Friday, October 20, 2006

US Military Lies to Get US Citizen Death Penalty in Iraq

So here's the frightening story of Mohammad Munaf. He was born in Iraq and immigrated to the US, he's a US citizen. In 2001 he moved to Romania with his family. In March of 2005 he travelled to Iraq with 3 Romanian journalists as their guide. All 4 were taken hostage for 2 months before US forces rescued them in May of 2005.

Last year Munaf was arrested by US troops and charged with kidnapping. He's held in a US-run prison in Baghdad. His trial came up in an Iraqi court and according to Munaf's lawyers the Iraqi judge was prepared to dismiss the case because there was no evidence against him.

"But then came a strange intervention. Two US military officers appeared in court to advocate giving Munaf the death penalty. One of the officers claimed to be acting on behalf of the Romanian embassy and said Romania 'demanded' Munaf be put to death. The two officers then held a private meeting with the judge -- without the defense in the room. When he returned, the judge ruled Munaf was guilty and ordered his execution. The Romanian government says it did not authorize any US official to speak on its behalf and that it is not seeking the death penalty."

Munaf's lawyers appealed to the US District Court in Washington DC on the basis of the bizarre and unfair court procedures, but yesterday Judge Royce Lamberth ruled he had no jurisdiction on the case.

"This case is shocking because it deals with an American citizen who is being stripped of his rights under a foreign legal process, including the right to a trial, at the insistence of US Forces."

What's going on? US Military Officers having secret meetings with judges and apparently changing their minds? And also falsely claiming to be representing other countries? Why isn't the US media covering this? Search Google News for this and notice very few articles on it. I have no idea if Munaf is guilty of something or not, but this judicial process is wrong. Kafka would be proud.

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