“Web site” baffles judge in charge of Internet terrorism trial
A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was
struggling to cope with basic terms like “Web site” in the trial of
three men accused of inciting terrorism via the Internet.
A British judge admitted on Wednesday he was struggling to cope with basic terms like “Web site” in the trial of three men accused of inciting terrorism via the Internet.
Judge Peter Openshaw broke into the questioning of a witness about a Web forum used by alleged Islamist radicals. “The trouble is I don’t understand the language. I don’t really understand what a Web site is,” he told a London court during the trial of three men charged under anti-terrorism laws.
Prosecutor Mark Ellison briefly set aside his questioning to explain the terms “Web site” and “forum”. An exchange followed in which the 59-year-old judge acknowledged: “I haven’t quite grasped the concepts.”
Prosecutors have told the jury at Woolwich Crown Court, east London, that the defendants kept car-bomb-making manuals and videos of how to wire suicide vests as part of a campaign to promote global jihad, or holy war.
The trial continues…
The judge is dealing with a law that says knowledge, having access to fact and opinion - completely aside from committing a criminal act - is equally criminal. Like all conspiracy law, it’s ultimately political. The politics of the offender are judged by who’s in power.
Having an ignorant judge is part of the politics.
Posted: Thu - May 17, 2007 at 06:31 AM