During a 40-minute courtroom discussion, alleged bad-boy, terrorist, and Osama bin Laden driver Salim Ahmed Hamdan joined fellow detainees in his boycott of the legal proceedings at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
In a move that supposedly surprised even his legal team, Hamdan, a sympathetic man-boy who appears to have been in the wrong place at the wrong time when captured in Afghanistan in 2001, spoke out against the Guantanamo system of justice saying it was anything but. He opted out of further proceedings (bringing the total number of dissidents to four), and short of firing his defense entourage, he nixed their ability speak on his behalf. (We’re not so sure Driver Boy came up with this move alone. Brilliant, nonetheless.)
Enter: Legal dilemma. In a case that has had more than its share of courtroom melodrama (years of motions and hearings followed by more motions and hearings and, oh yeah, a Supreme Court case thrown in the mix), Chauffeur Boy’s trial is supposed to commence June 2. Because Hamdan has been in solitary for years, it has been confirmed that it would be reasonable to argue that Yemen’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not mentally fit to make such decisions. So does the team argue the man-boy is not competent and proceed with its defense — in the name of protecting its client’s rights (and maybe the team’s place in law journals and legal history)? Or do the lawyers respect his wishes and sit by idly, maybe opting for some rec time in the GITMO sun and surf? Our guess is the team will continue to fight for its boy if for no other reason to let the drama live!
Stay tuned for “Deal or No Deal” — GITMO’s favorite game show where everyone loses, except the lawyers.