Second Guantanamo Detainee is Convicted in Military Trial
A military jury at Guantanamo has convicted the propaganda chief for al-Qaida and sentenced him to life in prison. The sentence was markedly longer than the 5½ years given to the first Guantanamo detainee who was convicted, a driver for Osama bin Laden.
Prosecutors had contended that the man convicted yesterday, Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, directed recruitment videos celebrating al-Qaida attacks and taped the final statements of two Sept. 11 hijackers, the Washington Post reports. The New York Times called the verdict “a measured victory for the government,” saying it had been expected because Bahlul refused to defend himself.
The lead prosecutor was Army Maj. Daniel Cowhig. “When will it be safe for this man to leave confinement?” he asked the nine jurors. “Never!”
Bahlul spoke for about 45 minutes before his sentencing and called the legal proceedings a farce, the Post story says. He also submitted a 60-page poem to the court that celebrated the terrorist attacks.
