Noor Uthman Mohammed pleads guilty to terror charges at military commissions

[JURIST] Sudanese Guantanamo Bay detainee Noor Uthman Mohammed pleaded guilty before a military tribunal Tuesday to terrorism charges. Mohammed entered guilty pleas to one count of providing material support of terrorism and one count of conspiracy. The charges against him stem from meetings with al Qaeda and his service as a weapons instructor and manager [...]

Navy lawyer says military broke plea deal pledge in Qosi case

The Miami Herald reports that the attorney for a former al Qaeda cook said that the government did not deliver on a promise that led him to plead guilty to supporting terrorism, and predicted that might discourage other Guantánamo captives from reaching deals with prosecutors. Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan, 50, was removed [...]

Hamdan appeal to be heard by full US military commissions review court

[JURIST] The US Court of Military Commission Review will hear en banc an appeal by former Osama Bin Laden driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan according to media reports. The decision was revealed late Friday in a one-page order given to attorneys working on Hamdan’s case. Hamdan was convicted in August 2008 of providing material support for [...]

Military judge: Nobody tortured terror suspect Omar Khadr

The Miami Herald reports that an Army interrogator’s tale of gang rape in an American prison didn’t coerce Canadian captive Omar Khadr to confess to anything while he was held as a teen terror suspect in Afghanistan, a military commissions judge said in a Guantánamo war court ruling made public Friday. Army Col. Patrick Parrish, [...]

US Supreme Court judge Kennedy favors civilian courts in terrorism cases

Kennedy addressed participants in the 9th Circuit Judicial Conference on Maui, where a panel discussion earlier this week reached a consensus in favor of using civilian courts instead of military commissions in most terrorism cases. “Article III courts are quite capable of trying these terrorist cases,” Kennedy said, agreeing with the conclusion. Kennedy also praised [...]

Military commissions trials draw strong criticism

Loyola University Los Angeles law professor David Glazier told AFP that the decision to allow confessions made under duress by Canadian Omar Khadr “do nothing to help the credibly of the (military) commissions. “Decisions which err on the side of allowing disputed evidence into the trials will only serve to fuel that criticism and undermine [...]

Officer rejected for military commissions jury in Khadr trial because he agrees with Obama

This week, a jury-like panel was assembled to hear the case of Omar Khadr. During examination, an Army lieutenant colonel who was being considered for the panel said he agreed with Obama’s view that the offshore prison has compromised American values and diminished America’s international standing. “America seemed to lose its status as a beacon [...]

US military jury recommends 14-year sentence for Al Qosi

A US military jury on Wednesday recommended a 14-year sentence for Sudanese Guantanamo Bay [JURIST news archive] detainee Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi [DOD materials; JURIST news archive]. Al Qosi agreed to a plea deal Tuesday after pleading guilty [JURIST reports] to charges of conspiracy and providing material support for terrorism in July. The details [...]

U.S. lacks policy on housing detainees convicted in military commissions

The Defense Department has no written policy on how detainees convicted in military commissions should be housed after they are sentenced, despite a 2008 Pentagon directive to create a plan for such prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, a military judge said according to the Washington Post.

U.S. Supreme Court Asked to Stop Khadr Trial

Omar Khadr, the Canadian charged with crimes he allegedly committed when he was 15 years old, is set to be tried before a military commission at Guantanamo Bay beginning August 10.  Four months ago, Khadr’s lawyer, Army Lt. Col. Jon Jackson, filed a petition challenging the constitutionality of the Military Commissions Act of 2009 with [...]