Captive in Canada

Afghan’s hearing gets off on wrong foot

Source: Globe and Mail - 15-mar-08

OMAR EL AKKAD

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA — The first court appearance of an Afghan charged with terror offences under the controversial U.S. military commissions system was confrontational yesterday, marred by hours of delays, physical compulsion and accusations of torture.

The public got its first glimpse of Mohammed Jawad yesterday as he was led in shackles into a Guantanamo Bay courtroom. Mr. Jawad was 16 or 17 when he was captured in Afghanistan in late 2002. He is charged with attempted murder in connection with a grenade attack in Afghanistan and faces a possible life sentence if convicted.

Mr. Jawad was to be formally arraigned yesterday, but refused to leave his cell and was forcefully carried out by soldiers, his lawyer said. Normally, detainees attend court free of shackles and without prison clothes. However, Mr. Jawad had his ankle cuffed for the duration of the two-hour appearance and wore an orange jumpsuit of a type issued to the least compliant prisoners in Guantanamo.

Mr. Jawad’s unwillingness to take part in the court process led to hours of delays, as a hearing that was set to begin early in the morning instead began about 4 p.m.

Only a few minutes after it finally began, the hearing hit another bump, this time because of translation issues. Two Pashto translators were brought in for Mr. Jawad, but it quickly became apparent that Mr. Jawad could not hear the translator on the headphones. After the judge eventually tried out the headphones, it was discovered that they had not been switched on.

The judge, Marine Colonel Ralph Kohlmann, then tried to ask Mr. Jawad whether he wanted his current U.S. military lawyer to represent him, an exchange that lasted more than an hour, as Mr. Jawad refused to answer the question.

“I have been treated unfairly, I have been tortured,” Mr. Jawad said through one of his translators. “I have been brought here illegally.”

For almost an hour, Judge Kohlmann tried to get the accused to say what kind of representation he wanted. Mr. Jawad would not recognize his U.S. military lawyer, or say he wanted to represent himself.

Instead, Mr. Jawad went on a tirade against the court process.

“When I was arrested I was only 16,” he said. “Is this in the U.S. Constitution, to treat a 16-year-old unfairly?”

When asked if he had anyone in mind to represent him in court, Mr. Jawad replied: “I should be given freedom to find a lawyer.”

“That’s not going to happen,” Judge Kohlmann said, moments before his patience with the accused finally ran out and he moved on without an answer from Mr. Jawad.

Eventually, the 23-year-old slammed his headphones on the table and laid his head on his forearms, losing interest in the proceedings.

Mr. Jawad’s case faces even more complications because his current U.S. military lawyer is leaving active duty for undisclosed personal reasons, a decision made earlier this week and revealed publicly just yesterday. The trial is now on hold while Guantanamo’s chief of defence council tries to find a new lawyer.

Also yesterday, the Pentagon released a few details of a new policy that is expected to allow detainees to phone their relatives back home. The policy is expected to be implemented soon, but would require family members to take the call at a U.S. embassy.

Asked for more information on the policy, such as whether it would be applied to all detainees or just the most compliant, a Guantanamo Bay spokesman forwarded inquiries to a Pentagon spokesman, who in turn forwarded inquiries back to the Guantanamo Bay spokesman.

Today, detained Canadian Omar Khadr is due in court for more pretrial arguments. In comparison with Mr. Jawad’s hearing yesterday, Mr. Khadr’s recent court appearances have gone fairly smoothly. Mr. Khadr faces a number of charges, the most serious being murder, related to the killing of a U.S. soldier during a gun battle in Afghanistan almost six years ago. If convicted, he also faces the possibility of a life sentence.

Related: Mohammed Jawad • Omar Khadr

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