Reply #3: Report: Proposal would allow hearsay evidence against detainees (AP/CNN)

[eppur_se_muova]

Wednesday, July 26, 2006; Posted: 8:50 a.m. EDT (12:50 GMT)

WASHINGTON (AP) -- As the White House nears its recommendations to prosecute terror suspects detained by the military, it's undecided on whether to use courts martial or more stringent military tribunals.

A draft being circulated within the administration says the more defendant-friendly court-martial system is "not practicable in trying enemy combatants" since it would require the government to share classified information, The New York Times reported on its Web site Tuesday night.

According to the draft, hearsay evidence would be allowed unless it was deemed to be unreliable. Defendants also would be barred from their own trials if it necessary to protect national security.

The legislation also would declare that a provision of the Geneva Conventions would not apply to detainees, meaning terror suspects could not file lawsuits in the future saying their Geneva rights were violated, the Times said.

The Supreme Court ruled last month that the international conventions do apply.
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more: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/07/26/military.detainees.ap/index.html