U.S. lets key terrorism suspects request lawyers
Fourteen “high-value” terrorism suspects who were transferred last year to the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo, Cuba, from secret CIA prisons have been given legal forms to request lawyers, The Washington Post reported on Friday.The move could allow the prisoners, including the alleged mastermind of the September 11 attacks, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, to join other detainees in challenging their status as enemy combatants in a U.S. appellate court, the report said.
The prisoners have not had access to lawyers during their year at Guantanamo Bay or while they were held at the secret CIA sites abroad, the newspaper said.
The Post said Defence Department officials confirmed the move, which could lead to the suspects’ first contact with anyone other than their captors or representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Interesting.
