A jury at Guantanamo’s second war-crimes trial reached a verdict Friday on whether al-Qaeda’s alleged “media secretary” is guilty of war crimes that could put him in prison for life.
But the decision was not to be announced until today because defendant Ali Hamza al-Bahlul was already back in his maximum-security cell when the verdict was reached, said the judge, Air Force Colonel Ronald Gregory. The judge said he told al-Bahlul no announcement would be made without his presence.
The nine jurors, all Pentagon-approved US military officers, deliberated for four hours. The accused offered no defense after calling the proceedings a “legal farce.”
The prosecution said al-Balhul’s violent propaganda videos helped inspire the Sept. 11 attacks. The Yemeni prisoner also helped prepare at least two Sept. 11 hijackers for their mission and instructed many other terrorists through videos he created as a propagandist for al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, Army Major Daniel Cowhig said.
“The accused shouted through the medium of video, the Internet, and DVDs: Love death, hate life,” Cowhig told the jury at the isolated Navy base.
Al-Bahul refused to present a defense in the weeklong trial, and his Pentagon-appointed lawyer did not speak at all in deference to his client’s wishes, declining to answer questions from the judge.
A Yemeni who was brought to Guantanamo in 2002, al-Bahul is the second prisoner to go through a war crimes trial under the special military commissions system. He faces up to life in prison if convicted of conspiracy, supporting terrorism and solicitation to commit murder.
The military claims al-Bahlul committed war crimes by serving as chief propagandist for al-Qaeda and as an aide to its leader, Osama bin Laden. Videos made by the defendant were allegedly shown to terrorist recruits at training camps in Afghanistan.
Cowhig said he also arranged for lead Sept. 11 hijacker Mohamed Atta to swear a loyalty oath to bin Laden, and prepared martyrdom wills for Atta and fellow hijacker Ziad Jarrah in preparation for the attacks against the US.
“[These videos] contain the thoughts, the beliefs, the ideals of the accused,” the prosecutor said.
The military says al-Bahlul repeatedly admitted to interrogators that he was al-Qaeda’s media chief and made propaganda videos for bin Laden.
A fire caused by a burst gas pipe yesterday spread to several homes and sent a fireball soaring into the sky outside Malaysia’s largest city, injuring more than 100 people. The towering inferno near a gas station in Putra Heights outside Kuala Lumpur was visible for kilometers and lasted for several hours. It happened during a public holiday as Muslims, who are the majority in Malaysia, celebrate the second day of Eid al-Fitr. National oil company Petronas said the fire started at one of its gas pipelines at 8:10am and the affected pipeline was later isolated. Disaster management officials said shutting the
DITCH TACTICS: Kenyan officers were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch suspected to have been deliberately dug by Haitian gang members A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said in a statement yesterday. The Kenyan officers on Tuesday were on their way to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” the statement said, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer. Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media. Gang violence has left
US Vice President J.D. Vance on Friday accused Denmark of not having done enough to protect Greenland, when he visited the strategically placed and resource-rich Danish territory coveted by US President Donald Trump. Vance made his comment during a trip to the Pituffik Space Base in northwestern Greenland, a visit viewed by Copenhagen and Nuuk as a provocation. “Our message to Denmark is very simple: You have not done a good job by the people of Greenland,” Vance told a news conference. “You have under-invested in the people of Greenland, and you have under-invested in the security architecture of this
Japan unveiled a plan on Thursday to evacuate around 120,000 residents and tourists from its southern islets near Taiwan within six days in the event of an “emergency”. The plan was put together as “the security situation surrounding our nation grows severe” and with an “emergency” in mind, the government’s crisis management office said. Exactly what that emergency might be was left unspecified in the plan but it envisages the evacuation of around 120,000 people in five Japanese islets close to Taiwan. China claims Taiwan as part of its territory and has stepped up military pressure in recent years, including
RSS