Gold9472
09-24-2009, 08:05 AM
9/11 mastermind: 'Allah,' not lawyers, will protect me
Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who has bragged about his role in the Sept. 11 attacks, has asked to dismiss his ACLU lawyers and face his death-penalty case alone
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/1246790.html
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
crosenberg@MiamiHerald.com
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- Accused al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed tried to fire his free-of-charge defense attorneys earlier this year in a letter made public Tuesday that declared Allah would defend him.
Mohammed, 44, is accused of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed 2,974 people in a mass murder case that seeks to execute him and four alleged co-conspirators.
His military judge on Monday left the defense team intact until Nov. 16 while the Obama administration chooses either military or federal trials for the alleged 9/11 plotters.
In a motion on March 13, Mohammed wrote that he wanted to dismiss his Pentagon defense lawyer, Army Lt. Col. Michael Acuff, and Boise, Idaho, criminal defense attorneys David Nevin and Scott McKay.
"I believe that Allah is sufficient to defend me,'' he wrote.
"I wish to represent myself without the assistance of any lawyers.''
A court security officer declassified the two-page document April 3. But the judge, Col. Stephen Henley, only authorized its release after Monday's hearing.
The American Civil Liberties Union has spent more than $3.5 million providing legal defense experts to Guantánamo detainees facing death penalty charges to help Pentagon-paid lawyers grapple with the complexity of a capital criminal defense.
`BADGES OF HONOR'
Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times in CIA custody, has resisted all American defense attorneys.
He has also bragged of his role in the 9/11 attacks, and with his co-accused called the allegations against him "badges of honor.''
The military released the document eight months to the day after President Barack Obama signed an executive order to empty the prison camps by Jan. 22.
The war court was dark, and reporters were told the prison camps and their military staff were off limits because their access to this remote Navy base was to focus on reporting about military commissions.
A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for Wednesday for another alleged al Qaeda plotter, Ahmed al Darbi of Saudi Arabia.
Henley has so far permitted Mohammed and two other 9/11 accused to defend themselves at trial but required that each keep his military lawyer as standby defense counsel.
Mohammed had for a time accepted Nevin and McKay on his team. They wrote briefs and at times argued in court.
STANDBY DEFENSE
Acuff, a Tennessee-licensed lawyer, urged the judge in a motion to maintain a robust standby defense team to help prepare the case. He cited American Bar Association professional standards for defending death penalty cases.
"Because Mr. Mohammed was tortured while in the custody of the United States of America, the case requires a detailed analysis of the effects of this mistreatment,'' he said.
In addition, Acuff said the case involves complex national security law, classified evidence and international humanitarian law.
"The case also involves allegations of activities occurring on multiple continents and in diverse countries, and witnesses who speak a variety of foreign languages,'' he said.
"It involves a cultural and religious context which is very different from my own.''
Acuff also protested the timing of this week's trip at the conclusion of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan capped by the Eid al Fitr feast.
"Proceeding with a hearing during Eid,'' he said, would "exacerbate the hostility that exists between the accused and the military commissions and further erode the reliability of these proceedings, and will be seen as an insult to Muslims around the world.''
Khalid Sheik Mohammed, who has bragged about his role in the Sept. 11 attacks, has asked to dismiss his ACLU lawyers and face his death-penalty case alone
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/1246790.html
BY CAROL ROSENBERG
crosenberg@MiamiHerald.com
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVY BASE, Cuba -- Accused al Qaeda kingpin Khalid Sheik Mohammed tried to fire his free-of-charge defense attorneys earlier this year in a letter made public Tuesday that declared Allah would defend him.
Mohammed, 44, is accused of masterminding the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that killed 2,974 people in a mass murder case that seeks to execute him and four alleged co-conspirators.
His military judge on Monday left the defense team intact until Nov. 16 while the Obama administration chooses either military or federal trials for the alleged 9/11 plotters.
In a motion on March 13, Mohammed wrote that he wanted to dismiss his Pentagon defense lawyer, Army Lt. Col. Michael Acuff, and Boise, Idaho, criminal defense attorneys David Nevin and Scott McKay.
"I believe that Allah is sufficient to defend me,'' he wrote.
"I wish to represent myself without the assistance of any lawyers.''
A court security officer declassified the two-page document April 3. But the judge, Col. Stephen Henley, only authorized its release after Monday's hearing.
The American Civil Liberties Union has spent more than $3.5 million providing legal defense experts to Guantánamo detainees facing death penalty charges to help Pentagon-paid lawyers grapple with the complexity of a capital criminal defense.
`BADGES OF HONOR'
Mohammed, who was waterboarded 183 times in CIA custody, has resisted all American defense attorneys.
He has also bragged of his role in the 9/11 attacks, and with his co-accused called the allegations against him "badges of honor.''
The military released the document eight months to the day after President Barack Obama signed an executive order to empty the prison camps by Jan. 22.
The war court was dark, and reporters were told the prison camps and their military staff were off limits because their access to this remote Navy base was to focus on reporting about military commissions.
A pre-trial hearing was scheduled for Wednesday for another alleged al Qaeda plotter, Ahmed al Darbi of Saudi Arabia.
Henley has so far permitted Mohammed and two other 9/11 accused to defend themselves at trial but required that each keep his military lawyer as standby defense counsel.
Mohammed had for a time accepted Nevin and McKay on his team. They wrote briefs and at times argued in court.
STANDBY DEFENSE
Acuff, a Tennessee-licensed lawyer, urged the judge in a motion to maintain a robust standby defense team to help prepare the case. He cited American Bar Association professional standards for defending death penalty cases.
"Because Mr. Mohammed was tortured while in the custody of the United States of America, the case requires a detailed analysis of the effects of this mistreatment,'' he said.
In addition, Acuff said the case involves complex national security law, classified evidence and international humanitarian law.
"The case also involves allegations of activities occurring on multiple continents and in diverse countries, and witnesses who speak a variety of foreign languages,'' he said.
"It involves a cultural and religious context which is very different from my own.''
Acuff also protested the timing of this week's trip at the conclusion of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan capped by the Eid al Fitr feast.
"Proceeding with a hearing during Eid,'' he said, would "exacerbate the hostility that exists between the accused and the military commissions and further erode the reliability of these proceedings, and will be seen as an insult to Muslims around the world.''