Gitmo Prosecutor Quits, cites lack of due process.

[SirNitram]

Link

GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA -- Contending that the government had suppressed evidence that could help a young man facing life in prison, a prosecutor has quit the war crimes tribunals here, several military defense lawyers said Wednesday.

Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld quit the case -- and the Office of Military Commissions -- after growing increasingly concerned about the lack of due process afforded to Mohammed Jawad and his legal team, according to Michael J. Berrigan, deputy chief defense counsel for the commissions.

Vandeveld, an Army reservist, said in a four-page declaration filed with the court that "potentially exculpatory evidence has not been provided" to the defense.

Jawad, now about 23, was arrested in 2002 near Kabul. He is charged with attempting to commit murder in violation of the law of war for allegedly throwing a grenade into a jeep transporting troops, injuring two soldiers and an interpreter. His trial is set for December.

His Pentagon-appointed defense attorney, Air Force Maj. David Frakt, also said that the prosecutor had quit in recent days over significant concerns about the case.

"He was uncomfortable being a prosecutor under the conditions, and [his superiors] told him to do his job," Berrigan said, adding that Vandeveld then took his concerns to higher authorities but was rebuffed.

Both defense lawyers said Vandeveld had spelled out his allegations in the sealed affidavit. Vandeveld said in his declaration that prosecutors knew Jawad may have been drugged before the attack and that the Afghan Interior Ministry said two other men had confessed to the same crime.

Hearings in Jawad's case are being held today and Friday. Frakt said he had moved to call Vandeveld as a defense witness; the prosecutor had indicated he would testify about his ethical concerns and about how he wanted to offer Jawad a plea deal that would allow him to walk free in the near future. But Vandeveld's superiors rejected the plea deal and blocked his testimony, Frakt said, adding that he would ask the judge, Army Col. Steve Henley, to compel him to testify.

The assertions by Berrigan and Frakt were denied Wednesday evening by Army Col. Lawrence J. Morris, lead prosecutor for the military commissions.

Morris said Vandeveld told him he was quitting for personal reasons, and he would not discuss whether his office had rejected any proposed plea deal for Jawad.

He described Vandeveld as a disgruntled prosecutor "who was disappointed that his superiors did not agree with his recommendations in the case." "There are no grounds for his ethical qualms," Morris said.

Several prosecutors have quit or asked to be reassigned in protest, including Air Force Col. Morris Davis, the former chief prosecutor for the military commissions. He went public with claims that he had been pressured by politically appointed senior Defense officials to pursue cases deemed "sexy" in the run-up to the 2008 elections.

The Jawad case is one of several in which the Pentagon's former legal advisor to military commissions, Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas W. Hartmann, has been banned from playing an oversight role because of charges that he lost his neutrality by withholding exculpatory information in recommending the charges.

A Pentagon official said that Vandeveld had defended Hartmann against the undue-influence allegations in the Jawad case in recent weeks but lost, and that the general had retaliated against him, causing the prosecutor emotional distress and prompting him to quit and go public with his concerns. In his declaration, Vandeveld said military prosecutors routinely withhold exculpatory evidence from the defense in terrorism cases.

Jawad is one of about two dozen detainees facing charges in the Pentagon's specially designed system for prosecuting alleged terrorists.

[Elfdart]

I'm glad he resigned. I think any military officer who takes part in these witch trials is a disgrace to the uniform.

[hawkwind]

Takes balls of brass to do it though.

J.

[Chris OFarrell]

Takes balls of brass to do it though.

J.

Not really, it takes balls to do it years ago, it takes common sense to do it now with a probable change in the Federal Government comming about shortly.

Major Mike Mori (SP) now HE had balls of solid fucking iron.

[hawkwind]

Well yes, if he did 4 years ago it would certainly had more merit, but better late than never. I never said it was not clever thing to do.
One day people reponsible will be held at least morally acountable for Gitmo, when not legally and the man is out of it.


J.

[weemadando]

Takes balls of brass to do it though.

J.

Not really, it takes balls to do it years ago, it takes common sense to do it now with a probable change in the Federal Government comming about shortly.

Major Mike Mori (SP) now HE had balls of solid fucking iron.

Yeah. And it's not like it's clear that he was being fucked over for being a truly good lawyer to his client. Passed over for promotion how many times?

[Chris OFarrell]

Twice so far. IIRC if he gets passed over again, doesn't he get booted under the US 'up or out' deal?

[Tsyroc]

Twice so far. IIRC if he gets passed over again, doesn't he get booted under the US 'up or out' deal?

It depends.

Normally someone at the level of a Lt. Col would be able to put in his twenty and take the early retirement. So if he had a few years to go until he was able to retire he should be able to stick around but not get promoted. After the second time passing him over I don't think they would even go through the motions of putting him up for promotion again, but I could be wrong.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Wait a second, how is throwing a grenade into a jeep containing occupation troops a war crime?

Of course that is beside the fact that these are kangaroo courts...

[TheMuffinKing]

Wait a second, how is throwing a grenade into a jeep containing occupation troops a war crime?

Of course that is beside the fact that these are kangaroo courts...

I'm willing to bet that Jawad was not part of a military or paramilitary unit, not wearing a uniform, a child, and was chucking grenades. Under geneva convention rules he is an unlawful combatant and should be lucky he wasn't shot down on the spot.

[Alyrium Denryle]

Wait a second, how is throwing a grenade into a jeep containing occupation troops a war crime?

Of course that is beside the fact that these are kangaroo courts...

I'm willing to bet that Jawad was not part of a military or paramilitary unit, not wearing a uniform, a child, and was chucking grenades. Under geneva convention rules he is an unlawful combatant and should be lucky he wasn't shot down on the spot.

Lucky he was not shot yes. but that has no bearing on whether he can be charged with murder, put on trial to determine if he is an unlawful combatant yes, but not charged with a crime.

And from what I understand of the geneva convention, provided there is a command structure (which terrorist groups do have) it is legal to resist occupation forces even if no uniforms are involved. I could easily be wrong there, I dont have my copy of the conventions handy

[Aaron]

And from what I understand of the geneva convention, provided there is a command structure (which terrorist groups do have) it is legal to resist occupation forces even if no uniforms are involved. I could easily be wrong there, I dont have my copy of the conventions handy

Their supposed to wear an identifying mark if they don't have uniforms. Could be as simple as a head/armband or a white circle on the shirt. You get the picture. He can be charged with murder however as the folk that don't count as military/partisan members are supposed to be handed over to the host country for trial in their court system or held until such time as it can be done.

So their not supposed to spend their lives rotting in a gulag, especially as Afghanistan has a court system now (even if it is a really shitty one). I think it's kind of ironic, him sitting in Gitmo is probably saving his life. I have no doubt that the Afghan government would execute him.