GUANTANAMO BASE: Outbursts from prisoners marked the resumption of pretrial hearings on Monday for the Sept 11 terrorism case in the US base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Amid calls from prisoners questioning judge Marine Col. Keith Parrella’s qualifications and accusing him of making threats, Parrella ruled the weeklong hearing should continue over objections raised by defence lawyers about alleged government investigations.

The Sept 11 hearings at Guantanamo have dragged on for years without a trial date set. The defence and prosecution are wrangling over what evidence can be heard during the trial. Proceedings have been delayed by legal challenges, many related to the fact that the men were held in a clandestine network of CIA prisons and subjected to treatment that their lawyers say amounted to torture.

“As I told you last time, I cannot answer your questions because you are not a qualified judge for this case, thanks,” Ramzi bin al-Shibh told Parrella as the judge opened proceedings with preliminary questions to the accused, asking the men if they understood their rights.

Parrella took over as the judge on the Sept 11 case in October after Army Col. James Pohl, the judge since the Obama administration, retired. While Parrella ignored a similar comment from al-Shibh at a hearing in November, on Monday he warned that if al-Shibh did not recognise the court, he would have to “take measures to ensure everyone’s safety.” Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, the self-proclaimed mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks, stands trial alongside four other men including al-Shibh. The men could receive the death penalty if convicted, but any sentence would likely bring years more of appeals.

Also on Monday, the defe­nce detailed concerns of a pos­­­­sible government investigation into the Sept 11 def­e­nce teams, including the FBI questioning of the paralegal who previously works for a defence team. Authorities have not revea­led why the paralegal was questioned in Texas last month. Defence lawyers fea­red it may have violated at­­torney-client confidentiality.

Parrella said that no defence team members are under investigation.

James Harrington, a civilian lawyer appointed to represent al-Shibh, said the alleged investigations have had a “devastating” impact on his team.

He and other lawyers have repeatedly pointed to what they see as a government effort to monitor and undermine the defence, including the FBI investigation and the discovery of listening devices disguised as smoke detectors in their meeting rooms, which the government denied using to eavesdrop on their conversations.

Published in Dawn, January 30th, 2019