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Military commissions review court grants government continuance in Jawad case

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] The US Court of Military Commission Review (USCMCR) on Wednesday granted a government request for a 120-day continuance on an intermediate appeal in its case against Guantanamo Bay  detainee Mohammed Jawad . The government asked the court to grant the continuance in light of an executive order  by President Barack Obama requiring a review of the military commission system, arguing that proceeding with the case would be futile until the review is complete. Lawyers for Jawad opposed the continuance, arguing that the USCMCR lacked authority to grant the motion, and that any likely changes to the military commission system would not favor the government's position. Siding with the government, the court reasoned that it ought to grant deference to the government given national security and foreign policy concerns:he reason for the delay is to allow the Department of Defense to participate in an Interagency review, not only of the military commission process, but also the status of those apprehended and presently detained at Guantanamo Bay - including the Appellee - their conditions, and the factual and legal bases for their apprehension and detention, all in the context of the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States.The government is appealing an earlier decision  by a military judge to exclude a confession by Jawad on the grounds that it was solicited through the use of torture.  Jawad's trial was initially delayed in December to give prosecutors more time to appeal the exclusion of his confession. In January, the USCMCR heard arguments regarding the exclusion. Jawad has been charged with attempted murder and intentionally causing serious bodily injury for his alleged role in a December 2002 grenade attack in Kabul that injured two US soldiers and an Afghan translator. In May 2008, Jawad moved to have all charges against him dismissed, alleging that he has been tortured in US custody and subjected to the so-called "frequent-flier program," in which certain inmates are moved between cells at two to four hour intervals in an attempt to cause physical stress through sleep deprivation. 

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on February 05, 2009 (boomark / email).