WASHINGTON (AP) — The Army general who spent the past decade leading an oft-stalled effort to prosecute five men held at the Guantanamo Bay detention center for the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is retiring from the military, leaving his post as chief prosecutor as a trial remains elusive.
The retirement of Brig. Gen. Mark Martins was disclosed by a civilian employee of the Defense Department in an email sent late Thursday to relatives of people killed in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and wasn’t publicly announced by the Pentagon or the Office of Military Commissions, which oversees the tribunals.
According to a copy obtained by The Associated Press, Martins decided to leave now because 10 years is “about the longest any military officer can serve in a single assignment.” Also, the scheduled resumption of pretrial hearings after more than year-long hiatus due to the pandemic, meant it was “time to transition to new leadership” of the tribunals for prisoners held at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
“With the actual trial dates not yet set, there is an ideal window to identify a successor and get her/him settled in before the merits phase actually begins,” said the email from Karen Loftus, director of the prosecution’s Victim Witness Assistance Program.
Martins, a Harvard Law School classmate of former President Barack Obama, started as a vocal defender of the widely criticized military tribunals, or commissions, process that combines elements of civilian and military law. He has since stopped publicly speaking about proceedings mired in legal challenges and which could be shut down entirely if President Joe Biden achieves his intention to close the Guantanamo Bay detention center.
Martins did not respond Friday to messages and the Office of Military Commissions...
