GUANTANAMO (Sputnik), Joanne Stocker — Based on motions filed by lawyers for Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, Ramzi bin Shibh, Ammar Baluchi and Mustafa Ahmed Adam Hawsawi, the hearings will focus on alleged US government obfuscation and impediments to the defense teams.
Allegations US Government is Hindering Discovery
Legal counsel for Ammar Baluchi (also known as Ali Abdul Aziz Ali) will argue that the US government is attempting to circumvent the discovery process by needlessly redacting thousands of pages of unclassified Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) documents it is required to turn over to the defense team.
Baluchi, a nephew of alleged September 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, is accused of transferring the majority of the money used to finance the terror attacks to the Saudi hijackers.
Baluchi’s lawyers assert that, although the government has technically complied with the discovery requirement, the redactions eliminate information that the defense needs to analyze the documents and contact witnesses relevant to its case.
For example, one of Baluchi’s lawyers noted that the names of his doctors have been redacted from all of his medical records, which prevents his defense team from contacting any of them.
Telephone, Written Communications From Gitmo
The hearings will also focus on the right of the defendants’ to make telephone calls to their US-based attorneys. Currently, legal counsel for the five defendants must travel to the island detention center to meet with their clients.
The government has maintained that it has no ability to facilitate detainee phone calls from Guantanamo. The defense argues that other detainees have called their US-based lawyers in the past, proving the government is able but unwilling to allow their clients to do the same.
The judge asserted that the foreign defendants could not navigate the complexities of the US legal system without effective legal representation and found that the US government had "seemingly, at every turn, acted to deny or restrict Guantanamo detainees’ access to [legal] counsel."
On Wednesday, the judge will hold a secret session to examine classified information about the defendants’ written communications to and from Guantanamo.
Prosecutors have requested that a written communications order be amended to prohibit defense attorneys from transmitting unclassified materials to third parties, citing the need to protect US national security.
Testimony From 9/11 Victims’ Families
On Friday, the judge will consider the government’s request for family members of the September 11 victims to testify in open court during two sessions scheduled for October 2016.
Prosecutors assert that depositions are necessary to establish that each of the defendants is eligible to be executed for their roles in the September 11 attacks.
Mohammad and the other defendants were initially charged by the military commission in 2008. Pre-trial proceedings began in 2012 and lawyers for both the prosecution and defense have stated they do not anticipate the trial beginning in the near future.
Each of the five defendants is charged with conspiracy, attacking civilians, murder, violation of the laws of war, hijacking and terrorism.
