RYAN REILLY
HELD
AT BAY
brander.’ He was going to come
in here, he was going to lend his
name, his rank, his stature, and
legitimize this process,” Ruiz said
of Martins. “Now you have that
person talking to another official
and telling him, ‘I think this is a
bad idea. I think we need to remove these charges because it will
remove the legal uncertainty moving forward.’ And you have this
non-entity — which is not a party,
not a prosecutor, not a defense
counsel, he’s not a judge — who
says, ‘No, I’m no t going to do it.’”
“That alone is remarkable,”
said Ruiz.
“What happens when he’s
not here?” asked Human Rights
HUFFINGTON
03.03.13
Watch’s Pitter, who similarly
praised Martins for bringing the
military commission procedures
closer in line with those of federal courts. “What happens when
there’s a prosecutor who is going to
use all the rules at his disposal for a
commission like this?”
Martins, who is 52 and has deferred promotion and retirement to
continue in his role as chief prosecutor at Guantanamo, said he’s in
it for the long haul. “We’re making
progress,” he insisted.
“I’m here as long as it takes,”
Martins said. “This is my last
job in the military. I’ve gotten
word that although my retirement date would have been November of 2014, it can actually
be years, well after that.
I’m committed to this.”
Members
of the media
stay in large
tents at
Camp Justice,
located
close to the
courtroom
facility.