The Pentagon-appointed lawyer for Australia's sole inmate at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said yesterday a chief US prosecutor threatened him with charges that could slow his client's case from going to trial.
Marine Corps Major Michael Mori said he was warned last week by the US military's chief prosecutor, Colonel Morris Davis, that he could be charged under Article 88 of the US Uniform Code of Military Justice.
The article prohibits officers from using "contemptuous words" against the US president, vice president, secretary of defense and other senior officials.
An outspoken critic of Washington's policy of trying Guantanamo detainees before military tribunals, Mori has made a number of speaking tours to Australia to drum up public support for his client, David Hicks.
In an interview with a US-based reporter from the Australian newspaper published on Saturday, Davis accused Mori of inserting himself into Australian politics and said he could be prosecuted for some of his comments.
But Davis, a US Air Force prosecutor, conceded it was up to the Marine Corps to decide whether to lay charges against Mori.
"Certainly in the US it would not be tolerated having a US Marine in uniform actively inserting himself into the political process," he said. "It is very disappointing to see that happening in Australia and if that was any of my prosecutors, they would be held accountable."
Mori said any such move could delay Hicks' case for months.
"When a prosecutor uses this tactic of making criminal charges against someone's lawyer, it really could lead to that lawyer having to be removed from the case," Mori told ABC radio.
Hicks, who was captured in Afghanistan in late 2001 and is accused of supporting the Taliban, was charged last week with providing material support for terrorism. He must appear before a military commission on the charge within 30 days.
"Unfortunately it's just not going to be a speedy thing to get David another lawyer down at Guantanamo," Mori said.
‘CROSSING THE LINE’: China’s embassy in Seoul criticized US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson, asking if his ‘hostile’ remarks were authorized by Washington South Korea and the US are in talks over recent public remarks by the commander of US Forces Korea, Seoul’s presidential office said yesterday, after the comments drew sharp criticism from China. In a recent podcast interview, US Forces Korea Commander General Xavier Brunson described South Korea as “the dagger in the heart of Asia” from China’s east coast, prompting the Chinese embassy in Seoul to say that he had “truly crossed the line.” The interview came amid growing speculation that Washington might seek to expand the role of US Forces Korea in countering the growing regional influence of China, a key
SEEKING ORDER: Rodrigo Paz said that ‘anyone who wants to destroy the nation will have to deal with this president and the full force of the constitution’ Bolivian President Rodrigo Paz on Wednesday said that the nation was at a “breaking point” after nearly a month of protests that have caused shortages of food, fuel and medicine. Paz, who took office six months ago amid the worst economic crisis there in four decades, is battling a groundswell of fury over his policies. The political capital, La Paz, has been besieged by low-income workers and members of the indigenous majority calling for his resignation. “The country needs order and is reaching breaking point,” the 58-year-old said at a public event in La Paz, renewing his appeal for dialogue. On Tuesday, the Bolivian
Australian researchers have trained lab-grown brain cells on a silicon computer chip to play the 1990s shooter game Doom and said they are just scratching the surface of what the neurons could be capable of doing. It is the science-fiction work of biotech boffins at Cortical Labs, who researched and developed the technology that harnesses the workings of the brain’s networking system. Each so-called “biological computer” contains about 200,000 living human brain cells, grown from stem cells that were harvested from blood donations. Having mastered the simple computer game Pong, where a paddle is moved up and down to send a ball
Through the noise of rushing papers and whirring belts at a print factory in Kyoto, two creators watch their photo essay come to life in broadsheet form — part of an effort to win new audiences in the age of artificial intelligence (AI). Despite the decline of the publishing industry, self-publication and handmade “zine” magazines are growing in popularity in Japan, reflecting the nation’s enduring love of paper in the digital era. While speaking to Agence France-Presse at the plant, his hands black with ink, one of the creators, Kazuma Obara, said: “I think [paper] is a medium that engages all five
RSS