Introduction
I am a student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA. I have been nominated to travel to Guantanamo Bay to monitor hearings during the week of 8-15 January, 2022 through the Military Commission Observation Project (MCOP). I applied to the MCOP program to travel to Guantanamo Bay because of my international background and because of related coursework I have taken as a law student at Indiana University McKinney School of Law (described below). As part of the application and nomination process, I was interviewed by the MCOP program director, Professor Edwards.
The MCOP is a project of IU School of Law, founded by Professor Edwards, and it has multiple missions, including
“ i. To further teaching, research, and service related to U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and other tribunals with similar jurisdiction, and
ii. To facilitate [Indiana University] IU Affiliates to attend, observe, analyze, critique, and publish on U.S. Military Commissions at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba and other designated U.S. Military Commission viewing sites.” [https://mckinneylaw.iu.edu/human-rights/_docs/military-commission-project.pdf]
As I begin to prepare for undertaking this important role, I am incredibly excited to be afforded such a unique opportunity. I also feel a great sense of responsibility to ensure that I, as one of only a handful of people allowed to travel to Guantanamo Bay to attend pre-trial hearings, can act as the eyes and ears of the public so that the Guantanamo proceedings can be open, transparent, and fair.
Five 9/11 Alleged Co-Conspirators
During the week of 8-15 January, 2022, I am scheduled to monitor pre-trial hearings for the five 9/11 alleged co-conspirators being held at Guantanamo Bay. The five men being charged for their alleged roles in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, where approximately 3,000 people were killed and thousands more were wounded, are Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarek Bin ‘Attash, Ali Abdul Aziz Ali, Ramzi Bin al Shibh, and Mustafa Ahmed Adam al Hawsawi. According to the Office of Military Commissions website, “They are charged with committing the following offenses: conspiracy; attacking civilians; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; murder in violation of the law of war; hijacking or hazarding a vessel or aircraft; and terrorism.”
The most recent pre-trial hearings, which took place in September 2021, involved questions of whether or not the presiding military judge, Matthew N. McCall, Colonel, USAF, should preside over the case. The final day of the September 2021 pre-trial hearings was reportedly cut short “because of illness related to the coronavirus pandemic.”
The week I am scheduled to attend hearings is of particular significance, as 11 January, 2022 marks the 20 year anniversary of the arrival of the first prisoners at Guantanamo. The five men whose pre-trial hearings I am scheduled to attend have each been held at Guantanamo since 2006.
According to the Guantanamo Docket, published by the New York Times,
“Since 2002, roughly 780 detainees have been held at the American military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba. Now, 39 remain. Of those, 12 have been charged with war crimes in the military commissions system — 10 are awaiting trial and two have been convicted. In addition, seven detainees are held in indefinite law-of-war detention and are neither facing tribunal charges nor being recommended for release. And 20 are held in law-of-war detention but have been recommended for transfer with security arrangements to another country.” (link)
My Background
I am in my third year at Indiana University McKinney School of Law, and am scheduled to graduate in May 2022 with a J.D. (Juris Doctor). I am from Indianapolis, Indiana and lived my entire life in the state of Indiana until I graduated from the University of Notre Dame in January 2014. Upon graduation, I moved to Moscow, Russian Federation, to teach English. I lived in Moscow from 2014-2017, met my soon-to-be wife in 2015, got married in 2016, and in that same year witnessed the birth of my daughter. In the summer of 2017, my wife and I decided to move to a small city in China where I worked as an English teacher for a Canadian international school.
In 2019, I decided to return to Indianapolis to attend law school. Having lived abroad for five years, I was naturally attracted to international law, and took several classes touching on various aspects of international law. In the summer of 2021, I enrolled in Professor Anthony Green’s National Security Law class, and then in the fall of 2021, I enrolled in his other course, Counterterrorism Law. These courses touched on many of the complex legal issues connected with Guantanamo Bay, such as whether the right to habeas corpus review applies to those held at Guantanamo, and sparked my interest in applying to be an observer with Professor George Edwards’ NGO (non-governmental organization), the Military Commission Observation Project (MCOP).
I am preparing for my mission to attend, observe, be seen, analyze, critique, and report on the hearings in Guantanamo Bay by speaking with prior observers, reading the Know Before You Go To Guantanamo Guide, and reading up on the detainees and the history of Guantanamo Bay via the Guantanamo Bay Docket at the New York Times.
Pre-Departure Reflections
My personal experience having lived abroad, along with my studies of Law of War and other international topics at IU McKinney will assist me in promoting the core mission of the Military Commission Observation Program (MCOP). I will attend, observe, be seen, analyze, critique, and report on U.S. military commissions with the hope of furthering the transparency of the hearings taking place in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Collier O’Connor
J.D. Candidate, 2022
NGO Observer, Military Commission Observation Project (MCOP)
Indiana University McKinney School of Law