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Closing Arguments Begin in First Civilian Trial of Guantanamo Detainee

   VOA News 08 November 2010
   In  this  courtroom  sketch,  Assistant  U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lewin,
   foreground,  gives  his  opening statement to the jury in the trial of
   Ahmed  Khalfan  Ghailani, left, as lead defense attorney Steve Zissou,
   third from left, and Judge Lewin Kaplan, right, look

Photo: AP

   In  this  courtroom  sketch,  Assistant  U.S. Attorney Nicholas Lewin,
   foreground,  gives  his  opening statement to the jury in the trial of
   Ahmed  Khalfan  Ghailani, left, as lead defense attorney Steve Zissou,
   third  from  left, and Judge Lewin Kaplan, right, look on in Manhattan
   Federal Court in New York, 12 Oct 2010

   Closing  arguments are beginning Monday in the first civilian trial of
   a  terrorism suspect held at the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo
   Bay, Cuba.
   Ahmed  Khalfan  Ghailani  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. The
   trial began 12 Oct and had been expected to last three to six months.
   Prosecutors  have  said  Ghailani  bought the truck and gas tanks that
   were  used  in  the  bombing  in Tanzania. 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 said 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 Guantanamo Bay.
   Lawyers for Ghailani allege he was tortured while in CIA custody. They
   also  have  said  the  length  of his detention violated his rights. A
   judge  rejected  those  claims  in  July, however, saying Ghailani was
   being held in the interest of U.S. national security.

   Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.

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