Pre-trial motions are scheduled to begin August 22nd, 2012 at the Guantanamo military commission for Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other alleged 9-11 co-conspirators. Judgments regarding these motions will have far reaching implications for the trial at hand and future terrorism cases.
September 11th Families for Peaceful Tomorrows first and foremost calls for justice and accountability for the murders of our beloved family members. We have repeated this call for more than ten years.
The Military Commissions’ website heralds their commitment to fairness, transparency, and justice. Decisions by Judge Pohl at pre-trial will greatly affect all three.
Fairness means due process for defendants; nothing more, but also nothing less. These are capital cases and as such, should be resourced accordingly. Both the defense and prosecution teams should have the means to do their jobs properly. Peaceful Tomorrows believes that it is in the interest of all Americans that these hearings are conducted with the highest standards of integrity.
Transparency would allow for open, public and global access to the closed circuit transmissions that televise the proceedings. On August 22, Judge Pohl will also consider whether to allow testimony by the accused concerning their personal knowledge of their detention while in CIA custody. Peaceful Tomorrows believes transparency is attained when the American people, indeed all citizens of the world, are able to hear testimony in its entirety, including alleged torture of the defendants.
Justice demands the truth. The world will judge the American legal response to 9-11 by measuring our ability to place the rule of law above all else throughout this trial; above revenge, above emotion, above justifications for illegal behaviors.
