2002 Bali bombings: Malaysian detainees in Cuba move to dismiss terror charges
This because the US government provided incompetent and biased interpreters, they say.
GUANTANAMO BAY: Two Malaysians detained in Cuba for alleged roles in the 2002 Bali bombings filed a motion to dismiss terror charges on the grounds that the US government provided incompetent and biased interpreters, it has been reported.
Defence lawyer Brian Bouffard said the accused were given the same three interpreters despite objections that the interpreters were incompetent and biased, Malaysian news site FMT reported.
He said several other motions were also filed related to the US government's continued delay in the case.
"We are awaiting a decision on our motion to dismiss the case because of the government's misconduct regarding the interpreter. We hope to hear something in a few weeks," he told FMT via email.
"If it wasn't for the US decision to torture the prisoners and declassify all the evidence showing the unspeakable abuses inflicted on them at Guantanamo, these cases should have been settled years ago."
Bouffard was referring to the US military’s detention centre in Cuba’s Guantanamo Bay.
Malaysians Nazir Lep and Farik Amin as well Indonesian Encep Nurjaman, most commonly known as Hambali, face eight charges together including seven related to the twin Bali bombings that claimed 202 lives and the JW Marriott Hotel bombing in Jakarta in 2003.
They were arrested in Thailand in 2003 and held in solitary confinement at a secret CIA-run site where a US Senate report released in 2014 found they were tortured. The Southeast Asians were transferred to Guantanamo Bay in 2006.
In the previous hearing, they objected to the interpreters provided on the grounds that one of them was a former interpreter with attorney-client confidentiality rights that created a conflict of interest.
Another former confidential translator for the trio and a third one allegedly said they wished for the three terror suspects killed in custody because the US government was wasting time and money trying them.
In the trial that began last Monday and adjourned on Wednesday at the US Military Court in Guantanamo, Bouffard said the defence lawyers spent most of the time explaining how the unnecessary delay harmed the clients and their families.
"Some family members of the victims of the Bali bombings came to watch and they were also disappointed by the endless delay. Apparently, the US government is the only party that wants to drag out and delay the resolution of this case,” said the lawyer according to FMT.
"For the next hearing, we asked for a date in December, but the government wants it to be held in 2025. We are waiting for a decision on this as well."
Family members of the victims flew in from the United Kingdom to attend the trial for the first time.
According to broadcaster Australia 7 News, a relative was upset after Hambali, the alleged mastermind of the bombing, was seen laughing in court while chatting with the other accused persons.