THE KHADR CASE – Khadr trial judge relieved of duties
May 30, 2008
OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The military judge in the Omar Khadr trial in Guantanamo Bay has been relieved of his duties, a move that Mr. Khadr’s defence counsel implied is a result of the judge siding with the defence on a number of evidence-disclosure issues in the controversial military tribunal case.
In a brief e-mail message circulated yesterday afternoon, Military Commissions chief judge, Colonel Ralph Kohlmann, announced that Colonel Peter Brownback, who has served until now as the judge in the Khadr case, is to be replaced by another colonel, Patrick Parrish.
Defence officials in Washington told The Globe and Mail that Col. Brownback had been planning to retire. However, it was not clear why the judge would retire in the middle of an ongoing military tribunal case.
Col. Brownback initially came out of retirement in 2004 to oversee some of the military tribunal proceedings in Guantanamo Bay. Recently, he had shown considerable frustration at the prosecution in the Khadr case, headed by Major Jeff Groharing, for delays in disclosing evidence to the defence.
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