JAG CENTRAL

From the NY Times, Soldier Cleared in Abuse Case ("A military jury in Fort Bliss, Tex., cleared an Army sergeant of charges that he had abused a detainee at the Bagram Air Base detention center in Afghanistan in 2002. The sergeant, Duane M. Grubb, became the third soldier from the 377th Military Police Battalion, a reserve unit based in Cincinnati, to be acquitted on charges of striking and otherwise abusing detainees at the center. Six soldiers from the unit have been charged in a separate abuse investigation involving the deaths of two detainees there in 2002.").

From the Washington Post, Lawyers Seek Improved Conditions for Suicidal Detainee:

Lawyers for Jumah Dossari, a detainee held at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, filed a motion in federal court yesterday asking for improvements in the conditions of their client's confinement, arguing that his nearly complete isolation from human contact has led him to become suicidal.

Dossari, one of about 500 detainees held without criminal charges at the U.S. military base, tried to commit suicide on Oct. 15 by hanging himself with a makeshift noose and by gouging his right arm. Dossari's lawyer found his client dangling in a cell after he did not return promptly from a bathroom break during their meeting.

The lawyer, Joshua Colangelo-Bryan, said he believes Dossari, 26, timed the attempt so that an outsider would witness it. Military officials have said Dossari's condition is stable; his lawyers have since had no contact with him.

The suicide attempt came as two dozen detainees are being force-fed at the facility because of a lengthy hunger strike protesting conditions and treatment at Guantanamo Bay. Military officials at the base say that 27 detainees are engaged in a hunger strike that began in August, a strike that at one point had 131 participants.

In a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Washington yesterday, the legal team working for the Center for Constitutional Rights argued for a face-to-face meeting with Dossari as soon as possible, and sought to have independent medical professionals assess his psychological condition and medical records.

The lawyers also asked that Dossari be allowed to have regular telephone calls with a member of his family and be allowed to view a digital video recording from his relatives containing "personal greetings and expressions of concern," a statement from the center said.

Specifically, the motion also asks that Dossari's "near complete isolation" in the Guantanamo prison be changed to include regular interaction with other detainees, that the lights in his cell be turned off or dimmed during sleeping hours and that he be allowed at least one hour of exercise a day. The lawyers also ask that Dossari be allowed to receive English-language children's books and English textbooks, so he can learn English, along with traditional religious texts and Arabic-language novels.

From the NY Times, U.N. Court Faces Fairness Issue at Milosevic Trial:

More than three years into the trial, the judges have warned that Mr. Milosevic has now used up close to 75 percent of his allotted time and that he will get no extension.

But the former Yugoslav president, who acts as his own defense lawyer, has barely addressed one-third of the charges against him and has demanded more time to do so. After presenting his first 40 witnesses, he has given the court a list of 199 more witnesses, "the absolute minimum" he said he needed to lay out the rest of his case. The list, he told the judges, had been pared down from 1,630 names.

Some lawyers at the United Nations tribunal say that the judges may have little choice but to give Mr. Milosevic more time. The trial, which began in February 2002, has already set a record for longevity in international law. In keeping with the present schedule, it is expected to conclude in March 2006. But under Mr. Milosevic's new plan, it could go on for another year or more.

Mr. Milosevic has focused thus far only on the 1999 war in Kosovo, the Serbian province, for which he faces charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity. But he also faces a long list of charges of killing and torture in Croatia and two counts of genocide in Bosnia.

Also from the Times, U.S. Marines Held in Rape ("Five United States marines who participated in joint counterterrorism exercises were barred from leaving the Philippines after being accused of raping a woman they met at a disco near Subic Bay, the former naval base, officials said. Philippine authorities briefly delayed the departure of the amphibious assault ship Essex while searching for the marines accused of assaulting a 22-year-old woman. They were placed under the custody of the American Embassy for investigation."); and House Delays Vote on U.S. Treatment of Terrorism Suspects.

From the Washington Post, British Soldiers Acquitted ("A judge dismissed charges against seven British soldiers accused of murdering an Iraqi civilian, ruling that some Iraqi witnesses lied and that there was insufficient evidence to proceed.").

From the NY Times, Qaeda Operative in Southeast Asia Has Fled U.S. Jail in Afghanistan:

Omar al-Faruq, a confidant of Osama bin Laden who was one of Al Qaeda's senior operatives in Southeast Asia, escaped from an American military prison in Afghanistan in July, a Pentagon official said Wednesday.

Military authorities acknowledged in July that four suspected Qaeda terrorists had escaped from the heavily fortified prison at Bagram Air Base, apparently by picking the locks of their cells and slipping past a careless Afghan guard. They remain at large.

Mr. Faruq was one of Mr. bin Laden's top lieutenants until he was captured in Indonesia in June 2002 and turned over to the United States. Pentagon officials confirmed that he was one of the fugitives only after the information was disclosed this week in Texas at a military trial of an Army sergeant charged with maltreating detainees in Afghanistan. Mr. Faruq was identified by an alias at the time of the jailbreak.

His disappearance, a major source of embarrassment to American officials at the base, came to light on Tuesday when defense lawyers for Sgt. Alan Driver demanded to know where he was so that he could testify at the trial.

Also from the Times, Air Force Religion Lawsuit Grows:

Four Air Force officers have joined a lawsuit claiming senior officers and cadets at the Air Force Academy illegally imposed Christianity on others at the school. Meanwhile, Representative Walter B. Jones, Republican of North Carolina, wrote a letter asking President Bush to issue an executive order protecting the right of Christian military chaplains to mention Jesus in prayers. It was signed by more than 70 members of the House. The suit was filed by Mikey Weinstein, a former Air Force officer. Four second lieutenants joined the lawsuit this week, said Sam Bregman, Mr. Weinstein's lawyer.

From the Washington Post, Afghan Escapee Belatedly Named as Bin Laden Lieutenant.

From the NY Times, Sergeant in Iraq "Fragging" Case Could Face Death Sentence:

The suspect, Staff Sgt. Alberto B. Martinez, 37, could be charged with the premeditated murders of Capt. Phillip T. Esposito and First Lt. Louis E. Allen, both of the 42nd Infantry Division, an Army National Guard unit from upstate New York. The two men were killed on June 7 in an explosion at the division's headquarters in the northern town of Tikrit.

The investigating officer, Col. Patrick J. Reinert, told a court in Kuwait on Tuesday that there were "reasonable grounds" to consider trying Sergeant Martinez in a death penalty proceeding, the military said in a written statement.

The decision whether to court-martial Sergeant Martinez, and whether prosecutors should seek the death penalty, will be made by a board called the Special Court-Martial Convening Authority, the military said. The board can also refer the decision to Lt. Gen. John R. Vines, who oversees day-to-day military operations in Iraq.

Colonel Reinert said Sergeant Martinez used a Claymore mine and stolen hand grenades to kill the two officers, both of whom were his superiors. If proven true, it would be the first known incident of an American soldier or marine murdering another in Iraq. The killing of a superior is known in the military as fragging. The Vietnam-era word is derived from fragmentation grenade, a favorite weapon for that purpose.

The colonel said Sergeant Martinez carried out the attack because he held a grudge against Captain Esposito, his company commander, according to The Associated Press. Lieutenant Allen was not an intended target and appeared to have been an unfortunate bystander, A.P. reported. Sergeant Martinez's lawyer has argued that there is not enough evidence to tie him to the attack.

In other news from the Times, Detainee Policy Sharply Divides Bush Officials:

The Bush administration is embroiled in a sharp internal debate over whether a new set of Defense Department standards for handling terror suspects should adopt language from the Geneva Conventions prohibiting "cruel," "humiliating" and "degrading" treatment, administration officials say.

Advocates of that approach, who include some Defense and State Department officials and senior military lawyers, contend that moving the military's detention policies closer to international law would prevent further abuses and build support overseas for the fight against Islamic extremists, officials said.

Their opponents, who include aides to Vice President Dick Cheney and some senior Pentagon officials, have argued strongly that the proposed language is vague, would tie the government's hands in combating terrorists and still would not satisfy America's critics, officials said.

The debate has delayed the publication of a second major Pentagon directive on interrogations, along with a new Army interrogations manual that was largely completed months ago, military officials said. It also underscores a broader struggle among senior officials over whether to scale back detention policies that have drawn strong opposition even from close American allies.

From the Washington Post, CIA Holds Terror Suspects in Secret Prisons:

The CIA has been hiding and interrogating some of its most important al Qaeda captives at a Soviet-era compound in Eastern Europe, according to U.S. and foreign officials familiar with the arrangement.

The secret facility is part of a covert prison system set up by the CIA nearly four years ago that at various times has included sites in eight countries, including Thailand, Afghanistan and several democracies in Eastern Europe, as well as a small center at the Guantanamo Bay prison in Cuba, according to current and former intelligence officials and diplomats from three continents.

The hidden global internment network is a central element in the CIA's unconventional war on terrorism. It depends on the cooperation of foreign intelligence services, and on keeping even basic information about the system secret from the public, foreign officials and nearly all members of Congress charged with overseeing the CIA's covert actions.

Also from the Post, Chaplain Sentenced ("Capt. Gregory Arflack, 44, a Catholic priest serving as a chaplain with the 279th Base Support Battalion, was sentenced to five years in prison after pleading guilty at his court-martial to three counts of forcible sodomy against enlisted men.").

Happy Halloween!

From the NY Times, 2 U.S. Soldiers Are Charged with Assaulting Afghan Prisoners:

The announcement, 10 days after details emerged about an episode earlier this month in which two American soldiers burned the bodies of Taliban fighters who had been killed in a firefight, heightened fears that the Afghan people will turn on the American forces in Afghanistan.

The two soldiers, members of the 926th Engineers, an Alabama National Guard unit, are accused of striking the detainees and punching them in the chest, shoulders and stomach, Colonel Yonts said. Neither of the detainees required medical treatment as a result of the assault, he said. "They are charged with maltreatment, assault and dereliction of duty," he said. "All three of these charges could go to court-martial," he said. Since the soldiers involved and their unit are still in Afghanistan, the case could go to a court-martial in Afghanistan at Bagram air base, the main American military base in the country.

It is the first case of soldiers still serving in Afghanistan being charged with abuse. The case will be reviewed by the operational commander in Afghanistan, Maj. Gen. Jason Kamiya, who will decide whether it should go forward.
....
The assault is reported to have occurred in July at a forward operating base in Oruzgan Province, in southern Afghanistan, where the detainees, who were captured on the battlefield, were held for about two days before being transferred to the main detention facility at Bagram air base, north of Kabul. The soldiers being charged with the assault were assigned to guard them at the base.

When a third soldier heard a report in mid-September that an assault had taken place, he immediately reported it to his commander, which led to an investigation by the military's Criminal Investigation Department, Colonel Yonts said. The investigators recommended action against the two men under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, he said.

One of the detainees was released earlier this month, while the other remains in custody at Bagram, and both were interviewed by the military investigators, Colonel Yonts said. Both at first denied suffering any mistreatment, and then said an assault had occurred but was less severe than a previous beating by Afghan Army soldiers, he said.

Air Force MG Charles C. Baldwin, Chief of Chaplains, Critical of New Air Force Rules on Religion (www.af.mil)

From the Washington Post, U.S. Soldiers Charged in Afghan Case, and A Noisy Takeoff for Air Force Guidelines on Religion:

The Christian Coalition, Focus on the Family and other Christian advocacy groups have deluged the White House and Pentagon with thousands of phone calls, letters and e-mails denouncing the Air Force guidelines as an infringement of religious freedom.

Seventy House members sent a letter to President Bush last week objecting to the guidelines and urging him to issue an executive order protecting "the constitutional right of military chaplains to pray according to their faith." Thirty-five members of Congress signed a similar letter to the acting secretary of the Air Force.

About 10 days ago, the Air Force's chief of chaplains, Maj. Gen. Charles C. Baldwin, sent a videotaped message to all of his active-duty and reserve chaplains and their assistants -- more than 1,000 people -- suggesting that the rules need to be changed and inviting their feedback to help the Air Force "get this right."

Baldwin, a Southern Baptist, also advised chaplains that the guidelines do not prevent senior officers from discussing their religious beliefs with subordinates.

"This is America, and for those of us who come from belief systems that require us to tell others of our faith and what we believe, this is so important that we feel free to do this. Just have to put it in the right context and never again coerce anyone to believe something that they don't want to believe," he said on the videotape, obtained by The Washington Post.