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Gitmo lawyer arraigned

A senior Navy lawyer charged with mishandling classified information while assigned to detainee operations at Guantanamo Bay Naval Station, Cuba, was arraigned Wednesday morning at Norfolk Naval Station, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic said.

With his civilian defense attorney unable to attend, however, Lt. Cmdr. Matthew M. Diaz reserved his right to enter a plea, to enter additional motions and to decide on a general court-martial by judge or jury, according to spokesman Kevin Copeland of Mid-Atlantic Region. Diaz was represented by his senior detailed military counsel, Lt. Cmdr. Karen Somers.

No trial date was set. The parties are tentatively scheduled to meet again Feb. 12, Copeland said.

Region commander Rear Adm. Rick Ruehe decided earlier this month to court-martial Diaz, who had waived his right to a preliminary hearing, after reviewing evidence gathered by prosecutors.

Diaz, 41, is charged with four counts of “knowingly and willfully printing and classified secret information relative to national defense to a person not entitled to receive such information, and knowingly removing such materials without authority and with intent to retain such materials at an unknown location,” according to charges sheets supplied by the region.

The information was sent via first-class mail, according to the region, and the recipient belonged to an unauthorized domestic non-governmental organization. The region said that person, who it would not identify, then notified Navy officials, according to the Associated Press.

Diaz also is charged with three counts of failing to obey an order or regulation, and one count of conduct unbecoming an officer.

The secret document allegedly contained names and other identifying information of detainees being held at the base’s detention facility, Mid-Atlantic Region previously announced.

Diaz’s civilian attorney, Victor Kelley of Birmingham, Ala., declined to discuss the charges in detail Tuesday, saying he didn’t want to second-guess Ruehe. But, he said, “It clearly is not an espionage case.”

The alleged misconduct took place while Diaz was assigned as the deputy staff judge advocate for Joint Task Force GTMO at Guantanamo Bay between December 2004, and February 2005, Mid-Atlantic Region said. As such, he was the second-highest legal officer on the joint task force, which oversees all custody, interrogation and investigation of enemy combatants detained during the global war on terrorism, according to Cmdr. Robert Durand, the task force spokesman.

Kelley said he still hadn’t received all the government’s evidence against Diaz through the discovery process, and said he has asked the Navy to fund a fact-finding trip to Guantanamo Bay.

If convicted on all charges, Diaz would face a maximum penalty of forfeiture of all pay and allowances, dismissal from the Navy and 36½ years in prison.

Diaz is not incarcerated and continues to perform administrative duties at the Region Legal Service Office in Jacksonville, Fla.