Military Court Upholds Conviction of Al Qaeda Media Chief
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico –
A military court late Friday upheld the conviction and life sentence of
a Guantanamo detainee from Yemen who served as Usama bin Laden's media
specialist.
Ali Hamza al-Bahlul was convicted in November 2008 of 35
counts of conspiracy, solicitation to commit murder and providing material
support for terrorism.
But Bahlul, who initially represented himself and pleaded
not guilty, argued that his conviction should be reversed in part because none
of the charges against him constituted war crimes that could be prosecuted by a
military commission.
Bahlul also argued that his sentence was inappropriately
severe.
The U.S. Court of Military Commission Review disagreed on
all counts in only its second review of a conviction.
Prosecutors said bin Laden appointed Bahlul as his personal
assistant and public relations secretary in the late 1990s. He later produced a
recruiting video after the 2000 suicide attack on the USS Cole in Yemen.
Court documents state that Bahlul said he was bored in
Afghanistan and had initially requested a suicide mission, specifically seeking
to be the 20th Sept. 11 hijacker. The documents also state that Bahlul was
asked to research the economic impact of the Sept. 11 attacks, which bin Laden
and other Al Qaeda leaders first heard about on a radio that he was operating.
Prosecutors also said Bahlul prepared what was described as
martyr wills for two of the 9/11 hijackers.
Bahlul is one of at least six Guantanamo detainees who have
been convicted and sentenced.
He was captured in Pakistan in 2001 and was taken to
Guantanamo Bay in 2002. Bahlul, whose birthday is Sept. 11, is 41 years old.
Source: Fox News
No comments:
Post a Comment