In an emailed response to the Star Monday, Welner characterized the defence document as “slimy and pathetic.”
“(A) perfect wedding of the greedy ambition and presumptuousness of Sageman with a longstanding defence strategy of false charges against the government, the U.S. military, the prosecutors and theatre when the established procedure is unsuccessful,” he wrote."
NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER MICHELLE SHEPHARD: THE TORONTO STAR.
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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Michelle Shephard, my friend and former colleague at the Toronto Star (and an extremely talented journalist to boot), is the author of a fascinating book on the Omar Khadr case called Guantanamo's child. Peter Bergen, author of "The Osama bin Laden I know," says, "Michelle Shephard's richly reported, well written account of Omar Khadr's trajectory from the battlefields of Afghanistan to the cells of Guantanamo is a microcosm of the larger "war on terror" in which the teenaged Khadr either played the role of a jihadist murderer or tragic pawn or, perhaps, both roles." As publisher John Wiley & Sons notes, Michelle, "tells the troubling story of Canadian Omar Khadr, who has spent a quarter of his life growing up in Guantanamo Bay. Khadr was captured in Afghanistan in July 2002 at the age of 15. Accused by the Pentagon of throwing a grenade that killed U.S. soldier Sgt. First Class Christopher Speer...(Michelle) traces Khadr's roots in Canada, Pakistan and Afghanistan, growing up surrounded by al Qaeda's elite. She examines how his despised family, dubbed "Canada's First Family of Terrorism," has overshadowed his trial and left him alone behind bars for more than five years. Khadr's story goes to the heart of what's wrong with the U.S. administration's post-9/11 policies and why Canada is guilty by association. His story explains how the lack of due process can create victims and lead to retribution, and instead of justice, fuel terrorism." I loved this beautifully written exposee. It's a great read.HAROLD LEVY. PUBLISHER; THE CHARLES SMITH BLOG;
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"Omar Khadr’s lawyers are attacking the qualifications of the Pentagon’s star witness and claiming the forensic psychiatrist was improperly shielded from criticism, as part of a final appeal for clemency for the Toronto-born detainee," the Toronto Star story by National Security Reporter Michelle Shephard published earlier today begins, under the heading, "Omar Khadr’s lawyers question Pentagon’s star witness."
"In a 40-page motion obtained by the Toronto Star, Khadr’s lawyers argue that testimony from Dr. Michael Welner was “unscientific” and “designed solely to inflame and mislead the jury," the story continues.”
"Lawyer Army Col. Jon Jackson and Air Force Maj. Matthew Schwartz also claim that prosecutors threatened to revoke Khadr’s plea deal if they challenged Welner’s credentials as an expert witness.
“The goal of military commissions presumably is not to strong-arm an accused into pleas at any cost to justice,” the motion states.
Welner testified at Khadr’s October sentencing hearing that the 24-year-old was at a “high risk of dangerousness as a radical jihadist.”
“He is devout. He is angry,” Welner told the seven-member military jury, saying that Khadr had been “marinating in a radical Islamic community” in Guantanamo.
The motion quotes forensic psychiatrist Marc Sageman rebutting Welner’s professed expertise in the field of terrorism. Army Col. Patrick Parrish, the judge presiding over Khadr’s case, allegedly quipped to the defence that “Dr. Welner would have been as likely to be accurate if he used a Ouija board,” according to the motion.
In an emailed response to the Star Monday, Welner characterized the defence document as “slimy and pathetic.”
“(A) perfect wedding of the greedy ambition and presumptuousness of Sageman with a longstanding defence strategy of false charges against the government, the U.S. military, the prosecutors and theatre when the established procedure is unsuccessful,” he wrote.
The motion is an appeal to the Pentagon’s top legal advisor, known as the convening authority, requesting that Khadr’s sentence be reduced from eight years to four.
Khadr pleaded guilty to committing five war crimes in Afghanistan in 2002, admitting at the age of 15 he trained with Al Qaeda and threw a grenade that fatally wounded U.S. commando and medic Christopher Speer. In return for his plea, Khadr was given a sentence of no more than eight years and a promise to be transferred to Canadian custody after one additional year in Guantanamo.
The jury, unaware of the plea deal, sentenced Khadr to 40 years following a hearing where Welner testified that Khadr was at a “high risk of dangerousness as a radical jihadist” and Speer’s widow and friends read emotional statements. The sentence was only symbolic since Khadr was entitled to the lower term guaranteed in his plea.
Convening authority, retired Vice Admiral Bruce McDonald, will have to weigh the conflicting opinions of the two forensic psychiatrists, based on the defence motion and the prosecution’s reply (the Star did not have access to the government’s response).
Sageman, who testified before the 9/11 commission and has written extensively on terrorism and deradicalization, said that Welner is not a recognized expert in the field.
“I found that Dr. Welner’s testimony illustrated his ignorance of Islam, Islamic extremists and violent jihadis,” Sageman wrote in a letter accompanying the defence motion.
Welner emailed the Star over 100 pages of documents countering Sageman’s claims, which he had prepared for the convening authority. Welner also emailed the Star a three-page notice of intent to sue for defamation concerning articles published last October after a Star journalist asked him to respond to Sageman’s letter.
“The overwhelming majority of attributions by Dr. Sageman about my testimony, my interview and me are false and/or highly misleading, sludged over with the same nonsense of unfounded accusations and self-congratulatory hectoring that defines this letter,” Welner wrote in one 28-page appendix.
At a time when Guantanamo’s military commissions are under renewed scrutiny concerning the upcoming trial of the alleged 9/11 conspirators, one of the most damning allegations is a claim that the prosecutors had the convening authority’s permission to rescind Khadr’s plea deal, if defence lawyers tried to get Welner’s testimony excluded as unreliable.
In a separate memo, obtained by the Star, the convening authority denies any discussions or agreements were made with the prosecution. “Please provide a response limited to this allegation of prosecutorial misconduct,” states the March 29 memo to Navy Capt. John Murphy, Guantanamo’s Chief Prosecutor, written by Michael Chapman, the legal advisor to the convening authority.
Murphy, who was traveling to Guantanamo Monday, denied the claims in an emailed statement. "We dispute the defense's allegations and have filed a response with the (Convening Authority) on the clemency position.""
The story can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/news/world/article/976807--omar-khadr-s-lawyers-question-pentagon-s-star-witness?bn=1
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at:
http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith
For a breakdown of some of the cases, issues and controversies this Blog is currently following, please turn to:
http://www.blogger.com/post-edit.g?blogID=120008354894645705&postID=8369513443994476774
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog; hlevy15@gmail.com;
