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First Gitmo Detainee Arrives in US for Trial

Ahmed Ghailani to be tried for bombing US embassies

By the Associated Press

Posted Jun 9, 2009 6:06 AM CDT
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(AP) – The first Guantanamo Bay detainee has landed on US soil, landing in New York to face trial on charges of bombing US embassies, the Justice Department said today. Ahmed Ghailani arrived in the early morning, to be held in law enforcement custody until his trial in federal court in lower Manhattan; his first court appearance is expected later today.

Ghailani's trial will be an important test case for the Obama administration's plan to close Guantanamo in seven months and bring some suspects to trial. Ghailani was indicted in 1998 for the al-Qaeda bombings of US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks which killed more than 224 people, including 12 Americans. He was categorized as a high-value detainee after he was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and was transferred to Guantanamo two years later.

In this photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a guard stands in a cell block at the Camp Five detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, Sunday, May 31, 2009.
In this photo reviewed by the U.S. military, a guard stands in a cell block at the Camp Five detention facility on Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base in Cuba, Sunday, May 31, 2009.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley, Pool)
In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 2009 and reviewed by the U.S. military, U.S. troopers walk near an entrance to the Guantanamo detention facility at dawn.
In this photo taken Wednesday, May 13, 2009 and reviewed by the U.S. military, U.S. troopers walk near an entrance to the Guantanamo detention facility at dawn.   (AP Photo/Brennan Linsley)
An undated file photo provided by the U.S. District Attorney's office shows Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani.
An undated file photo provided by the U.S. District Attorney's office shows Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani.   (AP Photo/File)
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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. - Attorney General Eric Holder

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COMMENTS
Showing 2 of 2 comments
godawgs
Jun 9, 2009 9:45 AM CDT
First of all the Constitution is for US citizens. So unless they left out some stuff in this article it doesn't apply to him. It is not a worldwide document. It made to protect the rights of US citizens. So Bush didn't shit on the Constitution. Trying to apply it to everyone under sun is now what the founding fathers had in mind when they wrote the Constitution.
Mad
Jun 9, 2009 4:56 AM CDT
Why couldn't Bush do this? Why has it taken 7 1/2 years to prove guilty any of the thousands 'we' locked up? Republicans cheered while Bush shit on the Constitution

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Kenya • Department of Justice • terrorism • Tanzania • Lower Manhattan • trial • Guantanamo Bay • bombing • court • US Embassy • terror trial • Eric Holder • Ahmed Ghailani

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