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Ex-Guantanamo detainee civilian trial set for September 2010

By Bernard Hibbitts (editor) and University of Pittsburgh School of Law students.

[JURIST] A federal judge on Thursday set a trial date for terrorism suspect and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani of September 13, 2010. Ghailani, the first Guantanamo detainee to be transferred to the US for a civilian trial, faces charges for his alleged involvement in the 1998 bombings of US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The trial date was set by Judge Lewis Kaplan of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. No date was set for the next hearing, as defense lawyers asked for more time to prepare. Prosecutors have not yet decided whether they will seek the death penalty. Earlier this week, Ghailani's lawyers requested access to secret prisons operated by the Central Intelligence Agency, known as "black sites," at which their client was held prior to his transfer to Guantanamo Bay. Having been held at the Guantanamo facility since 2006 following his 2004 arrest in Pakistan, Ghailani was transferred to the US last month to face 286 separate counts including involvement in the bombings and conspiring with members of al Qaeda to kill Americans worldwide. He pleaded not guilty at his initial appearance. In a rare move last month, Kaplan tentatively granted Ghailani's request that his military lawyers be allowed to represent him in civilian court, pending military approval. The announcement that Ghailani would be tried in federal court came last month following the ordered review of all Guantanamo detainees pursuant to plans to close the detention facility.

Full post as published by JURIST - The Paper Chase on July 02, 2009 (boomark / email).