Guantánamo Bay detainee Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri [6] on Oct. 23 boycotted his pretrial hearing at the facility. Al-Nashiri is accused of bombing the USS [7]Cole [7] while it was in port in Yemen in October 2000. Al-Nashiri objected to the use of belly chains while he was brought from his cell to the courtroom for the proceedings. Navy officials have stated [8] that while belly chains are used when moving certain detainees within the facility, they would not have been used on al-Nashiri before this week's hearing. The hearing was to determine if Yemen was at war with the US at the time of the bombing, a decision that will be used to determine al-Nashiri's status as an enemy combatant.
Conducting trials at Guantanamo Bay has stirred controversy recently, as alleged conspirators of both the 9-11 terrorist attacks and the USS Cole bombing are being tried. In September Military Judge James Pohl ruled [9] that he did not have the authority to allow media to broadcast al-Nashiri's trial. In February Pohl ruled [10] in al-Nashiri's case that attorney-client mail that was inspected at Guantánamo Bay can not be released by the Pentagon. Days before that ruling defense lawyers in the case of another Guantanamo detainee filed a suit [11] challenging the order for officials to read all legal correspondence [12] for suspected 9-11 conspirators.
From Jurist [13], Oct. 23. Used with permission.
