Guantanamo/Detainees
Accused Sept. 11 Plotters Want Secret Evidence and a Chance to File Motions
Posted Jul 11, 2008, 05:36 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
At least four out of five Guantanamo detainees accused of planning the Sept. 11 attacks are rejecting lawyers, but they are facing some difficulties as they try to represent themselves.
One detainee known by his alias, Ammar al-Baluchi, told the judge he had written two letters and a legal motion, but his jailers had not delivered them to the court, the New York Times reports. Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, the charged mastermind of the attacks, said guards would not give him paper so he could draft legal motions.
Obtaining it could prove difficult, the story suggests. The judge, Col. Ralph Kohlmann, told Mohammed that if he wanted paper, “There’s going to have to be a motion, in accordance with our rules.”
Another detainee, Walid bin Attash, said he should have full access to classified materials since he won’t have an opportunity to disclose any secrets. Because he will likely be executed, Attash said, “Those evidence will go with me. Those evidences will be protected better than CIA and FBI.”
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