In 1791 the 5th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified. It provided that “In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed…and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the assistance of counsel for his defense.”

The Trial is a Franz Kafka novel published in 1925, after his death. It’s about a character he names Josef K., who is suddenly arrested one morning for reasons never revealed and for an unspecified crime, although he has done nothing wrong. In spite of his efforts he is unable to find out why he has been arrested and is not allowed to be present during his trial which goes on secretly behind closed doors while he waits. A year later he is executed without ever learning the reason.

This plot is being played out in real life in the Washington DC courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Reggie Walton. In legal papers filed by the Justice Department on October 26th the Bush administration has told a federal judge that defendants held in secret CIA prisons should not be allowed to reveal to anyone how they were interrogated because the methods “are among the nation’s most sensitive national-security secrets.” They don’t even want their lawyers to know the methods of interrogation used. They want the whole affair kept totally secret preventing the defendant or their lawyer from challenging what was done to them while being interrogated.

In the meantime, Vice President Cheney has confirmed that U.S. interrogators use “waterboarding” as an interrogation technique. This involves near drowning of prisoners to get them to talk. It has been described by officials this way: “The prisoner is bound to an inclined board, feet raised and head slightly below the feet. Cellophane is wrapped over the prisoner’s face and water is poured over him. Unavoidably, the gag reflex kicks in and a terrifying fear of drowning leads to almost instant pleas to bring the treatment to a halt.” Cheney insisted that the Bush administration “doesn’t regard waterboarding as torture” and allows the CIA to use it, he said in a White House interview on October 23rd with a conservative talk host. However, the mainstream of those involved in human rights, treaties and military conduct, consider it clearly torture as well as cruel and, inhumane. It is seen as a violation of U.S. law and international treaties prohibiting torture. In addition, intelligence experts point out that false and misleading information is often the result of such techniques