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Originally posted by gov135
[B]"Prisoners would be tried, convicted and executed without leaving its boundaries, without a jury and without right of appeal, The Mail on Sunday newspaper reported recently."
This shouldn't shock you. The United States is holding prisoners of war at Guatanamo. They have NO right to trial by jury, they shouldn't have travel rights (that's just plain silly), and this is a MILITARY court, so of course there is no right of appeal.
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That's factually incorrect. They are not prisoners of war. If they were, they would be subject to the Geneva Convention, which the U.S. Govt. has flouted repeatedly.
They are "enemy combatants", that term the government in the US use when they mean "scape goats".
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I think the distinction you find shocking may be because you are used to a different court system in Panama. But these are people being tried for war crimes in a military setting, not a civil one.
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to quote the red cross on the third geneva convention:
"Everyone must enjoy basic judicial guarantees and no one may be held responsible for an act he has not committed. No one may be subjected to physical or mental torture or to cruel or degrading corporal punishment or other treatment."
There we go, that's for POWs. But these are
enemy combatants.
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It seems each of these men will be well represented, and I'm sure strong evidence is needed for execution.
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I wish I were as optimistic.
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Could this paper be writing for a Muslim audience and be biased in this way?
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Undoubtedly, but was there any coverage in the US? there's none where I am.
I'm from Europe, I abhor the death penalty. But to even go so far as effectively giving these people show trials and then executing them is scary. It should scare everyone, especially people in the US.