WASHINGTON – None of the three suspects involved in the November 2002 twin Bali bombings entered a plea in their arraignment before a US military tribunal wrapped up yesterday.
Instead, much of the two-day arraignment that took place at the Guantanamo Bay military prison saw defence lawyers expressing frustration and doubt about the fairness of the proceedings, particularly on the impartiality of translators provided to the defendants.
Military judge Commander Hayes Larsen ended the proceedings without setting a date for the trial to continue following the defence teams’ decisions not to enter a plea, reported BenarNews.
Yesterday’s hearing saw a large portion of it spent on the reading of charges against the three suspects – Malaysian duo Mohammed Nazir Lep and Mohammed Farik Amin, and Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, popularly known as Hambali.
On Monday, lawyers representing Nazir, Farik and Hambali – Brian Bouffard, Christine Funk and James Hodes, respectively – spent much time objecting to what they described as inadequate translations for their clients during proceedings.
The two-day arraignment was the first time the three suspects have appeared in court since they were arrested in Thailand in 2003. The trio were initially sent to secret CIA-operated black sites before being moved to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
They are among just 39 inmates left at the prison inside the US Navy base, which had housed close to 800 terrorist suspects at the height of the US war on terror.
Their trials are not expected to end anytime soon, with their counsels yet to receive discovery evidence from the prosecutors, which is not expected to be provided until next year.
Funk, who represents Farik, was also quoted by the Associated Press as saying that the defence teams are likely required to travel extensively to interview witnesses and search of new evidence.
She said Farik is “anxious and eager to litigate this case and go home”, adding that, based on the two-day arraignment, she does not see the suspects getting a fair trial.
Bouffard said the proceedings were so flawed that it should be redone.
The arraignment was broadcast remotely to some reporters from Fort Meade, a US Army base in Maryland near Washington, with no photographs or video allowed to be taken throughout the proceedings.
A charge sheet uploaded by the US Office of Military Commissions showed that the Malaysians face nine charges and Hambali, eight, in relation to their alleged roles in the terrorist attacks.
All three will be charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, murder, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, terrorism, destruction of property, and attacking civilians and civilian objects, all of which do not carry the death penalty.
The Malaysians were also implicated in an al-Qaeda plot to crash a hijacked plane into the 73-storey US Bank Tower, also known as the Library Tower, in Los Angeles.
Nazir and Farik are described as Hambali’s top aides in Jemaah Islamiyah, a Southeast Asian militant group affiliated with al-Qaeda.
The Guantanamo case documents also named Hambali as among those responsible for organising the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the US. – The Vibes, September 1, 2021
