Possibility of mistrial raised at Guantanamo court

[G_j]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20080805/ts_nm/guantanamo_hearings_dc

Possibility of mistrial raised at Guantanamo court
By Jane Sutton

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - The possibility of a mistrial emerged on Tuesday in the United States' first war crimes trial at Guantanamo, after prosecutors said the judge gave flawed instructions to a jury of military officers in the case against Osama bin Laden's driver.

Prosecutors asked the judge to revise the instructions he gave on what constitutes a war crime to the jurors who began deliberating on Monday in the case of Yemeni prisoner Salim Hamdan.
<snip>

The conspiracy charge accuses Hamdan of agreeing with al Qaeda to commit murder in violation of the laws of war by transporting two surface-to-air missiles that were to be used against U.S. and allied forces in Afghanistan.

In order to find him guilty on that, the judge instructed jurors, they must find the missiles were intended for use against protected people -- civilians not involved in hostilities, soldiers removed from combat by illness or capture, or religious or medical personnel.

The prosecution presented no evidence any such people were targeted. In fact they argued the missiles were intended for use against U.S. forces, who had the only planes in the area.

They want the judge to revise the instructions and tell jurors that any attempt by an "unlawful enemy combatant" to kill a U.S. soldier in combat is a war crime.

The defense said that was not the law of war in effect when the alleged acts occurred, and Congress could not retroactively change it in the 2006 law.

..more..

[Solly Mack]

1. K&R

[G_j]

2. ==