António Vitorino on the decision to try 9/11 in civil court

The US government has decided to put the alleged masterminds behind the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on trial in a civil court rather than a military tribunal. This is a milestone in judicial history, legal expert António Vitorino writes in the daily Diário de Notícias: "It is fitting to bear in mind that the previous US Administration established special military tribunals for the trials of the terrorist suspects … . The announcement of the decision … was therefore greeted with jubilation by those who opposed the 'war on terror' strategy of [former] president George W. Bush. … The decision certainly represents a victory for all those who always believed that special practices for detention and judgement only lend added force to the terrorists' rhetoric the arrest, was used as a weapon for their hypocritical victim propaganda and exposed the structural weaknesses of the democratic states in the fight against terrorism. It is a decision of great relevance for the defence of civil freedoms and democracy and which without doubt will strengthen the anti-terrorist battle of the constitutional states in accordance with the rules of democratic law."

» full article (external link, Portuguese)
More from the press review on the subject » U.S.
All available articles from » António Vitorino

» To the complete press review of Friday, November 27, 2009