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Judge Rejects Forced Confession of Mohammed Jawad

By Alexa

The ACLU reports that a U.S. military judge at Guantanamo has rejected the confession of Mohammed Jawad, age 22 or 23, because the confession was obtained under coercion.

A representative for the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), who was present at the hearing at the tribunal at the US military base in Cuba, revealed that Jawad's confession had been rejected as evidence in the case.

"Colonel Stephen Henley held that evidence collected while Jawad was in US custody cannot be admitted in his trial" because the evidence was "gathered through coercive interrogations," the ACLU said in a press release. (Source: AFP)

Small steps, but this is the third (or fourth) repudiation of Bush's Guantanamo policies this week alone.

"Previously, the government had told the judge that Jawad's alleged confessions were the centerpiece of its case against him," the ACLU said.

"If the government continues to prosecute this case, it will only provide further evidence that the military commissions system is a sham aimed at obtaining convictions regardless of the facts or the law," said ACLU staff attorney Hina Shamsi.

The lead prosecutor in Jawad's case, lieutenant Colonel Darrel Vandeveld, quit in September due to "ethical concerns."

President-Elect Obama recently stated: "I have said repeatedly that I intend to close Guantanamo, and I will follow through with that." You can sign the ACLU petition here which states:

Dear President-Elect Obama:

I was deeply moved by your recent affirmation that you will close the Guantánamo detention facilities and shut down the military commissions, which have been a stain on America here, at home and abroad.

Nothing would make me prouder than to see you act on your first day in office to restore America's moral leadership in the world.

With one stroke of your pen, you can close Guantánamo Bay prison, shut down military commissions, and ban torture.

The Bush administration created a prison camp at Guantánamo - a place where they claimed the law didn't apply. They detained hundreds of men without charge or trial, authorized torture, and prosecuted some prisoners in military commissions that violate our Constitution and international law.

We can't let the system of injustice George W. Bush put in place stand - not for a single day.??I want you to know that I will support your leadership on this vitally important issue in every possible way. And I will stand by you every step of the way to resist those calling for you to "go slow" or "wait for the right time" to act in defense of American freedom.

Please act on day one to make clear that the government you lead will be faithful to the Constitution.

The restoration of American freedom is in your hands. Give us back the America we believe in.

Signed,
[Your Name]

If this strikes you as somewhat unrealistic to expect Gitmo to shut down day one, it probably is. But in politics, it's always a good idea to ask for more than you expect to get. That way, you have something to compromise down to. Guantanamo is going to be closed. We just have to keep that closure a top priority.

Torture is not making us safer. It's nearly inarguably putting us at risk. Those are the facts and the facts don't care whether or not you like them. Guantánamo isn't making us any safer either, since the innocent people in there are just learning to hate the US. It turns out that - just as all we pansy-assed, weepy liberals said all along - there's nothing about any of this that qualifies as a good idea. The hard-headed neocon realists turn out to be blockheaded neocon dreamers; Guantánamo has failed.

"For the second time in less than a month, the judge has thrown out evidence at the heart of the government's case against Mr. Jawad because it was obtained through torture. All of Mr. Jawad's alleged confessions have now been suppressed and the government is left with no case," said Hina Shamsi, staff attorney with the ACLU National Security Project. "If the government continues to prosecute this case, it will only provide further evidence that the military commissions system is a sham aimed at obtaining convictions regardless of the facts or the law."

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on November 22, 2008 (boomark / email).