International Visitors
Developing nations, especially ones with emerging or fledgling democracies, look to America to study its institutions, laws and the ingenious balance of powers created by our Founding Fathers. Through various programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Stateâs International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), delegates from these nations visit the United States and are put into contact with organizations like Judicial Watch. Since 2001, Judicial Watch has been a major participant in the Department of Stateâs IVLP and other leadership exchange programs, having received over 83 visiting delegations. As the premier Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigator in America today, Judicial Watch is one of the most sought after transparency and accountability organizations for personal meetings with emerging leaders from around the world who are interested in learning how they can stop corruption and demand accountability from their judges, government officials, and political parties.
The United Nations Department of Global Communications
The United Nations Department of Global Communications hosts monthly briefings and other workshops and an annual conference where representatives of NGOs from every corner of the world come together for the purpose of networking and collaborating on solutions to some of the worldâs most challenging problems, from security issues such as crime and violence, hunger and disease, persecution and war, to major development issues of education, job opportunities, and womenâs empowerment.
Judicial Watch is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC) as a nongovernmental organization whose mission is to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. It fulfills its educational mission through litigation, investigations, and public outreach. Its International Program serves as an integral part of its educational program.
Judicial Watch GTMO Observer Program
Judicial Watch was granted observer status by the Pentagon to observe the arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in June of 2008. Since the recommencement of the 9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in November 2011, JW has attended 95 percent of the hearings held at the detention facility, as well as Periodic Review Board Proceedings (PRBs) currently held at the Pentagon. Judicial Watch staff and representatives have attended and monitored over 256 hearings to date.
See ARCHIVE section HERE.
Hearing Summaries
Military Commissions:
9-11 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed et. al.
July 31, 2024âAugust 2, 2024
Announcement of a Concluded Plea Bargain and Subsequent Revocation by the Secretary of Defense
After multiple attempts by each side through the years to establish a plea bargain between the 9-11 co-conspirators and the U.S. government, the Military Commissions announced a plea agreement on July 31, 2024, that covered three of the men. The co-conspirators not covered were ISN 10013 Ramzi Bin Al Shibh and ISN 10018 Ali Abd Al Aziz Ali, who may or may not have been involved in separate negotiations. The announcement of the agreement was made after letters explaining the negotiated terms were sent to victim family members.Among other terms, the agreement authorized by the Military Commissions Convening Authority removed the conduct of a full trial and the possibility of a death sentence in exchange for a guilty plea from each of the three co-conspirators. A sentencing hearing would be held after the accused rendered their pleas in a pre-trial hearing, and then each of the detainees covered would serve up to a life sentence in confinement.On August 2, 2024, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin nullified the plea agreements and reinstated the case against the men as a trial with eligibility for the death penalty. In the same memorandum that nullified the agreements, the Secretary of Defense also declared that the special nature of the case dictated that he removes the authority to negotiate plea agreements with the accused from the Convening Authority and reserve it to himself.
Conservative members of Congress have expressed support for withdrawing the plea agreement, crediting it as unjust to the victims and victim family members, who would not see justice done in a trial and whose only recourse for closure would be to compete for a potentially limited number of slots to make victim impact statements to the sentencing panel. Liberal members of Congress have asked the Secretary of Defense to reconsider his withdrawal of the plea agreement, citing the measure as unjust to the detainees who have been incarcerated for up to 20 years and upholding it as a way to reduce expenditures of time and resources that a full trial would require.
The judge in the 9-11 case has directed defense teams for ISN 10024 Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, ISN 10014 Walid Muhammad Salih Mubarak Bin Attash, and ISN 10011 Ali Abdul Aziz Ali Mustafa Ahmed Adam Al Hawsawi to prepare briefings concerning the Secretary of Defense’s legal authorities for overriding negotiating authorities that the Office of the Secretary of Defense has previously placed upon the subordinate Convening Authority and how they may or may not relate to the Secretary of Defense’s ability to add to, withdraw, or otherwise modify referred charges in the case. The defense for ISN 10018 Ali/Baluchi has filed an extended motion to dismiss all charges and the case on evidence of unlawful influence by members of Congress. All parties to the case appear to be seeking discovery about communications between the Convening Authority, the Secretary of Defense, the Executive Branch, and Congress in the matter of the plea agreement.
Observations:
The timing and nature of the plea bargain may reflect competing judicial and political factors, with the timing of the announcement occurring at an important juncture in the pre-trial proceedings. Judge Matthew McCall has repeatedly stated his intent to rule on the admissibility of all remaining evidence and testimony before his mandatory retirement, leaving the succeeding judge a clean bench to preside over the trial. This evidence includes the controversial FBI âLetterhead Memorandaâ and documents referencing or analyzing the pro se filing of the âIslamic Response to the Government’s Nine Accusationsâ made in a nullified previous military commissions trial attempt. If admitted, these documents would significantly weaken most of the theories of defense and shift the case onto a mitigation footing rather than a culpability footing. A plea bargain became the last option for the defense to control the timing and outcome of the proceedings, given the judge’s schedule of pre-trial witness testimony and final motion arguments.
See ARCHIVEÂ for full summary
In the Media
The Hill published the following article by Thomas Wheatley, a participant in Judicial Watchâs GTMO Observer Program.
âTrump, honor Obamaâs agreement to release Guantanamo detainee,â
The Hill, October 4, 2017About Thomas Wheatley, https://www2.gmu.edu/news/424386
International Visitors and United Nations DGC Briefing
- 2018
- 2017
- Summary of UN Event: The Trade in Minors in the Digital Age – September 28, 2017
- 2016
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2016:
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Albania, Czech Republic, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Togo, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Lesotho, Nepal, Netherlands, Philippines, Vietnam, and South Sudan
- United Nationâs Commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons – September
- Observance of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests – August
- Summary of Meeting with North Africa and the Near East Delegation – February
- 2015
- Wrap up for 2015
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2015:
Macedonia, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH),Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Algeria Brunei, Croatia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Lithuania, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Venezuela
- Summary of Meeting with Macedonian Delegation – July
- UNESCO Event Summary SREBRENICA – July
- 2014
- Wrap up for 2014
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2014:
China, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Argentina, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Republic of Kosovo, Moldova, Netherlands, Serbia, , Kenya, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Honduras
- Western Hemisphere – September
- 65th UN DPI/NGO Conference – August
- 2013
- People’s Republic of China – December
- People’s Republic of China – September
- Ukraine
- Meeting with Delegates from Newly Independent States
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- Croatia
- India and Bhutan
- UN-DPI, Washington, DC – âRediscovering Preventive Diplomacy for Peace in the Worldâs Hotspots: A View from the United Nationsâ
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Vietnam
- French Counterterrorism Officials
- 2009
- 2008
- Thailand
- Multi-Regional Delegation – The US Judicial System – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Timor-Leste, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Malawi, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, People’s Republic of China, South Africa
- France
- 11 Latin American Countries – Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
- 2007
- 2006
- Croatia – Law Enforcement and the Judiciary
- Tanzania
- France- French Ministry of Justice
- The Multi-Regional Project
- Italy
- Ukraine
- France
- Kyrgyzstan
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Fulbright Fellows
- The Sun Shines in Over 60 Countries Worldwide
- 2005
- 2004
- Latvia
- West Africa delegation
- Czech Republic
- Ghana
- 2003
- Brazil
- Russia
- Republic of China
- 2002
- Japan
- Turkey
- 2001
- Moldova
