Let me phone home, Guantanamo defendant asks

By Jane Sutton

GUANTANAMO BAY U.S. NAVAL BASE, Cuba (Reuters) - An accused al Qaeda conspirator from Sudan asked a Guantanamo war crimes court on Thursday to let him phone home so his family can find him a lawyer to replace the U.S. military attorney he rejects.

The request came after defendant Ibrahim al Qosi said he did not want any military or civilian lawyer appointed by the U.S. government to defend him on charges of providing material support for terrorism and conspiring with al Qaeda.

The judge, Air Force Lt. Col. Nancy Paul, asked if he wanted to exercise his right to hire a civilian lawyer of his own choosing, at his own expense.

Qosi said that would be difficult given his circumstances.

"I've been imprisoned here for 6 and 1/2 years. I have no contact with the outside world," Qosi said through an Arabic-English interpreter. "The only way to accomplish that issue is to allow me to contact my family in Sudan ... They will be the ones to choose that lawyer."

The judge ordered Qosi's military lawyer, whom he has refused to even see, to work with the International Committee of the Red Cross to arrange a phone call with Qosi's relatives in Khartoum by July 1.

The lawyer, Navy Cmdr. Suzanne Lachelier, said the Sudanese bar association had expressed interest in helping Qosi find another lawyer.

Some prisoners facing trial in the Guantanamo court at the U.S. naval base in Cuba have been allowed to receive phone calls from their families. The military said in March it was working out a system with the ICRC to allow others to talk by phone with their relatives at least twice a year.