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WORLD> America
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Guantanamo prosecutor quits over detainee case
(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-09-25 15:53 At least three other Guantanamo prosecutors have quit their posts with grievances about the process. The former chief prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, resigned in October and accused his superiors of political meddling. Davis testified last month that a Pentagon official who oversaw the tribunals until last week, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas Hartmann, pushed for Jawad to be prosecuted before others because the details of the case would grip the American public and help build support for the process. "The guy who threw the grenade was always at the top of the list," Davis said. The military judge later ruled that disqualified Hartmann from the case, saying he had compromised his objectivity by aligning himself with prosecutors. Two other former prosecutors, Air Force Maj. John Carr and Air Force Maj. Robert Preston, asked to be reassigned after alleging in 2004 that prosecutors deliberately misled senior civilian Pentagon officials about the quality of evidence against defendants. "This appears to be yet another example of the government pushing the commission's case forward with total disregard of the truth or the rules," said Jennifer Daskal, senior counterterrorism counsel for Human Rights Watch. Jawad is one of roughly two dozen Guantanamo detainees facing charges. Military prosecutors say they plan trials for about 80 of the 255 men held here on suspicion of links to al-Qaida or the Taliban. |
