First Guantanamo detainee to face civilian trial acquitted

Nov 17, 2010

First Guantanamo detainee to face civilian trial acquitted of terrorism

06:11 PMYahoo! BuzzShare

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani of Tanzania in a May 2004 FBI photo. He is the first Guantanamo detainee to face civilian trial for terrorism, and a federal jury acquitted him Wednesday of 279 terrorism charges but found him guilty of one count of conspiracy in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, which killed 224 people, including 12 Americans.CAPTION

By FBI /AFP/Getty Images

The first Guantanamo detainee to face a civilian trial has been acquitted of terrorism charges but convicted of conspiracy, the Associated Press reports. A federal jury found him guilty on only one of 280 counts.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, 36, was charged in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, which killed 224, including 12 Americans. Thousands were wounded.

His attorneys said was unwittingly exploited by al-Qaeda, which claimed responsibility for the attacks.

Ghailani faces 20 years to life in prison.

Update at 6:24 p.m. ET: As the New York Times writes:

The case has been seen as a test of President Obama's goal of trying detainees in federal court whenever feasible, and the result may again fuel debate over whether civilian courts are appropriate for trying terrorists.

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