The first day of a pre-trial hearing at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba was cut short on Monday after one of the defendants said he recognized a courtroom linguist while being tortured ten years ago at a CIA black site.
“The problem is I cannot trust him because he was working at the black site with the CIA and we know him from there,” said Ramzi bin al Shibh, one of five men facing a military trial for their alleged roles plotting the 9/11 attacks.
According to the Miami Herald, Attorney Cheryl Bormann, who was representing another defendant, told said her client was “visibly shaken” at the sight of the court interpreter.
“My client relayed to me this morning that there is somebody in this courtroom who was participating in his illegal torture,” Bormann said.
She added that that presence of a military linguist in the courtroom who had also served at a CIA black site between 2002 and 2006, while her client was being subject to torture could be “part of the pattern of the infiltration of defense teams” by the government.
Either that, or it was the “the biggest coincidence ever,” said Bormann.
The chief prosecutor in the case said he would look into the matter further and “collect the facts and understand what the issue is.”
After a brief recess, during which the interpreter was removed from the courtroom, the judge presiding over the case, Army Col. James Pohl, ordered a break in the trial until Wednesday.
The five men facing a military trial, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheik Mohamed, could face the death penalty if convicted.
Attorney General Eric Holder had intended to try the men in a civilian court in New York City, but backed down in the face of political opposition from lawmakers who claimed that trying terrorists in civilian courts could pose a security threat.
Currently, only seven Guantanamo detainees, including the five alleged 9/11 plotters, are facing military trials. Three other prisoners at the military prison are either awaiting sentencing or serving time following convictions.
As of this week, 122 prisoners remain at Guantanamo.
