JURIST - Paper Chase: Defense lawyers request USS Cole trial be broadcast worldwide

[JURIST] Defense lawyers for the alleged architect of the USS Cole bombing, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri [NYT profile; JURIST news archive], on Friday requested that the court allow for worldwide broadcast of the Guantanamo [JURIST backgrounder] trial, instead of limited broadcast in the Pentagon. Lawyers asked the military court judge, Army Col. James L. Pohl, to allow international television stations to broadcast newsfeed of the trial, including CBS, NBC and CNN [media websites]. If approved by the judge, this would be the first Guantanamo trial to be broadcast worldwide. Lawyer for al-Nashiri, Richard Kammen, stated that he wants worldwide broadcast of the trial so people can see how fairly the trial is conducted and whether the evidence the government presents is valid and not hearsay. Seventeen soldiers were killed in October 2000 when suicide bombers blew up a small boat next to the USS Cole.

Nashiri has been at the center of controversy for many years. In November, Nashiri made his first court appearance [JURIST report] for war crimes relating to the bombing of the USS Cole in 2000. In May, Nashiri's lawyers filed suit against Poland [JURIST report] over his alleged torture in that country. In September 2010, a human rights group, Open Society Justice Initiative [advocacy website], filed a request [JURIST report] with Polish prosecutors for an investigation into the detention and torture of Nashiri in a secret CIA prison.