John Edwards ended on Thursday with an acquittal on one of six counts and a mistrial declared on the remaining charges. more »
- Diamond Jubilee: Your photos of royal encounters
- The CBC Community team asked you to submit your best photos of the Queen's visits to Canada, or visits by any member of the Royal Family. The result was tremendous! more »
- How manhunts work
- A nation-wide manhunt, like the one being undertaken to find suspected killer Luka Rocco Magnotta, is a highly co-ordinated exercise that isn't quite as gritty or dramatic as it may seem in TV police shows. more »
Dispatches »
- Child "bomberitos" on Peru's most dangerous highway May. 31, 2012 3:34 PM The bomberito children of the Andes hitch homemade carts to passing transport trucks -- to aid motorists and victims of disasters in mountains that were once the domain of Peru's Shining Path rebels. They risk their lives for tips that help feed their families.
Connect Newsroom Blog
The Hunt for Magnotta and #bullyPROOF May. 31, 2012 7:32 PM Tonight we'll take you deep inside the dark recesses of the internet for a closer look what's being posted and who watching it.
- Body-parts victim ID'd as Chinese student in Montreal
- Edmonton teacher suspended for giving 0s
- Owner defends 'gore' site connected to Luka Magnotta
- New duty-free limits will challenge Canadian retailers
- Quebec student talks collapse and more protests loom
- Tree faller plunges to death as bucket breaks
- Bear pulls corpse from car near Kamloops
- Copyright board to charge for music at weddings, parades
- Last chance to see Venus transit across sun
