2005 Articles
Desperate Housewife
By Edward T. Pound - U.S. News - December 19, 2005
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. --"Hey baby, I miss you already. . . . I can't
wait until you come back so we can take care of each other . .
. you know sex . . . sex . . . sex . . . and of course more sex."
John Diamond was crazy about Michelle Theer--and why not? He had
never met anyone quite like her. She was really something--those
soft, brown eyes, that adventuress nature. She held a doctorate
degree in psychology, she was smart as a whip, she was easy to
talk to, and she was a passionate lover--a "sexy, gorgeous, intelligent"
woman, he gushed in another E-mail to her. Diamond was accustomed
to getting his way with the ladies, but with Michelle, well, she
was the one in control. "I love making your life easier," he wrote
another time. "That's my function in life, you know." Before long,
if all went as planned, he would leave the Army, where he had
trained as a sniper, and he and Michelle would live happily ever
after.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051219/19murder.htm
*****
An interview with Michelle Theer
By Edward T. Pound - U.S. News - December 10, 2005
Michelle Theer is serving a life term without the possibility
of parole in a North Carolina prison. She was convicted in the
slaying of her husband, former Air Force pilot Marty Theer. Authorities
say that she manipulated her lover, John Diamond, also jailed
for life, into killing Theer, execution style, on a frigid December
night five years ago. U.S. News interviewed Theer for six hours
this past summer in the North Carolina Correctional Institution
for Women in Raleigh, N.C (she was moved to the Southern Correctional
Institution, Troy, N.C., this past September). She did not testify
at her trial last year, and this is the only interview she has
ever given.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051210/10theer_interview.htm
*****
2004 Articles
Errors in investigation erode espionage case
By Laura Parker - USA TODAY - September 7, 2004
It was a shocking allegation: U.S. servicemen at the Guantanamo
Bay Naval Base in Cuba were spying on America, and secretly helping
terrorists held there.
That was the military's claim a year ago when it filed charges
that ominously described a spy ring that was sympathetic to suspected
al - Qaeda operatives and Taliban soldiers held in a military
prison at the base. But then in March, the Army abruptly dropped
attempted espionage charges against Capt. James Yee, a Muslim
chaplain at Guantanamo whom authorities had described as the spy
operation's "big fish." Military officials said that pursuing
a case against Yee would force them to reveal national secrets;
critics questioned whether the Army really had a case.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2004-09-07-gitmospy-errors_x.htm
*****
Accused airman's fellow translators not told about classified
material
By Nicole Guadiano - Times staff writer - August 27, 2004
Colleagues of an Air Force linguist accused of attempted espionage
at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, will testify that they
were never told that the letters they were translating to and
from detainees were classified.
The defense attorney for Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi hopes
testimony from the linguists, who are among more than 40 witnesses
on a list obtained by Air Force Times, will refute the government's
argument that Al Halabi improperly mishandled classified material.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.navytimes.com/story.php?f=1-292925-324970.php
*****
Defense tries to get TAFB airman's espionage charges tossed
out
By BRIAN HAMLIN, The Reporter, Vacaville (June 16, 2004)
Charging everything from investigatory incompetence to prosecutorial
misconduct, defense attorneys for a young Travis Air Force Base
enlisted man facing espionage charges hammered the prosecution
Tuesday during six hours of pretrial motions.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, 25, still faces 17 charges
ranging from espionage and disobeying orders to improperly transporting
classified information, photographing facilities in and around
Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, unauthorized possession of secret documents
and credit card fraud.
For more on this story click here:
www.timesheraldonline.com/articles/2004/06/16/news/news06.txt
*****
Defense asks for charges to be dismissed against Travis airman
Sunday, May 23, 2004. By KIM CURTISAssociated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO -- Defense lawyers asked a judge Saturday to dismiss
all charges against a Travis Air Force Base translator accused
of spying while working at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Citing "repugnant and illegal government and prosecutorial
misconduct," lawyers for Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi filed
their formal request with a military judge.
For more on this story click here:
www.napanews.com/templates/index.cfm?template=story_full&id=E8952EEF-E20C-4CF1-8C65-50B944A4C124
*****
Spying suspect says evidence in case tainted
By Laura Parker - USA TODAY - May 21, 2004
The criminal case against a U.S. airman accused of attempted
espionage for his dealings with terrorism suspects at Guantanamo
Bay, Cuba, has been complicated by allegations that military investigators
mishandled evidence, then tried to cover up their mistakes.
The alleged lapses helped to persuade a military judge overseeing
the upcoming court-martial of Ahmad Al Halabi, 25, to release
him from jail last week. Al Halabi had been held at a base in
California since his arrest last July.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2004-05-20-gitmo-evidence_x.htm
*****
Travis AFB Turmoil - Al Halabi’s crack defense team,
led by one of
America’s most brilliant military defense attorneys –
Don Rehkopf Jr.
http://www.militarycorruption.com/TravisTurmoil.htm
*****
Remarks by Bush, Rumsfeld may have jeopardized fair trial
for troops
Commanders prejudged Abu Ghraib abuse cases
By Gail Gibson – Sun National Staff – May 7, 2004
As they scrambled to appease the Muslim world with sharp rebukes
of the U.S. soldiers accused of mistreating Iraqi prisoners, President
Bush and Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld may have jeopardized
a basic protection of military law - the idea that commanding
officers should not prejudge cases where they ultimately could
determine a soldier's fate.
In the hierarchical world of the military courts, it is the doctrine
known as "command influence." And in the growing abuse
scandal, military lawyers and legal scholars say efforts over
the past few days to salvage America's image in the Middle East
may have come at the expense of basic fair trial rules for the
accused soldiers.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/bal-te.law07may07,0,3807170.story?coll=ny-nationalnews-headlines
*****
Chaplain’s Release Deflates Guantanamo “Spy
Ring” Theory
By Katherine Stapp – April 23, 2004
Although spying charges have been dropped against a Muslim army
chaplain ministering to the 600 prisoners at Washington's Guantanamo
Bay naval base in Cuba, the fate of two others facing similar
accusations remains in doubt.
The chaplain, Capt. James Yee, was exonerated and returned to
his post last week after spending 76 days in solitary confinement.
His ordeal has been held up by many Arab and Muslim groups as
further proof the U.S. government relies on racial and religious
profiling in its hunt for suspected "terrorists."
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.antiwar.com/ips/stapp.php?articleid=2370
*****
Lawyers Request Dismissal Halabi Court Martial
By TChris – March 24, 2004
A court martial may be thwarted by the government's interference
with the accused's right to discuss the evidence with his civilian
lawyer. The government originally accused Senior Airman Ahmad
Halabi of spying for Syria, although it dropped 13 of the original
30 counts, including espionage. The government claims that Halabi,
a Syrian-American linguist who had been assigned to the U.S. Naval
Base at Guantanamo Bay, tried to deliver messages from detainees
to someone in Syria.
For more on this story, click here:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/005786.html
*****
2003 Articles
Associated Press: 3 Counts Dropped Vs. Guantanamo Worker
By William C. Mann – Associated Press Writer –
December 20, 2003
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Air Force has dropped three counts in an
espionage case against a Syrian-born airman who worked as a translator
at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp for terrorism suspects.
The lawyer for Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi, a supply clerk
detailed to the prison, said Saturday that once those charges
were removed, "simply the gut of the case was gone."
Dropped was the single count in the charge that accused al-Halabi
of "aiding the enemy," a capital offense.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.refuseandresist.org/detentions/art.php?aid=1219
*****
Gitmo Translator’s Lawyers’ Offices Searched
Associated Press – December 16, 2003
WASHINGTON — Military authorities searched offices of lawyers
who represent an Air Force interpreter charged with spying at
the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison, one of the man's lawyers said
Tuesday.
The Air Force delayed a preliminary hearing for Senior Airman
Ahmad I. al-Halabi because of the search and other actions last
week that defense lawyers say have interfered with al-Halabi's
preparations for his military trial. The hearing, which had been
scheduled for Monday, was rescheduled for Jan. 13, the Air Force
said in a brief statement issued Tuesday.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,105951,00.html
*****
Marines Charged in POW Death
Associated Press – October 19, 2003
LOS ANGELES – Eight Marine reservists accused in the mistreatment
of prisoners of war in Iraq were being held Saturday at Camp Pendleton
on charges ranging from negligent homicide to dereliction of duty,
military officials said.
Meanwhile, a lawyer representing one of the men said the Army
did not have the necessary personnel to run the detention camp
and the reservists were untrained for the job.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,100485,00.html
*****
Marines face charges after POW’s death
Associated Press – October 18, 2003
LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Eight Marine reservists face
charges ranging from negligent homicide to making false statements
in connection with the mistreatment of prisoners of war in Iraq,
military officials said Saturday.
Two of the men were charged with negligent homicide in connection
with the June death of an Iraqi who was held at a detention facility,
said Marine Staff Sgt. Bill Lisbon, a spokesman at Camp Pendleton.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/West/10/18/iraq.prisoner.death.ap/
*****
Cuban Military Tribunals Reflect Contempt for Our Constitution
By Jacob G. Hornberger – June 2, 2003
The federal government has announced that it intends to go forward
with military tribunals for trials of suspected terrorists. The
trials will not be held in the United States, however, but instead
in Cuba, where military tribunals are also a central part of Fidel
Castro's "war on terrorism."
In fact, when I visited Cuba a few years ago, I witnessed on
Cuban national television a trial by military tribunal of a suspected
terrorist with alleged CIA connections. I have to say that it
was quite eerie seeing everybody in the courtroom, including the
defense attorneys, dressed in military garb.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.fff.org/comment/com0306a.asp
*****
U.S. Seeking Defense Lawyers For Guantanamo
TalkLeft.com – May 23, 2003
Now that the chief prosecutor and chief defense counsel for any
upcoming military tribunal trials are set, the issue turns to
staffing the offices with capable prosecutors and defense counsel.
While there is no shortage of volunteers for the prosecution side,
not a single civilian lawyer has applied to be a defense lawyer.
No, it's not because defense lawyers don't wan't to represent
these particular individuals.
For more on this story, click here:
http://talkleft.com/new_archives/002692.html
*****
2002 Articles
Case tests limits of holding citizens in military prison
By Warren Richey – Staff writer of The Christian Science
Monitor – October 28, 2002
The US Constitution guarantees that Americans have a right to
appear before an impartial judge whenever the government attempts
to take away their liberty.
But should the so-called "privilege of the writ of habeas
corpus" apply in the midst of a war on terrorism in the same
way that it has during times of peace? And what if the alleged
terrorist is a US citizen?
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.csmonitor.com/2002/1028/p02s02-usju.html
*****
Pentagon rules for military tribunals violate constitution
rights
By Don Knowland – April 2, 2002
After a four-month delay, US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld
issued an order March 21 specifying the procedures for the military
tribunals that will try alleged terrorists captured in Afghanistan.
The rules are clearly designed to guarantee convictions that are
unreviewable by any judicial authority in or outside the United
States.
US media coverage and statements by US officials—including
congressmen who criticized the initial Bush proposal for tribunals
issued last year—suggest that the Pentagon rules represent
a significant improvement over the initial plan. But the procedure
remains fundamentally unfair, and Pentagon spokesmen indicated
that prisoners could be detained indefinitely, even if they are
acquitted, at the discretion of the president.
For more on this story, click here:
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2002/apr2002/trib-a02.shtml
*****
When you are faced with adverse action being taken against you
by the military or federal government or your civil liberties
have been violated, you need to have competent legal representation
by an experienced military trial attorney who will aggressively
defend your rights. If you have been charged with a federal crime
and are facing a Courts-Martial, or an Administrative Separation
Action, you need a military lawyer who is familiar with the military
justice system.
Military Charges are very serious charges and demand that anyone
facing such charges employ an experienced military justice attorney
for his or her defense in order to protect your rights.
