First Guantanamo detainee convicted in civilian court sentenced to life in prison

[sabra]

Source: CBS News/AP

Tanzanian National Was First Guantanamo Detainee to Face Trial in Civilian Court; Convicted for Role in 1998 Attack in Africa

(CBS/AP) Updated 1:55 p.m. ET

NEW YORK - The first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in a civilian court has been sentenced to life in prison.

A federal judge in Manhattan imposed the term Tuesday on 36-year-old Ahmed Ghailani of Tanzania.

Ghailani was acquitted late last year of more than 200 counts of murder and dozens of other charges related to an al Qaeda attack in 1998 on U.S. embassies in Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

The jury convicted him of a single count of conspiring to destroy government buildings.
"Ghailani will now rightly serve the rest of his life in prison for his role in the attacks against American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that left 224 dead, including twelve Americans," Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement Tuesday. "Ghailani is the fifth person to be convicted in federal court in connection with the embassy bombings, and we hope this life sentence brings some measure of justice to the victims of these attacks and their families and friends who have waited so long for this day."

The defense sought to convince the judge Ghailani deserved leniency because he didn't have firsthand knowledge of the scheme. They also said the CIA tortured him after his capture.

Read more: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/01/25/world/main7282080.shtml?tag=breakingnews

[Autumn]

1. Good. Now let's give the rest of them trials

and close down Guantanamo. That's the way it's supposed to work. The idea that they can't be tried in a regular court is bull shit.

[ehrnst]

2. Now it's clear that they just "won't get off scott free on a technicality"

let them all be tried this way.

[Solly Mack]

3. ...

Thank you for all your hard work in LBN.

[Sparky 1]

4. Good! This should be getting more press than it is. n/t