Wahhabist-funded Gitmo Lawyer Agency Opposes Death Penalty for Terrorists
Knock me over with a belly-slap. The Center for Constitutional Rights, whose dodgy backers were placed under the Junkyard Blog magnifying glass here, here, and here, wasted no time in getting out the brief for Gitmo detainee/ terror suspect Mohammed al-Qahtani:
No military commission against Mr. Al Qahtani will ever achieve justice. Instead, it will deteriorate into a controversy over secret trials and the United States' well-documented torture of Mr. al Qahtani during interrogations at Guantánamo.Mr. al Qahtani may be the one charged today, but it is the illegality of his interrogation under torture that will be tried in the commission. Regardless of the results, no one will ever have confidence in the outcome of these military commissions. The United States has nothing legitimate to gain from prosecuting prisoners in military commissions at Guantanamo and a great deal to lose.
Wait, who is Mohammed al-Qahtani? No one important, just the accused twentieth 9-11 hijacker. There are six detainees who may face the death penalty; maybe Khaled Sheikh Mohammed isn't CCR's client, but I don't see any mention of him... But then again associating your client's name with KSM's is not exactly good PR, is it?
And if there's one thing the Gitmo lawyers know about, it's good PR.
Oh, and he was, er, "tortured":
Mohammed al-Qahtani, detainee No. 063, was forced to wear a bra. He had a thong placed on his head. He was massaged by a female interrogator who straddled him like a lap dancer. He was told that his mother and sisters were whores. He was told that other detainees knew he was gay. He was forced to dance with a male interrogator. He was strip-searched in front of women. He was led on a leash and forced to perform dog tricks. He was doused with water. He was prevented from praying. He was forced to watch as an interrogator squatted over his Koran.They keep using that word. I do not think it means what they think it means.That much is known. These details were among the findings of the U.S. Army’s investigation of al-Qahtani's aggressive interrogation at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
UPDATE: Bryan is (as usual) on the same wavelength.
UPDATE 2: Here's someone I feel a little more sympathy for--a guy getting the death penalty for drinking alcohol. In Iran, of course. Mohsen, this Bud's for you.