Military Judge Suppresses 9/11 Defendant's FBI Confession Citing CIA Coercion
A military judge has suppressed the final confession the government intended to use in the Sept. 11 military commission, ruling that the defendant, Walid bin Attash, did not provide voluntary statements to the FBI. This decision follows findings that bin Attash was subjected to years of abuse and coercion by the CIA. The ruling by Air Force Lt. Col. Michael Schrama marks the fifth such suppression of confessions from Guantanamo detainees who underwent the CIA's 'enhanced interrogation techniques.' Schrama cited that bin Attash's conditions of confinement at Guantanamo Bay were similar to those in CIA black sites, and he was questioned in a part of the detention facility that was itself a former black site. The judge noted that the FBI questioned bin Attash on topics he had previously been forced to discuss under coercion. This ruling comes after similar suppressions for Mustafa al Hawsawi and Khalid Shaikh Mohammad, and Ammar al Baluchi by a prior judge.
