Law movie screening gets big ‘response’

September 28, 2009 by Pashtana Usufzy 

Organizations host movie, panel discussion on Guantanamo Bay

Lights dimmed and projector screens lowered as a room lined predominantly with law students played host to an internationally renowned film, its producer and a few of the most prominent regional voices on human rights issues.

Amnesty International, the American Civil Liberties Union and the William S. Boyd School of Law partnered to host a film screening of the Guantanamo Bay drama, ‘The Response,’ Sept. 24 in the Thomas and Mack Moot Court facility.

“There’s virtually nobody at Guantanamo who committed a war crime,” said UNLV law professor Christopher Blakesley. “They committed ‘terrorism.’”

Blakesley said the differences have made prosecuting Guantanamo detainees and fighting accusations of wrongdoing extremely difficult.

Event panelists, including producer Sig Libowitz, actor Peter Riegert and Amnesty International Western Regional Director Banafsheh Akhlaghi, used that as a starting point to discuss the definition of terrorism, the rule of law and how America should handle the trials of Gitmo detainees.

The Response, which is split into two parts, depicts three military officers hearing the case of a Guantanamo Bay prisoner, who questions why classified evidence he cannot see may be used against him in a tribunal.

The movie then depicts the military officers debating whether or not the man can be charged fairly.

“It’s 15 minutes of cross-examination and 15 minutes of debate [that] encapsulates an issue,” Riegert said.

Recent developments in the debate over Guantanamo, including a ruling that released detainees can be sent back to nations where they may be prosecuted, boosted the debate.

The dialogue included a few questions from students but mostly discussion among panel members.

“If rule of law is what our society is going to adhere to, there [have] to be [trials],” said Gerald Bierbaum of the Office of the Federal Public Defender, as the fellow panelists nodded their heads.

Akhlaghi said she believed showing the movie could show a side of the Guantanamo debate that is not often publicized and one she believes has major human rights implications.

“We don’t know what’s going on in Guantanamo,” she said. “[The movie] gives us in a clear, concise way all of the arguments and [allows] us to make our own decision.”
Attendees stayed after the event to discuss the issue with panelists.

“I guess it sounded interesting,” said first-year law student Sarah Reynolds, regarding why she attended. “I can’t say I know much about [Guantanamo].”

As the night progressed, Reynolds said, she began to see the importance of due process of law in people’s lives.

“I don’t know how you could do that to people,” she said.

Natasha Kaul, another UNLV law student, said she believed the film screening was informative enough to give audience members a few new insights.

“It did well to raise awareness,” she said.

The movie, Libowitz said, has received positive responses across the country because of the move makers’ decision not too inject personal political opinions.

“It’s not a left-wing film,” he said. “It’s not a right-wing film.”

The movie has been screened at universities, the Pentagon and a variety of other locations.

Libowitz said, “We seem to have struck a spark.”

ON THE WEB:
The Response: theresponsemovie.com