U.S. Army Brigadier General Mark S. Martins, the chief prosecutor for military commissions, including that of the Guantánamo prisoners, has announced that he will be retiring at the end of September. His successor has yet to be named.
This is surprising as he had an extension to continue as chief prosecutor until 2023.
The chief defense counsel, U.S. Marines Brigadier General John G. Baker is retiring in November, and the post of military judge is currently vacant.
The next hearings are scheduled for the first two weeks of September.
“I was shocked that Mark is stepping down. I thought he was very committed to seeing it through. But who can blame him? The entire enterprise in Guantánamo is almost comical in its ridiculous turns of events — judge after judge quitting, and now General Martins.” Adele Welty told New York Times reporter Carol Rosenberg. Mrs. Welty’s son Timothy was killed in the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
