President Barack Obama has said repeatedly that he wants to see the Guantanamo prison camp shut down. But holding that opinion is apparently enough to disqualify you from jury duty at the Gitmo military tribunals.
A US Army lieutenant colonel who told the military tribunal he believes the prison camp for suspected terrorists should be shuttered has been removed from the jury in the trial of Omar Khadr.
The Associated Press reports that prosecutors in Khadr's trial used their one allotted juror dismissal to excuse the unnamed officer.
In reporting on the removal, the UK's Independent states that the move "has only added to the perception of prejudice" within the military tribunal system set up to try Gitmo inmates.
The Independent also suggests that the tribunal has no problem with other forms of potential conflict of interest among jurors:
Among the seven jurors remaining on the panel are officers who have lost close friends or colleagues fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. One had a friend killed in the 11 September attacks on the Pentagon.
It also emerged that many of the officers had volunteered to take part in the proceedings. During questioning of the 15 potential panellists all but one told the court they either believed Guantanamo Bay should stay open or did not hold an opinion on the subject.
http://rawstory.com/rs/2010/0813/juror-removed-gitmo-closed/No fair trials at Gitmo? Color me shocked. :sarcasm:
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