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General discussion

Terrorists shouldn't have any rights to a public trial?

by JP Bill Mar 17, 2010 4:05AM PDT

Pakistan charges five Americans in terror case

A Pakistani court charged five young Americans on Wednesday with planning terrorist attacks in the South Asian country and conspiring to wage war against nations allied with Pakistan, their defence lawyer said.

The men ? all Muslims from the Washington, D.C., area ? pleaded not guilty to a total of five charges, the most severe of which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, defence lawyer Hasan Dastagir told The Associated Press.

?My clients were in good shape and high spirits,? Dastagir said.

The men, aged 19 to 25, were charged by an anti-terrorism court inside a prison in Sargodha, the city in Punjab province where they were arrested in December. They were reported missing by their families in November after one left behind a farewell video showing scenes of war and casualties and saying Muslims must be defended.

What if Pakistan held military trials?

Remember Pakistan is an Ally.

I think the US government will be hard pressed to argue.

Discussion is locked

2 Posts

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Since the article read that they were charged

by Steven Haninger Mar 17, 2010 5:41AM PDT

with conspiring to wage war against Pakistan and its allies, this could mean that the US as a considered target. In such a case, I might think the US could legitimately request extradition on the same charges but be (gladly) accepting if Pakistan refused to grant such. If the five are actually guilty, they get to take the consequences. What might be interesting to know and hear is, that if the US did ask for their return to a similar trial in the US, what these five youngsters would opt for.

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And your point is ... what?

by Bill Osler Mar 17, 2010 9:22AM PDT

My understanding is that in most cases the proposed trials of alleged terrorists held by the US WILL be public. They won't always be civilian trials but that is a different question.

Given the lack of information about circumstances I'm not sure these cases are comparable to those of the 'enemy combatants' who have been in long term custody in Cuba.

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