Former Prosecutor: War Crimes Case “Eviscerated”

by Eric Umansky
ProPublica, Oct. 31, 2008, 1:14 p.m.

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We’ve been writing about what appears to be the government’s quickly collapsing cases in the coming war crimes trials at Guantanamo Bay. Earlier this week, a judge barred from evidence a purported confession given by Mohamed Jawad, who is facing war crimes charges for allegedly throwing a grenade at U.S. soldiers.

Jawad, who was a teenager at the time of the attack, “confessed” to Afghan security officers. The judge threw out that confession because Jawad only gave it under threat of death.

Then of course there is the prosecutor who was slated to bring Jawad to trial, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, and instead resigned in protest last month. Vandeveld has now offered his take on the judge’s decision. "To me, the case is not only eviscerated, it is now impossible to prosecute with any credibility," Vandeveld told The Associated Press.

In other words, looks like things are continuing apace for the Gitmo tribunals.

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