NEW YORK – A US judge yesterday refused to let a key witness testify in the first criminal trial of a terrorism suspect from the Guantanamo Bay military prison, a setback for the Obama administration’s effort to prosecute such cases.
The trial of Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani at Manhattan federal court was delayed until next Tuesday to give prosecutors time to review the ruling and decide on an appeal.
Mr Ghailani (36) is a Tanzanian charged with conspiring with Islamic militants to bomb the US embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, in which 224 people were killed. He faces life in prison if convicted.
His trial is being closely watched as a test of President Barack Obama’s approach to handling the 174 suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, including Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, accused mastermind of the September 11th attacks.
Mr Obama’s administration has adopted what it calls a flexible approach, favouring military tribunals in some cases and civilian trials in others. But most Republicans say all terrorism suspects should be tried in military tribunals.
US attorney general Eric Holder defended the option to use civilian criminal courts.
“History has shown us over 300 times that in fact we can do that either by pleas or by trials and I think it’s too early to say that at this point that the Ghailani matter is not going to be successful,” he told a news conference in Washington.
“We intend to proceed with this trial,” Mr Holder said. “We’re looking at the ruling that the judge has just handed down and we’re going to decide exactly how we’re going to react.”
Prosecutors had wanted the court to hear testimony from Tanzanian witness Hussein Abebe, who allegedly told FBI agents that he had sold explosives to Ghailani which were later used in one of the bombings. – (Guardian Service)