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Counterterrorism Expert Amos Guiora to Testify before Senate


June 3, 2008-On Wednesday, June 4, University of Utah law professor Amos Guiora, a counterterrorism expert, will testify before the Senate Committee on the Judiciary in a hearing on “Improving Detainee Policy: Handling Terrorism Detainees within the American Justice System.” The hearing will be held at 10:00 a.m. EST in room 226 of the Senate Dirksen Office Building in Washington, D.C.

Guiora is a retired lieutenant colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces and a widely published author on issues of security and counterterrorism. In his testimony, he will detail his model that he believes will allow for the trying of terrorists within the American justice system, while meeting judicial scrutiny by creating American terror courts.

“Ultimately, my model balances the defendant’s basic rights with equally legitimate national security considerations,” Guiora writes in an executive summary of his prepared testimony. “Therefore, the domestic terror court option is the most practical and expedient policy solution, necessitated by an untenable tension between the understanding that some of the detainees present a genuine threat to American national security, and awareness that indefinite detention violates constitutional principles and fundamental concepts of morality.”

To watch the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings on Wednesday, June 4, open wwww.CapitolHearings.org. Once on the Web site, click on Room number Dirksen 226 from the scrolling list to the right of the screen to begin streaming audio.