The United States had ruled out the death penalty for two British terrorist suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Britain’s attorney general said Tuesday. Lord Goldsmith said he received the assurances during two days of talks with U.S. officials in Washington. He said he had also made significant progress on improving the rules by which British nationals Feroz Abbasi or Moazzam Begg would be tried by a military tribunal. The men will be able to choose a U.S. civilian lawyer instead of being assigned a military lawyer, he said, and their trials, ``subject to any necessary security restrictions,’’ would be open, with news media present.
That paragon of journalistic virtue, the BBC, will be there of course.
Begg has been there for nearly five months and was previously detained in Afghanistan for a year, according to the London-based group Fair Trials Abroad. It said he was seized in Pakistan and may be a victim of mistaken identity. Abbasi, in U.S. custody since January 2002, has been described as a computer student.
"They’re innocent, mere lads! Why the one even writes video games! Lies! All lies!" |