An Army judge approved a Navy lieutenant for the panel in Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri’s USS Cole case, extending jury selection in a Guantanamo capital proceeding, Just Security reported.
Just Security reporter Carol Rosenberg identified the lieutenant as a submarine nuclear-missile officer. In her account, he spent three weeks researching the military commissions after receiving a potential-member questionnaire in January. He raised concerns about Guantanamo and torture. Army Col. Matthew Fitzgerald concluded the lieutenant could follow the court’s directions and warned him against further research or discussing the case.
Rosenberg reported that prosecutors viewed the officer as opposed to the death penalty, while Fitzgerald considered him neutral. The judge noted that the lieutenant’s questionnaire recorded neither support for nor opposition to capital punishment.
Four officers had been approved as of Nov. 9, Rosenberg reported: two from the Air Force, one from the Army and the Navy lieutenant. She also reported that the planned panel would have 12 members and six alternates.
An unofficial, unauthenticated transcript of the Nov. 2 proceedings calls the commission’s jurors “members” and says they decide guilt and any resulting sentence. Fitzgerald told prospective members the trial could last four to six months or longer. The transcript says death is a possible punishment for some offenses if the required findings are made.
The charges concern al-Nashiri’s alleged participation in the attack on the USS Cole, according to a military commission ruling. The destroyer was attacked while refueling in Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000; the U.S. Navy says 17 sailors were killed. EconoTimes previously reported that a Guantanamo judge found al-Nashiri competent to stand trial.
Just Security reported Nov. 5 that another group of 18 potential members was expected at Guantanamo during the weekend of Nov. 14.
