International Visitors
Developing nations, especially ones with emerging or fledgling democracies, look to America to study its institutions, laws and the ingenious balance of powers created by our Founding Fathers. Through various programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Stateās International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP), delegates from these nations visit the United States and are put into contact with organizations like Judicial Watch.Ā Since 2001, Judicial Watch has been a major participant in the Department of Stateās IVLP and other leadership exchange programs, having received over 83 visiting delegations.Ā As the premier Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) litigator in America today, Judicial Watch is one of the most sought after transparency and accountability organizations for personal meetings with emerging leaders from around the world who are interested in learning how they can stop corruption and demand accountability from their judges, government officials, and political parties.
The United Nations Department of Global Communications
The United Nations Department of Global Communications hosts monthly briefings and other workshops and an annual conference where representatives of NGOs from every corner of the world come together for the purpose of networking and collaborating on solutions to some of the worldās most challenging problems, from security issues such as crime and violence, hunger and disease, persecution and war, to major development issues of education, job opportunities, and womenās empowerment.
Judicial Watch is associated with the United Nations Department of Global Communications (UN DGC) as a nongovernmental organization whoseĀ mission is to promote transparency, accountability and integrity in government, politics and the law. It fulfills its educational mission through litigation, investigations, and public outreach. Its International Program serves as an integral part of its educational program.
Judicial Watch GTMO Observer Program
Judicial Watch was granted observer status by the Pentagon to observe the arraignment of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in June of 2008. Since the recommencement of the 9/11 hearings at Guantanamo Bay in November 2011, JW has attended 95 percent of the hearings held at the detention facility, as well as Periodic Review Board Proceedings (PRBs) currently held at the Pentagon. Judicial Watch staff and representatives have attended and monitored over 256 hearings to date.
See ARCHIVE section HERE.
Hearing Summaries
Military Commissions:
ISN 10015Ā
Abd Al Rahim Hussein Muhammed Abdu Al NashiriĀ
Pre-Trial Hearings March 10ā21, 2025Ā
Events:
The pre-trial witness and motions hearings for ISN 10015 Nashiri began on March 10, 2025, with the judge setting the schedule for two weeks, to include scheduled recesses to accommodate potential signal interference. He admonished counsel that the Remote Hearing Room (RHR) is an extension of the well of the courtroom and should not be subject to continuous entrances and exits. The defense requested and was granted either a closed session or a court recess on March 12, 2025, to allow the defense’s expert witness, Dr. Sandra Crosby, to complete a round of testing on Nashiri for the purposes of determining the presence and extent of any PTSD symptoms beyond what she had already predicted.Ā
Defense Motion concerning undue command influence and petition for extension of trial date
The first motion (AE 604 A and B) brought by the defense combined both an assertion of undue command influence over the Convening Authority and a petition for an extension of the trial commencement date of October 6, 2025. As a basis for this motion, the defense claimed that up to 60 percent of its time currently is spent explaining its functions and daily activities to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), that interactions with DOGE have led the Convening Authority to cancel contracts for the defense’s civilian contract-term employees and the denial of hiring a second investigator to assist with the pre-trial interview of 400+ witnesses. Further, due to DOGEās influence, the SecDef has enacted policies against remote work limiting the remaining investigatorās ability to travel to interview potential witnesses in their environs.
The defense also noted that a pre-trial agreement had been under negotiation with the Convening Authority but had stalled when the 9-11 KSM pre-trial agreements met with legal pushback, and negotiations will not resume due to DOGEās interference. Since DOGE is slated to finish work with the DoD in March 2026, the defense requested that all trial plans be postponed until then, unless DOGE is ordered to cease impacting the Military Commissions.Ā
The government asked to delay its response, so the AE 604 argument was continued until March 20, 2025. However, the government noted that there were still many months ahead for the defense to prepare for an October trial date, so postponement was unnecessary. In support, the government said that some pre-trial sessions have already been canceled or curtailed due to fewer motions to argue and the realization that many of the motions were repetitive. The government also noted that the defense team is formidable and could power through its planned work even with only one investigator. The defense agreed that its team is formidable but countered that because too much time had been āwastedā on attempting to negotiate a pre-trial agreement, they were in danger of missing client representation opportunities. Further, the defense argued that āan October 6 trial date would set us up for decades of appeals,ā when everyone is looking for a case that definitively ends. The judge indicated an unwillingness to rule from the bench on this motion and directed the teams to work to the scheduled docket unless and until he ruled otherwise.Ā
See ARCHIVE for witness testimony and full summary.Ā
In the Media
The HillĀ published the following article by Thomas Wheatley, a participant in Judicial Watchās GTMO Observer Program.
āTrump, honor Obamaās agreement to release Guantanamo detainee,ā
The Hill, October 4, 2017About Thomas Wheatley, https://www2.gmu.edu/news/424386
International Visitors and United Nations DGC Briefing
- 2018
- 2017
- Summary of UN Event: The Trade in Minors in the Digital Age – SeptemberĀ 28, 2017
- 2016
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2016:
Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Albania, Czech Republic, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Slovakia, Slovenia, Ukraine, Macedonia, Benin, Burkina Faso, Congo, The Gambia, Guinea, Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Argentina, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Togo, Finland, Georgia, Guatemala, India, Ireland, Kuwait, Lesotho, Nepal, Netherlands, Philippines, Vietnam, and South Sudan
- United Nationās Commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear WeaponsĀ –Ā September
- Observance of the International Day Against Nuclear TestsĀ –Ā August
- Summary of Meeting with North Africa and the Near East Delegation – February
- 2015
- Wrap up for 2015
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2015:
Macedonia, Albania, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH),Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine, Algeria Brunei, Croatia, Egypt, Hungary, India, Lithuania, Malawi, Nepal, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, and Venezuela
- Summary of Meeting with Macedonian Delegation – July
- UNESCO Event Summary SREBRENICA – July
- 2014
- Wrap up for 2014
- Countries represented by international visitors to Judicial Watch in 2014:
China, Argentina, Columbia, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, Venezuela, Argentina, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH), Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Italy, Republic of Kosovo, Moldova, Netherlands, Serbia, , Kenya, Bolivia, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, and Honduras
- Western Hemisphere – September
- 65th UN DPI/NGO Conference – August
- 2013
- People’s Republic of ChinaĀ –Ā December
- People’s Republic of ChinaĀ –Ā September
- Ukraine
- Meeting with Delegates from Newly Independent States
- 2012
- 2011
- 2010
- Croatia
- India and Bhutan
- UN-DPI, Washington, DC – āRediscovering Preventive Diplomacy for Peace in the Worldās Hotspots: A View from the United Nationsā
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Vietnam
- French Counterterrorism Officials
- 2009
- 2008
- Thailand
- Multi-Regional Delegation – The US Judicial System – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burma, Timor-Leste, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Malaysia, Nigeria, Malawi, Pakistan, Portugal, Romania, People’s Republic of China, South Africa
- France
- 11 Latin American Countries – Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Venezuela
- 2007
- 2006
- Croatia – Law Enforcement and the Judiciary
- Tanzania
- France- French Ministry of Justice
- The Multi-Regional Project
- Italy
- Ukraine
- France
- Kyrgyzstan
- Cambodia
- Croatia
- Fulbright Fellows
- The Sun Shines in Over 60 Countries Worldwide
- 2005
- 2004
- Latvia
- West Africa delegation
- Czech Republic
- Ghana
- 2003
- Brazil
- Russia
- Republic of China
- 2002
- Japan
- Turkey
- 2001
- Moldova