
A U.S. military judge agreed Monday to postpone the next court hearings at the Guantanamo Bay prison for five men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks to avoid a conflict with the Muslim holy period of Ramadan.
The judge issued a short order postponing the next pretrial hearings at the U.S. base in Cuba until Aug. 22-26 at the request of all five defendants, said James Connell, a lawyer for one of the accused.
The hearings had been scheduled to run from Aug. 8-12, which fall during the last 10 days of Ramadan, a period in which devout Muslims fast during the day and pray during the night. That would make it difficult for the accused to participate in their defense, said Connell, a lawyer for Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali.
"It's very difficult to pay attention to sometimes intricate legal proceedings when you haven't had any sleep and you haven't had any food," Connell said.
The judge, Army Col. James Pohl, denied a defense request not to hold any future hearings in the case on Fridays, a day on which many Muslims do not work and his order does not mention what will happen if future hearings fall during the month of Ramadan. The judge did not explain his decisions in the brief ruling.


Join FSM and stay informed. Get your daily Security Update delivered each day to your e-mail.


Bill Maher: Don't you dare lower the legal blood alcohol limit, you nanny-staters!
May 19, 2013 08:38 PM
So lowering the blood alcohol limit is an unacceptable intrusion by the Nanny State (even though doing so probably would save lives). Gun control, on the other hand, is positively wonderful (even though the right to bear arms, unlike the right to drive, is protected by the U.S. Constitution): And nationalizing one-seventh of the economy in the name […]![]()
May 19, 2013 07:36 PM
No one is arguing that Acevdeo doesn't enjoy the same First Amendment rights as other citizens. The point is simply that it is unseemly for a high-ranking public official to address critics in such a harsh, vitriolic manner. ![]()
‘We will not go gently': Mia Love officially announces 2014 congressional run
May 19, 2013 06:30 PM
Saratoga Springs, Utah, mayor Mia Love narrowly lost to Democrat Jim Matheson in Utah’s 4th congressional district in 2012. But she’s back again, hoping to win in 2014. Her supporters took to Twitter to wish her well and pledge their support: Now @MiaBLove up to standing applause. #Utpol #utgop— Daniel Burton (@PubliusDB) May 18, 2013 Mayor […]![]()
Rupert Murdoch: Boost charitable giving by scrapping the charitable deduction
May 19, 2013 05:58 PM
That’s what Murdoch tweeted in response to a question from Newsday’s Josh Greenman about getting rid of the charitable deduction. Greenman’s question was prompted by Murdoch’s logic-challenged tweet yesterday linking the IRS scandal to the need for a flat tax and elimination of all deductions. We suspect that the number of major charitable organizations supporting Murdoch’s […]![]()
Chicago Teacher's Union marches to protest school closures
May 19, 2013 05:29 PM
That’s right. It’s OK for the “educators” in the Chicago Teacher’s Union to shut down schools and endanger kids left abandoned to streets, but it’s murder when Chicago mayor Rahm Emmanuel tries to shut down schools (most of them poor performers) to keep the district solvent. Most Chicago public schools are awful, and teachers earn $76,000 […]![]()

FSM Archives
blog comments powered by Disqus