The Detainee and the Judge
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William Glaberson:GUANTÁNAMO BAY, Cuba — The first indication that the afternoon’s hearing in the case of Salim Hamdan was going to be different came when he showed up in war crimes court in his prison khakis, a loose-fitting outfit that looked like yesterday’s pajamas.
The flowing white robe and the checked blazer he wore in Tuesday morning were gone. A curious prosecutor asked the judge to inquire. The judge, a Navy captain with something of a soft touch, said Mr. Hamdan could wear whatever he wanted to court.
For a minute, the routine of legal arguments resumed in the courtroom on the hill overlooking the old Guantnamo airstrip.
But then, in that complicated dance that comes when a man has a translator, there was a stir at the defense table and some signaling. Mr. Hamdan had something to say. “I like this clothes,” he said.
