Courtroom at Camp Justice a ‘Censorship Chamber’
December 13th, 2012Via: Miami Herald:
The chief of the Guantánamo war court has approved the use of a time delay on public viewing of the Sept. 11 death-penalty trial as well as a censor in his court to make sure nobody divulges details of a now defunct CIA interrogation program, citing national security interests.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged the 40-second delay, arguing that the Pentagon had transformed the courtroom at Camp Justice in Cuba into a “censorship chamber” for the coming death penalty trials. The rules effectively prevent the public from learning anything about what the CIA did with the alleged terrorists before their 2006 transfer to Guantánamo for trial.
Spectators who watch the proceedings at the war court sit in a soundproof room, watching the trial live but hearing the audio 40 seconds later. If a court security officer functioning as a censor deems what is being said is a national security secret, the sound is obscured by white noise.
