US to Begin Guantanamo Prisoners Pretrial Hearings (gd news/bd news dept)

[psychopomp]

Top News Article | Reuters.com
US to Begin Guantanamo Prisoners Pretrial Hearings
Fri Jul 30, 2004 10:59 AM ET

Human rights groups and lawyers who represented the prisoners before the Supreme Court disagree. They have questioned whether the hearings could be fair because the decision is left to the military and the prisoners have no access to legal representation or classified documents.

During the "Combatant Status Review Tribunals," each prisoner will appear before a panel of three U.S. military officers who will decide their fate, and will have a chance to argue that they were wrongly detained.

Human rights groups have also charged that rules for the forthcoming military commissions are rigged to hamstring defense lawyers and produce convictions, but the Pentagon has pledged "full and fair" trials.

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Human rights groups and lawyers who represented the prisoners before the Supreme Court disagree. They have questioned whether the hearings could be fair because the decision is left to the military and the prisoners have no access to legal representation or classified documents.

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Reuters