Denver Post Seeks Access To Sealed Papers In GI Trials

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0...

Denver Post Seeks Access To Sealed Papers In GI Trials
Miles Moffeit, Denver Post Staff Writer
Friday, February 04, 2005

The CIA is denying Denver Post attorneys access to evidence used in a closed Army hearing that will determine whether Fort Carson soldiers face murder trials in the fatal interrogation of an Iraqi general.

In recent weeks, attorneys representing The Post in its attempt to open up the proceedings have sought to view sealed documents introduced in a December evidentiary hearing dealing with the suffocation death of Maj. Gen. Abed Mowhoush in late 2003. While four Fort Carson soldiers face murder charges in the case, CIA personnel also were involved in the interrogation.

Army officials have argued that the evidence must be kept secret for national-security reasons and the safety of the accused.

This week, CIA officials also said they will not permit the newspaper’s attorneys, who have national security clearance, to review its exhibits. The spy agency offered no explanation.

Today, the newspaper will file a motion with the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals objecting to that stance, saying it must be allowed to see basic evidence to wage complete arguments for opening up the Mowhoush proceedings.

"You can’t litigate with blindfolds on," said Matthew Freedus, a Post attorney. "There is ample authority in our court system that you have to be able to see the evidence offered by the other side to make your arguments."

A CIA spokesman declined to comment yesterday.

A decision on whether four of the soldiers charged with murder should stand trial is on hold while the appeals court decides evidentiary access issues. The court stopped the December hearing for three of the soldiers after The Post filed a motion saying that it was improper for the presiding officer to close the entire hearing. The lawyers said it was akin to using an "ax instead of a scalpel" on an issue of vital interest.

Mowhoush was placed in a sleeping bag and tied with an electrical cord in what the Army has called an interrogation stress position. The technique had previously been used, rendering one person unconscious, according to court documents.