USA: Trial and error – a reflection on the first week of the first military commission trial at Guantánamo

The first trial to take place before a military commission convened under the Military Commissions Act of 2006 opened on 21 July 2008 in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. The defendant is Yemeni national Salim Ahmed Hamdan, who has been in US military custody for more than six and a half years. He pleaded not guilty to what the prosecution has controversially referred to as “war crimes”. Amnesty International does not consider Salim Hamdan’s trial by this military court to be lawful under international law.

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