Pentagon names tribunal to hear Guantanamo trials

The Pentagon took an important step today toward starting the first US military tribunals since World War Two.

The Pentagon took an important step today toward starting the first US military tribunals since World War Two.

The Pentagon formally referred the three cases to a single tribunal comprised of a presiding officer, retired Army Col. Peter Brownback III, and four other officers, but did not set trial dates.

US officials say the defendants, David Hicks of Australia, Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan, are al Qaeda members.

The Pentagon's move came a day after the US Supreme Court decided the Guantanamo prisoners could turn to US courts to challenge their confinement.

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Military lawyers assigned to represent the three defendants said the ruling could bolster court challenges to the legality of the tribunals, formally called military commissions.

The trials will be held at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where the United States holds approximately 595 foreign terrorism suspects, including the three defendants.

Human rights groups have condemned the trial process established for the commissions, saying the rules favour the prosecution, undercut the defense and do not permit independent judicial review. The Pentagon promised "full and fair" trials.

"All three accused are presumed innocent of any criminal charges unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt at a military commission," the Pentagon said in a statement.

Al Bahlul and al Qosi, both described as close associates and former bodyguards for al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, were charged in February with a single count each of conspiracy to commit war crimes. Earlier this month, Hicks, a convert to Islam accused of joining al Qaeda, was charged with three counts: conspiracy to commit war crimes, attempted murder by an unprivileged belligerent and aiding the enemy.

The Pentagon previously has said it does not plan to seek the death penalty against any of the three.