US military judge at Guantanamo Bay rules that 9/11 defendant ‘lacks capacity to stand trial’ News
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US military judge at Guantanamo Bay rules that 9/11 defendant ‘lacks capacity to stand trial’

A US military judge ruled on Thursday that Ramzi bin al-Shibh, a 9/11 defendant detained in US custody at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is unfit to stand trial. Military Judge Colonel Matthew N. McCall’s ruling comes after a medical panel found that al-Shibh has PTSD with “Secondary Psychotic Features” resulting from his abuse in Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) custody.

McCall noted that, under the Rules for Military Commissions (RMC) as amended by the Military Commissions Act of 2009, a defendant is unfit to stand trial if:

[It] is established by a preponderance of the evidence that the accused is presently suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him or her mentally incompetent to the extent that he or she is unable to understand the nature of the proceedings or to conduct or cooperate intelligently in the defense of the case. In making this determination, the military judge is not bound by the rules of evidence except with respect to privileges.

McCall found that al-Shibh is more likely than not “suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering him mentally incompetent to the extent that he is unable to cooperate intelligently in the defense of his case.” Thus, McCall concluded that he lacked the capacity to stand trial.

Earlier this year, the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary ordered an inquiry into al-Shibh’s mental capacity pursuant to RMC 706. After the panel reported its findings on al-Shibh’s capacity, the court held a hearing pursuant to RMC 909 to determine if he had the capacity to stand trial. After a largely undisputed hearing, McCall found that al-Shibh was unfit to stand trial.

Since 2011, al-Shibh has faced charges of conspiracy, murder in violation of the law of war, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property in violation of the law of war, hijacking aircraft, and terrorism. Specifically, the US government accused al-Shibh of coordinating one of the attack groups responsible for the September 11, 2001 attacks on various US sites—most notably the World Trade Center.

Earlier this year, the UN released a report alleging human rights violations against Guantanamo Bay detainees by the CIA. It specifically called out the CIA’s use of “enhanced interrogation techniques,” including prolonged forced nudity, sleep deprivation, physical beatings, waterboarding, prolonged forced standing while chained, restrictive confinement in a small box, exposure to cold temperatures and forced rectal feeding after prolonged food deprivation

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