A Muslim chaplain once suspected of being part of an espionage ring at the Guantanamo Bay prison has been found guilty of two minor charges, prompting his lawyer to call him the victim of a "drive-by act of legal violence.'' Capt. James Yee, 35, was issued a reprimand Monday during an Article 15 proceeding, used by the Army to settle minor disciplinary issues. In such proceedings, a finding of guilt does not result in a criminal conviction. The commanding officer at the Guantanamo Bay base, Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, found Yee guilty of two violations of military law - adultery and improperly downloading pornography onto an Army computer. Miller had the option of imposing 30 days' arrest in quarters, 60 days on restriction and a loss of one-half of a month's pay for a maximum of two months. He issued only a reprimand. Yee said he will appeal.
Well, considering as the man has already served 76 days in solitary confinement, his marriage has been at the least damaged by revelation of his alleged adultery and pornography habits, and his name has been dragged through the mud world-wide, adding on more punishment would seem just a tad excessive, wouldn't you think?
Really, doesn't this inspire all sorts of confidence in any governmental military tribunals? After all, they would essentially follow the same sorts of rules. They treat their own personnel so fairly and so well, why on earth wouldn't they treat foreign nationals and people accused of high treason just as well?
Yee says he will appeal; I wonder what the appeals channel is for this sort of thing. For that matter, I wonder what the grounds for appeal actually are? As far as I can tell, the adultery, at least, does seem to have occurred.
Posted by iain at March 23, 2004 12:53 PM
