Guantanamo tribunal ordered to call teen Mr. Khadr
The presiding officer in the closely watched case of a Canadian teenager facing a murder charge before a U.S. war crimes tribunal ordered lawyers on Thursday to show greater respect to the defendant by calling him "Mister Khadr" rather than "Omar."
Toronto-born Omar Khadr, who is accused of killing a U.S. Army medic in Afghanistan when he was still 15, is one of two Guantanamo prisoners attending pre-trial hearings before a military tribunal this week at the remote, and controversial, Guantanamo base in Cuba.
The Pentagon went ahead with the hearings even though courts have halted the trials of other Guantanamo detainees pending a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on whether President George W. Bush had authority to establish the tribunals to try foreign terrorism suspects after the September 11 attacks. The court will hear arguments in the case in March.
Khadr, now 19, is accused of killing Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer with a grenade during a firefight at a suspected al Qaeda compound in Afghanistan in 2002.
His attorneys said Khadr would wait to enter a plea until a more experienced military lawyer is appointed to represent him. The one he is currently assigned has never defended anyone in court before.
Thursday's hearing addressed how Khadr should be dressed and addressed. The tribunal's presiding officer, Marine Col. Robert Chester, ordered prosecution and defense attorneys to stop calling him "Omar" because it seemed too casual for someone facing trial on murder charges.
"Mister Khadr is an adult," Chester said. "I think it's appropriate that he be addressed as Mister Khadr."
Khadr sported a full, short beard and a blue-checked dress shirt that won Chester's approval.
"I think that is a more appropriate attire for the nature of these proceedings," Chester said.
On Wednesday, Khadr had worn a blue and red T-shirt with a huge sports company logo across the chest. Chester said that violated court rules and urged the lawyers to find him an appropriate shirt before his hearing resumed on Thursday.
Most Guantanamo prisoners wear the now infamous orange jumpsuits, but are allowed civilian clothing in court.
Khadr is one of only nine Guantanamo prisoners charged with crimes. Most of the 500 or so detainees have been held without charges for up to four years.
TRIED AS AN ADULT
Khadr's civilian lawyer, Muneer Ahmad, said earlier that trying Khadr before a military tribunal for war crimes alleged to have been committed at age 15 violated international law and would be the first such trial "certainly in the modern era of international criminal justice beginning with the Nuremberg trials following World War Two."
Khadr is being tried as an adult and tribunal officials said they took his age into account when they decided not to seek his execution. He would face life in prison if convicted.
The hearing ended after Chester ruled that the chief prosecutor had not committed misconduct by telling a news conference that he believed Khadr was guilty and a terrorist.
Ahmad had argued that the statement was prejudicial and inflammatory and violated Khadr's right to a fair trial.
The United States has faced criticism at home and abroad over the treatment of Guantanamo prisoners since the first group of war captives arrived from Afghanistan in January 2002.
Human rights groups and military lawyers appointed to represent the defendants have called the tribunals unfair and illegitimate, in part because rules allow the use of secret evidence.
Chief prosecutor Col. Moe Davis said the tribunals were designed to provide a fair trial while addressing an al Qaeda enemy whose actions had not been anticipated under existing law.
