Pentagon reveals rules for terror trials

The Pentagon has published the lengthy set of rules under which terrorism suspects, including some Guantánamo Bay detainees, will be tried by specially convened military commissions. The new regulations are intended to track a law passed last fall by Congress restoring President Bush's plans to have special military commissions try "terror war" prisoners. Those commissions had been struck down earlier in the year by the Supreme Court. The 238-page Manual for Military Commissions, published on Jan. 18, offers suspected al-Qaida and Taliban militants "all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized people," a Pentagon spokesperson said. However, critics of the commissions raised the possibility that suspects could be convicted–or even executed–on hearsay evidence alone. They also hit out at the continued lack of provision for the hundreds of Guantánamo prisoners whose cases are not considered suitable for trial. The new regulations mark another step towards the first military hearings against terrorism suspects, expected to begin later this year. Fourteen al-Qaida leaders recently moved from CIA detention centers to Guantánamo, including Khalid Sheik Mohamed, who allegedly masterminded the Sept. 11 attacks. Mohamed could be among the first to be tried. Defendants will get access to all evidence presented against them, although they may see only summaries of some classified material. No minimum standards on the quality of evidence have been set out. Instea judges are granted wide discretion to decide, on a case by case basis, whether hearsay or classified evidence may be allowed. As required by law, the manual prohibits the use of statements obtained through torture and "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment" as prohibited by the Constitution. It allows some evidence obtained through coercive interrogation techniques if obtained before Dec. 30, 2005, and deemed reliable by a judge. Congress and the White House agreed last year that hearsay–a witness quoting someone else–can be allowed as evidence if a judge rules the testimony is reliable. According to the manual, this is necessary because witnesses–such as military personnel or foreigners–may not be available to testify. "As a general matter, hearsay shall be admitted on the same terms as any evidence," the manual states. The regulations closely mirror the Military Commissions Act, passed by Congress last year, which restored George Bush's plans to create special military commissions to try terrorism suspects. In June, the commission's proposals had been struck down by the US supreme court. Last September, Congress sent Bush a new law granting wide latitude in interrogating and detaining captured enemy combatants. The legislation prohibited some abuses of detainees, including mutilation and rape, but granted the president leeway to decide which interrogation techniques were permissible. Passage of the bill, which was backed by the White House, followed more than three months of debate that included angry complaints by Democrats about the administration's interrogation policies, and a short-lived rebellion by some Republican senators. The Military Commissions Act also formally stripped non-US citizens held under suspicion of being "enemy combatants" of their right to challenge their detention in civilian courts. Major Michael Mori, the Pentagon-appointed lawyer for Australian prisoner David Hicks, captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and transferred to Guantánamo in January 2002, said the tribunals "just don't provide for a fair trial." "Actually, things are worse under this new system," he added, referring to the fact that suspects could, in theory, be convicted purely on hearsay. Some Democrats said they also had concerns about the manual, warning that the lack of basic rights could put US troops at risk of mistreatment if they are captured in the future. Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) said he was most concerned about limits placed on defense lawyers' access to witnesses and evidence and the use of coerced statements. He said he was working to address flaws in the manual "that are impediments to the effective and credible prosecution of suspected terrorists." One Republican senator, Arlen Specter, said he would join Democrats in pushing to change the law, allowing detainees to protest their detention in court. Under the rules, only detainees selected for trial by the military are able to confront charges against them. US officials say they believe there is enough evidence to prosecute between 60 and 80 military detainees, meaning the remainder of the almost 400 prisoners at Guantánamo could be held indefinitely without trial. The Defense Department is currently planning trials for at least 10 of the detainees.