Malaysians in Guantanamo finally get new trial dates

 

The US government has placed Nazir Lep (left) and Mohammed Farik Amin in solitary confinement since their arrest in 2003.

PETALING JAYA: The US military court has finally fixed hearing dates for the two Malaysian terror suspects held in the Guantanamo prison in Cuba, 20 months after it was postponed following their objections on the quality of Malay translators.

Brian Bouffard, the lead counsel for one of the suspects, Mohammed Nazir Lep, told FMT that two weeks had been set aside from April 24.

However, he said Nazir, who is facing a joint trial with fellow Malaysian Mohammed Farik Amin and Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, also known as Hambali, is concerned that the three Malay interpreters whom they had objected to had been re-assigned to the case.

“One of them is a former attorney-client privileged linguist which raises a conflict of interest, another is a former confidential interpreter for all three, and the other is the one who had stated she wished the three had been murdered in custody as the government is wasting all this time and money by trying them,” he said in an email response.

Bouffard said his team would be addressing the interpreter issues that had been lingering without resolution for nearly 20 months, the continuing delay of the case, and the government’s failure to disclose evidence.

“Nazir is hopeful the judge will ensure this upcoming hearing will be a fair one, unlike his unfair arraignment in August 2021,” he said.

“He does not want any further delay and wants a fair trial, with all the relevant evidence, as soon as possible. He has been consistent in this position ever since he was captured 20 years ago.”

Bouffard said the full truth of what American agents did to him and many others should be brought out into the open instead of being kept hidden.

“If not for the shame of torture, and the desire of those officials who authorised it and committed it to avoid accountability, these cases would have been resolved justly many years ago.”

The three suspects face eight joint charges, including seven related to the twin bombings that killed 202 people in Bali in October 2002 and a bombing at the JW Marriott hotel in Jakarta in August 2003.

They were arrested in Thailand in 2003 and put under solitary confinement in secret CIA-operated black sites before being moved to Guantanamo Bay in 2006. - FMT