Malaysian terror suspects want charges struck off citing US ‘misconduct’

 

The aftermath of a bomb attack in Bali in 2002, in which 202 people died and 209 others were injured. (AP pic)

PETALING JAYA: Two Malaysians accused of terrorism related to the 2002 Bali bombings have filed a motion for the charges to be dismissed, on the grounds that the US government provided incompetent and biased interpreters.

Brian Bouffard, the lawyer for one of the Malaysians, Nazir Lep, said his client and two other co-accused had been assigned the same three interpreters despite objections that they are incompetent and biased.

The two other accused are Malaysian Farik Amin and Indonesian Hambali, whose real name is Encep Nurjaman.

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Bouffard said several other motions were also filed related to the continuing government delay of the case.

“We are awaiting a ruling on our motion to dismiss the case due to government misconduct regarding the interpreters. We hope to hear something within a few weeks,” he told FMT by email.

“Were it not for the United States’s decision to torture prisoners and to classify all the evidence showing the unspeakable abuse it committed against them in Guantanamo, these cases would have been resolved years ago.”

Nazir, Farik and Hambali,  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.

(From left) Hazir Lep, Farik Amin, Hambali and their lawyer Brian Bouffard.

At the earlier trials, they had objected to the interpreters on the ground that 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 third had stated she wished the three had been murdered in custody as the government is wasting time and money by trying them.

On the hearing which began last Monday and adjourned on Wednesday at the US Military Court in Guantanamo, Brian said the defence spent most of the time making clear how the unnecessary delay is harming their clients and their family members.

“Some of the family members of the Bali bombing victims were present to observe and they too expressed their frustration and disappointment with the endless delays. It seems the US government is the only party that wishes to drag its feet and delay the resolution of this case,” he said.

“As for the next hearing, we asked for a date in December while the government wants it to be held in 2025. We are awaiting a ruling on this as well,” he said.

Family members of four of the victims had travelled from the UK to be present at the hearing for the first time.

According to the Australian broadcaster 7 News, one of the relatives was upset after Hambali, reportedly the mastermind of the alleged bombing, was seen laughing out aloud in court while chatting with the co-accused. - FMT