Expert on War Crimes and Military Law at McKendree on April 21

David Frakt Defended Guantanamo Detainees, Earned Reputation as Human Rights Champion

Lebanon, Ill. — An authority on war crimes, military law and international justice will speak at McKendree University’s Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on Monday, April 21, 7:30 p.m.

David J.R. Frakt is a lawyer and lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps Reserve. From 2008 to 2009 he was the lead defense counsel with the Office of Military Commissions, representing two Guantanamo detainees facing war crimes and terrorism charges. He was the first defense counsel to win pretrial dismissal of all charges against his client, Mohammed Jawad, a juvenile from Afghanistan. Frakt’s representation earned him an international reputation as a champion of human rights and the rule of law.

He is a contributor to the ACLU National Security Project’s Torture Report and an advisor to the National Institute of Military Justice and No More Guantanamos. Frequently sought by the national media for his expertise, he has been quoted in The New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, CNN and Salon.com.

Frakt is on campus as a Woodrow Wilson Visiting Fellow and a guest of the McCammon Distinguished Speaker Series. Admission is free and the public is welcome.

 

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McKendree University is a College of Distinction, among “America’s 100 Best College Buys,” and recognized as a “Military Friendly School” by Victory Media for 2014. Founded in 1828, the historic Lebanon, Ill., campus is 25 miles from downtown St. Louis. www.mckendree.edu