At 08:05 19-9-01 -0400, John Giorgis wrote:
>At 12:39 PM 9/18/01 +0200 Baardwijk, J. van DTO/SLBD/BGM/SVM/SGM wrote:
> >There is nothing to stop the US from gathering evidence and have a trial to
> >convict the terrorists (in their absence if necessary).
>
>Actually, the US almost never (if ever - I'm certainly not aware of it)
>conducts trials in absentia.
>
>We generally don't consider a trial in absentia to be far, as one of our
>most cherished Constitutional rights is the right of one to confront his or
>her accusers.
Given the current status of his popularity, I do not think Osama bin Laden
will care that he will not be present during the trial. If a trial his held
in his absence, I doubt he will complain that his right to confront his
accusers was violated.
Jeroen
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