Breaking: Jury Clears First Gitmo Detainee To Face Holder-Orchestrated Civilian Trial Of All But One Charge In Embassy Bombmings
Nov 17, 2010 2 Comments ›› Pat Dollard
Former Guantanamo Bay detainee Ahmed Ghailani was found not guilty of all but one charge Wednesday by a federal jury in New York.
Ghailani was acquitted on 224 murder charges in connection with the 1998 bombings of the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. He was found guilty for only one charge of conspiracy to destroy government buildings.
Ghailani faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 25 years and a possible life sentence. He will remain in custody and sentencing will take place at a future date.
The acquittal is seen as a major blow to the U.S. government, as Ghailani was the first former Gitmo detainee to be tried in a civilian courtroom.
The judge had earlier decided that a star witness would not be allowed to testify because of coercive techniques that were used to get the witness’ name from Ghailani. It is unknown what effect this witness would have had on the case.
Defense attorneys claimed Ghailani is an innocent “dupe,” who had no idea he was assisting Al Qaeda operatives in their deadly plot.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
