A US Navy lawyer was just found guilty of mailing a list of detainees, concealed inside a Valentine's card, to a US legal rights organization in New York, while he was stationed at Guantanamo Bay in 2005. The Lt. Commander USN apologised during his sentencing, for having acted "irrationally".
This trial, reported on by the BBC, which also deserves headline attention in this country, was, to say the least, Kafkaesque. The same information this principled US Navy lawyer felt conscience-bound to make public back in 2005, and was tried for revealing in mid-2007, had already been officially made public as the result of a US court order in 2006.
What he did had already been vindicated by a US Court, in response to a freedom-of-information suit by the AP (hardly a subversive organization). But on the watch of the Commander Guy, no authentically ethical action ever goes unpunished, while Wolfowitz gets a leaving-bonus for his reward--about the same amount as the insurance money for one of our soldiers killed in the Iraq War.
But this vindictive "trial" turned out in the end to be more like the Trial of Galileo than like Kafka's version. After Galileo was tried for daring to say that the earth revolved around the sun, and officially apologized, he went on to say outside the court that the earth really did move around the sun. He was sentenced to spend the rest of his days in his own villa, as the guest of the Grand Duke of Tuscany. (If you want to know the rest, go here)
In this case, Lt. Commander Diaz was sentenced to 6 mos. in prison, to please Bush-Cheney, but with full pay and all benefits, to show the Commander Guy what the US Navy really thinks about all this.
Guantanamo lawyer faces jail term
A US Navy lawyer faces six months in prison and dismissal from service for sending a human rights lawyer the names of 550 Guantanamo Bay detainees.
Saturday, 19 May 2007, 02:52 GMT 03:52 UK
Lt Cdr Matthew Diaz, 41, posted a list of the names in an unmarked Valentine's Day card during the final days of his service at Guantanamo Bay in 2005. He apologised during his sentencing for having acted "irrationally".
The US military had originally refused to release the names of the men it was holding at Guantanamo Bay.
The names were made public in 2006 after the Associated Press news agency won a court case against the military.
At a court martial, Lt Cdr Diaz was convicted of communicating secrets that could be used to harm the US and of three other charges of passing on information to an unauthorised person.
The jury recommended that Lt Cdr Diaz receive full pay and benefits during his time in jail.
(...)
Lt Cdr Diaz apologised for his actions during his sentencing.
"I should have done better. It was extremely irrational for me to do what I did," he said.
However, in an earlier interview with a US paper, The Dallas Morning News daily, he appeared to defend his actions.
"I had observed the stonewalling, the obstacles we continued to place in the way of the attorneys," the paper quoted Lt Cdr Diaz as saying.
"I knew my time was limited... I had to do something."
The officer said he had been moved to act because prisoners' rights under the Geneva Convention had been violated.
"No matter how the conflict was identified, we were to treat them in accordance with Geneva, and it just wasn't being done."
rest of the story here
For a full statement in response to the trial by the CCR, go here