| By Eddie Dominguez, Associated Press |
The 52-year-old American fell to his knees before a five-member
tribunal, uttered a prayer, then denied being a would-be terrorist
who plotted to attack police and tourists while gathering material
for Molotov cocktails.
"The flavor of it was of one who might be in front of a priest
or a God and sharing a lot of their innermost thoughts,'' Orlando
attorney Dominick Salfi, the only American lawyer allowed to
observe the trial, said Friday. "It looked like he was looking at
this as an opportunity to get this off his chest.''
Cuban prosecutors claim Van der Veer, of Miami, is guilty of
crimes against state security. Among the accusations is that he
distributed anti-government leaflets during a one visit to Havana
and was caught in the summer of 1996 carrying a commando knife and
U.S. military garb.
Prosecutors are asking for a 20-year- prison term. A verdict is
expected this week.
Although he admitted the leaflet charge at the conclusion of
his
one-day trial Nov. 6, Van der Veer denied plotting to topple the
Castro regime. But his protests may have fallen on deaf ears in a
trial that apparently fell far short of American legal standards,
Van der Veer's Cuban lawyer called no witnesses and made no
objections. Salfi was not allowed to talk to him or his lawyer, and
did not get a promised interpreter until halfway through the trial,
which was closed to the public.
Van der Veer's legal team in the United States complains the
self-styled militant, who has asked to be executed, is not fit to
stand trial.
"I do not want to live in this world anymore,'' he wrote in an
undated letter to his friends and wife in Miami. "In my death my
mission will go on.''
In April, Van der Veer wrote from prison asking that someone
find him an attorney because, "I am not in the proper state of
mind.''
When he spoke at trial, Van der Veer made little sense and was
often contradictory, according to Salfi. He said he was in Cuba on
a three-prong mission as a militant, a missionary and to build a
bond with the Cuban people.
Nobody seemed to know why Van der Veer was so interested in
Cuba. He isn't Cuban and speaks little Spanish.
Tony Bryant, a one-time commander in the militant Cuban-exile
group Commandos L and a friend of Van der Veer's, said he is a man
of principle.
"I would characterize him as a person who is very idealistic,
someone who is willing to fight for what they believe in and suffer
the consequences for that belief,'' Bryant said of Van der Veer,
who served in Commandos L as a captain.
Van der Veer may have believed himself on a mission from God,
say some. Tattoos cover his arms and he has pierced his ears seven
times because, he has said, that is God's number.
He told people he was a missionary from the Church of the
Little
Flower in Miami, where he was a regular volunteer for four or five
years, according to the church's pastor, Rev. Xavier Morras.
"He was very dedicated to the church, very religious,'' Morras
said. "He only talked about going to help. He talked about taking
food, about helping people.''
© 1997 Associated Press.
All rights reserved.