Cuba, July 16: The US military has resumed the controversial Guantanamo tribunals for the first time in months with a series of pretrial hearings.
The US President Barack Obama suspended the proceedings shortly after taking office in January but announced in May that some of the cases would continue, drawing criticism from human rights activists.
On Wednesday, prosecutors sought delays pending a review in the cases of three defendants, said Joe DellaVedova, a Spokesman for the Military Commissions at the US naval installation in Cuba.
One of the defendants was Omar Khadr, the so-called “child soldier” suspected of using a hand grenade to kill a US soldier in 2002. Khadr was 15 years old at the time of the attack.
On Thursday, the five suspects in the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks are due in court for administrative hearings, including the group’s ringleader, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, DellaVedova said.
Obama said the revised commissions provide expanded rights to the defendants. The new rules place limits on hearsay evidence and ban information obtained through inhumane interrogation techniques.
—–Agencies