It seems that one of the detainees being tried at Guantanamo, Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al-Bahlul, wants to admit he is a member of Al-Qaeda and doesn’t want a lawyer to help him.
Mr. Bahlul at one point asked not to be interrupted. He declared that there was no evidence as important as a confession given freely and that everyone in the courtroom and around the globe should know that he was speaking without being forced.
He then said: “I am from Al Qaeda. And the relationship between me and Sept. 11 — “
At that point he was abruptly cut off by Colonel Brownback, [the presiding officer on the five-member commission panel,] who apologized for interrupting but said he wanted to remind his fellow panel members that Mr. Bahlul’s statements should not be taken as evidence to be used against him. When Mr. Bahlul resumed speaking, he did not pick up where he had left off and never completed the sentence about his relationship to the Sept. 11 attacks.
Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Hemingway of the Air Force, a commission official, told reporters at the Pentagon in Washington after the session that Colonel Brownback had only been trying to protect Mr. Bahlul. There is, however, no protection against self-incrimination in the military commission proceedings.
Sounds like this will be pretty interesting. As for the title of this post, forgive me if the dynamics of the tribunal hearing remind me just a bit of this scene from Life of Brian.
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