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First Gitmo Detainee Arrives in US for Trial
WASHINGTON - A Guantanamo Bay detainee indicted in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in East Africa arrived in New York on Tuesday to face criminal charges.
A screenshot shows the FBI webpage showing Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani in a handout image.
(REUTERS/Stringer) Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani is the first detainee held at Guantanamo to be transferred to the United States to face criminal prosecution. The Tanzanian national has been held at the camp in Cuba since September 2006.
Ghailani's arrival in New York comes amid mounting tension between Congress and President Obama over the planned closing of Guantanamo.
The 1998 embassy attacks are among several crimes for which Ghailani has been indicted in New York. He was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and transported to Guantanamo two years later.
In the 1998 bombings, 224 people were killed, including 12 Americans.
Ghailani was transferred from the custody of the Defense Department to the Southern District of New York by the U.S. Marshals Service.
He was in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which has housed numerous terrorism suspects over the years, and was expected to make his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later Tuesday, according to the Justice Department.
Ghailani faces 286 counts in the indictment against him.
Among other alleged crimes, Ghailani is accused of conspiring with Osama bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda to kill Americans anywhere in the world. He also faces separate charges of murder for the deaths of each of the 224 people killed in the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and various other offenses related to the bombings.
"With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the murder of 224 people," U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement.
"The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case."
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5 Comments so far
Show All"With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for...the bombing."
Who is being held accountable for OUR NUMEROUS...nay, perpetual bombings of Muslim civilians?
ALL of our "errors" are DESIGNED to kill Muslim families to terrorize them into letting us take their resources by force. Muslims have got to be the bravest people in the world.
THERE WILL BE NO BRAVE AMERICANS, UNTIL BRAVERY IS MADE OF FRIED CHICKEN.
www.meetyourworld.com
When Americans destroy whole villages of civilians on the off-chance that there may be a militant in the town, that is too bad, it is the fortunes of war and they are just collateral damage. The perpetrators get medals for thier bravery.
Should somebody fight back and kill some Americans, that is terrorism. The perpetrator, if caught, will be imprisoned, tortured and killed for his acts.
Please tell me, does this send a message to the world? Tne Nazis did the same thing, but almost every occupied country had a resistance which fought them regardless of the price.
I think, if the real perpetrators of our "Czechoslovakia" and "Poland" were put in the dock with a million counts of murder on each of them, perhaps we could regain at least a smidgen of our honor.
But, Alas...
You can't have it both ways. You can't call for the trial of those guilty of crimes in the US military without also putting terrorists on trial.
If he's guilty of a role in the bombings, he should be brought up for trial and given a life sentence.
If you argue against this now, what chance of prosecuting US military criminals in the future.
Sure the war is wrong, but I still think terrorism is worse.
We do it with unmanned drones, so its not terrorism...
"The unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a Government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives." - FBI definition of Terrorism.
Note that it is still terrorism if we do it with fighter jet planes - even if it is done by us.
Oh yes, the US navy has a definition of terrorism carefully constructed so that it never applies to us when we do it. They include the term "by subnational groups or clandestine agents". Well that puts them in the clear. But still, tell us why is it better when done by the state?
I googled Ahmed and went through 9 pages without ever once finding anyone who really knew anything he had actually done. He's been implicated by other prisoners, sure but how hard is that? beyond that there is nothing. human rights people are all thrilled he'll be tried in a u.s. court, but what's that got to do with anything? So was Jose Padilla, and he never did anything. Ahmed bought some stuff- sent somebody to buy stuff, cause he doesn't know how to drive a car.
the u.s. has certainly earned its reputation for torturing people and telling lies. I see nom reason to believe any of these charges. He's a suspect. he's charged with conspiracy.
give me a better charge and some hard evidence.