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CNN Live Saturday
What Legal Rights Does Mohammed Have?
Aired March 01, 2003 - 16:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: To clarify why it is that U.S. agents are taking him to this third location, however, we're joined by CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He joins us from Sherman, Connecticut, this afternoon. Jeffrey, good to have you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Carol.
LIN: So why is it that it's advantageous for these agents to not bring him yet back to the United States to face those criminal charges?
TOOBIN: Because he is essentially a prisoner of war now. His status is much like the people who are in Guantanamo Bay in the American military base at Camp X-Ray. Those are the people who are -- who were captured in the American invasion of Afghanistan and have been held essentially as prisoners of war. There are essentially no restrictions on the government on how they can be interrogated, how long they can be held. That is what Mohammed's status is now. There are much fewer restrictions than someone who is part of the American criminal justice system. So it's a lot easier and there are a lot more options if he's held in that sort of status.
LIN: So what are the options? I mean, it doesn't have to be an American interrogator questioning him. It could be someone from Jordan, from Israel, from Syria. It could be anyone, and would there -- would he have any legal rights in terms of how that interrogation were to go down?
TOOBIN: Well, that's one of the interesting questions that hasn't really been settled yet. Just by coincidence, at least I think it's a coincidence, just yesterday, the Department of Defense gave a draft of their proposal for how the military tribunals will work.
Remember, that is the system that the government said it would set up to try high level al Qaeda terrorist suspects. No one has yet been tried. In fact, the system isn't even in effect yet. But that is the system that the government plans to have in place, ultimately, to bring to justice those who are -- who have been arrested since 9/11. Those people could get the death penalty and never even set foot on American soil. That's what a military tribunal is.
Mohammed seems a perfect candidate for that, but the system's not in place. Undoubtedly, he'll just be held for a while and then the government will decide what to do with him.
LIN: But because there's an existing U.S. indictment, he's facing charges here on American soil, could he actually -- does he have a right to demand that he be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges here on U.S. soil, and as a result, what would his rights be then as a defendant here in the United States?
TOOBIN: He has exactly zero rights, as far as I can tell. He is a prisoner of war. I mean, just think about the practical effects. I mean, he is somewhere in custody, somewhere in the world. We have absolutely no idea what country he's even in. What could he possibly do? You know, call his lawyer?
I mean, he's just not in a position to make any demands, and this is traditionally what's happened. It's funny, you know, we think in terms of a legal proceeding, but, you know, when the Americans seized German prisoners on D-Day, they didn't, you know, get to call their lawyers. That's his status right now. And he has essentially no rights under our legal system, and unless he's brought to the United States and turned over to the Justice Department to be tried, he will continue to have no rights.
So I don't think the government, the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Defense, is going to be in any hurry to turn him over and have those rights kick in.
LIN: There you go. You couldn't be more clear. Thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin, reporting from Sherman, Connecticut this weekend.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired March 1, 2003 - 16:49 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: To clarify why it is that U.S. agents are taking him to this third location, however, we're joined by CNN's legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. He joins us from Sherman, Connecticut, this afternoon. Jeffrey, good to have you.
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hi, Carol.
LIN: So why is it that it's advantageous for these agents to not bring him yet back to the United States to face those criminal charges?
TOOBIN: Because he is essentially a prisoner of war now. His status is much like the people who are in Guantanamo Bay in the American military base at Camp X-Ray. Those are the people who are -- who were captured in the American invasion of Afghanistan and have been held essentially as prisoners of war. There are essentially no restrictions on the government on how they can be interrogated, how long they can be held. That is what Mohammed's status is now. There are much fewer restrictions than someone who is part of the American criminal justice system. So it's a lot easier and there are a lot more options if he's held in that sort of status.
LIN: So what are the options? I mean, it doesn't have to be an American interrogator questioning him. It could be someone from Jordan, from Israel, from Syria. It could be anyone, and would there -- would he have any legal rights in terms of how that interrogation were to go down?
TOOBIN: Well, that's one of the interesting questions that hasn't really been settled yet. Just by coincidence, at least I think it's a coincidence, just yesterday, the Department of Defense gave a draft of their proposal for how the military tribunals will work.
Remember, that is the system that the government said it would set up to try high level al Qaeda terrorist suspects. No one has yet been tried. In fact, the system isn't even in effect yet. But that is the system that the government plans to have in place, ultimately, to bring to justice those who are -- who have been arrested since 9/11. Those people could get the death penalty and never even set foot on American soil. That's what a military tribunal is.
Mohammed seems a perfect candidate for that, but the system's not in place. Undoubtedly, he'll just be held for a while and then the government will decide what to do with him.
LIN: But because there's an existing U.S. indictment, he's facing charges here on American soil, could he actually -- does he have a right to demand that he be extradited to the United States to face criminal charges here on U.S. soil, and as a result, what would his rights be then as a defendant here in the United States?
TOOBIN: He has exactly zero rights, as far as I can tell. He is a prisoner of war. I mean, just think about the practical effects. I mean, he is somewhere in custody, somewhere in the world. We have absolutely no idea what country he's even in. What could he possibly do? You know, call his lawyer?
I mean, he's just not in a position to make any demands, and this is traditionally what's happened. It's funny, you know, we think in terms of a legal proceeding, but, you know, when the Americans seized German prisoners on D-Day, they didn't, you know, get to call their lawyers. That's his status right now. And he has essentially no rights under our legal system, and unless he's brought to the United States and turned over to the Justice Department to be tried, he will continue to have no rights.
So I don't think the government, the CIA, the FBI, the Department of Defense, is going to be in any hurry to turn him over and have those rights kick in.
LIN: There you go. You couldn't be more clear. Thank you very much, Jeffrey Toobin, reporting from Sherman, Connecticut this weekend.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
