Defense Giving Closing Argument in Guantanamo Detainee Trial
VOA News
09 November 2010
The defense is giving its closing argument Tuesday in the case of the first Guantanamo detainee to face a civilian trial.
Prosecutors wrapped up their case Monday, calling Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani a "mass murderer" who "has the blood of hundreds on his hands."
Ghailani, who is on trial in New York City, is accused of conspiring with others in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in East Africa. Those attacks in Tanzania and Kenya killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.
Prosecutors have said Ghailani bought the truck and gas tanks that were used in the bombing in Tanzania. But defense attorneys have said Ghailani was tricked by al-Qaida operatives who used him to run errands, without telling him about their criminal intentions.
If convicted, Ghailani could face life in prison.
The United States says Ghailani was held and questioned by the CIA for two years after being captured in Pakistan in 2004. After the CIA detention, he was taken to the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Lawyers for Ghailani allege he was tortured while in CIA custody. They have also said the length of his detention violated his rights. But a judge rejected those claims in July, saying Ghailani was being held in the interest of U.S. national security.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
