Status: 08/31/2021 8:18 pm
The charges against three men who allegedly carried out a bloody attack on Bali in 2002 were to be read out at the US naval base in Guantanamo. But the routine act turned into an agonizing hangover.
Black prayer cap, the already gray beard dyed henna-red, thick glasses, rust-red fabric mask, white shirt, dark trousers: this is what Encep Nurjaman looks like, the man whom the USA blames for the deaths of over 200 people in Bali.
The Indonesian, called “Hambali”, slowly shuffles in orthopedic shoes to his leather chair, flanked by soldiers with plastic face shields and blue plastic gloves. His two co-defendants sit behind him. The three have been in US custody for 18 years. They were tortured in secret CIA prisons for years and then taken to Guantanamo in 2006. Now they should officially find out why exactly the US government is indicting them.
Translation problems
But less than four minutes later, military judge Hayes Larsen interrupted the proceedings again in a highly secured windowless metal hall. The problem: the interpreter. The Malaysian Farik Bin Lep cannot understand them. Your sentences are “back to front,” he explains in Malay.
“I’m sorry, but she just doesn’t do a good job. My client needs to understand the process. And I’m not sure he does,” complains his attorney Brian Bouffard.
Judge Larsen, frigate captain in black robe, weighs it down. Everyone should speak as slowly and clearly as possible: “As if you had a spoonful of molasses in your mouth!” Lawyer Christine Funk put on a blue headscarf out of respect for her Muslim client. And complains that the Malaysian Farik Bin Amin only gets half of it. Your next sentences cannot be understood.
In this archive photo dated October 13, 2002, police officers inspect the ruins of a nightclub in Denpasar, Bali, Indonesia, which was destroyed by an explosion.
Image: AP
“Do you want to spy on us?”
The audio transmission from the courtroom reaches the media representatives behind a pane of glass only with a 40-second delay – in order to prevent a possible betrayal of secrets. Now a red light flashes on the judge’s table and there is a noise. After a few minutes it turns out: It’s about a translator again.
The defendant Nazir Bin Amin recognized him because the man interpreted confidential conversations between Amin and another lawyer years ago. All of a sudden, this translator is sitting at the other side’s table. Lawyer Funk is outraged. The prosecution doesn’t need a translator, she says. “Are they trying to spy on us? I don’t know!”
Lawyer Christine Funk complained about the alleged bias of a translator.
Image: AP
So it goes on: endless formalities, many breaks and protests. The Indonesian interpreter is biased, the lawyers complain: She is said to have said to a colleague: “I don’t understand why the government wasted so much money on these terrorists. They should have been killed years ago.” Anyone with such an attitude would have lost nothing but the voice of the special tribunal in the ears of the defendants, says lawyer Bouffard.
Terror and conspiracy
Instead of half a day, as expected, it takes a day and a half to bring charges. But in the end, “Hambali” and his two alleged accomplices know what they are being charged for. Including: Martial Law Murder, Attempted Martial Law Murder, Intentional Assault, Property Damage, Terrorism, and Conspiracy.
Jim Hodes, the principal defendant’s attorney, said the first day had been excruciatingly difficult and frustrating
Image: AP
It is not yet known when the main proceedings will start. While the indictment is only the very first step in a very long process, Jim Hodes, the principal defendant’s attorney, has no good suspicions. The first day was terribly difficult and frustrating. And highlight how badly the special military tribunals would function.
Listening with a delay: the Guantanamo terror trial turns into a farce
Julia Kastein, ARD Washington, August 31, 2021 7:12 p.m.