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Author: Ben Fox
Publication: Las Vegas Sun
Date: April 27, 2006
URL: http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/w-sa/2006/apr/27/042700171.html
A U.S.-educated Saudi accused of being part of an al-Qaida bomb-making cell said Thursday he is proud that he fought against the United States and doesn't want an attorney at his military trial.
"I did not come here to defend myself," Ghassan Abdullah al-Sharbi calmly told the military judge. "I did what I did and I'm willing to pay the price no matter how many years you sentence me."
Al-Sharbi, 31, an electrical engineering graduate from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Prescott, Ariz., was captured in March 2002 in Pakistan with senior al-Qaida lieutenant Abu Zubayda and other figures.
He is charged with conspiracy in an alleged plot to build remote-controlled explosives to attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan and faces up to life in prison if convicted in the military tribunal at Guantanamo.
The military panel that determined whether al-Sharbi was an "enemy combatant" disclosed that he was known by other detainees as Abu Zubayda's "right hand man" and that he had been seen "chatting and laughing like pals" with Osama bin Laden at a terrorist training camp, according to Pentagon documents recently obtained by The Associated Press.
At his military trial, al-Sharbi, who has long hair and a thick, flowing beard, told the presiding judge that he would not cooperate with his court-appointed attorney.
"I'm going to make this easy for you guys. I fought against the United States. I took up arms," he said in English, his hands clasped on the defense table in front of him. Later, he added: "I'm going to tell you what I did. ... I'm proud of what I did."
The judge, Navy Capt. Daniel O'Toole, told al-Sharbi that it was "unwise" not to cooperate with his court-appointed counsel. He also ruled that the Saudi was not qualified to serve as his own lawyer, saying he did not know the procedures of the tribunal and would not be able to view classified evidence or attend closed sessions under military rules.
Al-Sharbi said he was unconcerned with the trial's outcome and would prefer to represent himself. "Even if I spend hundreds of years in jail, that would be a matter of honor for me," he said.
The judge ordered the court-appointed defense attorney, Navy Lt. William Kuebler, to defend al-Sharbi. But Kuebler told the judge that the State Bar of California, where he is registered as an attorney, says it is unethical for him to represent a client who has refused his services.
The judge directed the defense and prosecution to submit legal briefs on the ethical issues and said he would issue a ruling on May 17. It wasn't clear whether he also would consider whether al-Sharbi can act as his own attorney.
The chief military prosecutor, Air Force Col. Morris Davis, said he believes detainees have the right to represent themselves in the tribunals "no matter how stupid it might be," to take the legal risk. He suggested they would need legal assistance, though.
"It's their name on the charge sheet and I think they ought to have the right," Davis told reporters. "It's their day in court and if they want to do that then I think they ought to have the opportunity to give it a shot."
The issue of legal representation has arisen during the pretrial hearings.
Yemeni detainee Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al-Bahlul said last month that he would boycott the proceedings if he is not permitted to represent himself or to have a lawyer from his native country. The military attorney for Jabran Said bin al-Qahtani, a Saudi who has refused to sit in the court, has questioned whether he can ethically represent his client.
A human rights lawyer observing the proceedings said the ethical dilemmas for defense attorneys underscore the legal questions surrounding the tribunals, which are the subject of a challenge before the U.S. Supreme Court.
"The events of this week as a whole are showing the need for the Supreme Court to step in and give guidance," said Ben Wizner, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union.
The U.S. holds about 490 detainees at Guantanamo. So far, 10 have been charged and trials could begin within months depending on the Supreme Court's ruling, which is expected in June.
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