A story I heard about last week has now broken into the
news. It is a story that sends shivers down my spine, and it should yours, too. Welcome to the Bush-Kafka administration's view of justice. (Note: parts of the account below are from what a lawyer with inside knowledge of the relevant events has related on a private email list I am a member of. The updates at the bottom provide corroborating links.)
Mohammed Munaf, 53, is a naturalized US citizen of Iraqi descent who worked as a translator in Iraq for three Romanian journalists. The journalists he worked for were kidnapped and held incommunicado in Iraq by insurgents, who also captured and held Mr. Munaf for the same period. All four were eventually rescued by US forces.
That's when Mr. Munaf's nightmare began in earnest. His story, detailed below the fold, is a nightmare for us all.
Following his rescue, Mr. Munaf was detained by US forces on suspicion of collaborating with the kidnappers. Mr. Munaf allegedly confessed to being an accomplice, a confession that attorneys acting on his behalf claim was extracted through torture. The Romanian journalists agree Mr. Munaf was held with them, but they have no idea whether or not he was working with the kidnappers. Romania requested Mr. Munaf's extradition but was rebuffed.
US forces recently brought Mr. Munaf before the Iraqi Central Criminal Court in Baghdad for trial. The presiding judge reviewed the available evidence and announced he intended to dismiss the charges because he saw no basis to support the charge that Mr. Munaf was involved in the kidnapping (other than as a victim).
At that point, two US officers visited the court and demanded that the judge convict Mr. Munaf and sentence him to death. One of the officers fraudulently claimed he represented the Romanian government and stated that Romania insisted on a conviction and death sentence. (Romania denies not only that the US officer who claimed to be speaking for the Romanian government had such authority, but it insists it had no knowledge of Mr. Munaf's trial at all.) The judge balked at the officers' demands. The two officers then insisted on meeting with the judge in private, without the defendant or his attorneys. Apparently, the officers showed the judge secret "evidence," and when the judge returned from his ex parte meeting with the officers, ashen-faced, he announced a conviction and sentenced Mr. Munaf to die.
At last report, Mr. Munaf was still being held in a US-run facility at the Baghdad airport waiting to be handed over to Iraqi authorities for execution. His attorneys in the US have filed an emergency petition in US court to prevent US forces from delivering him to Iraqi authorities, arguing that his constitutional rights to due process have been grossly violated. The US court has not yet decided the petition.
Today, (p)resident Bush intends to sign the Military Commissions Act, which, if enforced as written, could wipe out Mr. Munaf's efforts to save himself through US court proceedings. We have come to the point, at last, where dictatorial intent has met dictatorial powers. Say a prayer for Mr. Munaff, and for what used to be our country's honor.
UPDATE: I have sent the following email to Mr. Munaf's lead attorney at the Brennan Center. I will post here if I get a reply.
Dear Mr. Hafetz (jonathan.hafetz@nyu.com), I am a participant at DailyKos.com, the web's most trafficked liberal blog, where I have posted a diary about Mr. Munaf's case here: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/10/17/52320/372.
Commenters have asked how they might be able to help publicize Mr. Munaf's plight or otherwise support the Brennan Center's effort on his behalf. If you have any suggestions, please send them to me and I will post them in the diary. I first heard about this case from Scott Horton last week but waited to post anything until I saw it in the press because, frankly, I was having trouble believing the main elements of the story were true. Sadly, I was wrong.
Thanks for your efforts on behalf of Mr. Munaf, and, again, please let me know if there is anything we at DailyKos can do to help.
Regards,
xxx
UPDATE 2: here is a link to another news article that refers to some of the details referenced in the diary but not appearing in the NY Times article.
UPDATE 3: Hat tip to musing graze who links to the affidavit filed on Mr. Munaf's behalf, which relates the story of the two officers who pressured the judge to convict and sentence Mr. Munaf to death.
UPDATE 4: Here is Mr. Hafetz's reply. I have asked him to clarify whether he has any suggestions for what can be done to support his client's cause.
Thanks for your post on this case, which jeopardizes the fundamental protections of due process and judicial review that are the rights of all American citizens held by the U.S. government, and especially a citizen whom the government plans to hand over for execution by another country. I will keep you posted.
Jonathan
UPDATE 5: A second hat tip to musing graze (hire this person the next time you need some research done!) who links in the comments to the Democracy Now website, where Amy Goodman's interview this morning with Mr. Munaf's attorney is available for streaming.
UPDATE 6: Kossack converger in comments below gives some great links that add more to the story, including to an excellent earlier diary he/she posted over the weekend on this case. Show converger some love.