US military prosecutors filed war crimes charges against two more Guantanamo prisoners on Friday, saying one was an al-Qaeda videographer and the other one a driver and bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.
Five other detainees at the isolated US Navy base already have been charged or selected for prosecution at the first war-crimes tribunals since the World War II era.
The Yemeni, 39-year-old Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al-Bahlul, allegedly created propaganda videos for bin Laden and took up arms to help him avoid capture in Afghanistan. He faces charges of conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and providing material support to terrorism.
He allegedly created a recruiting video glorifying the bombing of the USS Cole. Seventeen US sailors were killed when al-Qaeda militants attacked the ship as it was docked in Yemen in 2000.
Prosecutors also say al Bahlul made martyrdom videotapes styled as wills for two of the Sept. 11 hijackers and helped research the economic impact of the attacks they launched against the US.
Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al-Qosi, 47, has been accused of working as a bodyguard and driver for bin Laden during the late 1990s and allegedly fought alongside al-Qaeda members in Afghanistan. He faces charges of conspiracy and supporting terrorism.
Both face life in prison if convicted. The two were among 10 previously charged under a prosecution system that was struck down by the US Supreme Court in 2006. Congress later authorized a new version of the tribunals.
The new chargess against them must be approved by a Pentagon official -- Susan Crawford, the convening authority for military commissions -- before their pretrial hearings can start at Guantanamo.
Since al Bahlul and al Qosi had been charged before, much of the work in their cases has already been done, said Commander Jeffrey Gordon,a Pentagon spokesman.
Meanwhile, the New York Times reported yesterday that military prosecutors are in the final phases of preparing the first sweeping case against suspected conspirators in the Sept. 11 attacks, citing people who have been briefed on the case.
The charges, to be filed at Guantanamo, would involve up to six detainees. The paper quoted on official who spoke on condition of anonymity as saying "the thinking was Sept. 11 is the heart and soul of the whole thing. The thinking was: go for that."
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the