The first Guantanamo detainee to be tried in a U.S. civilian court arrived in New York on Tuesday. Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani faces charges for his alleged role in the 1998 U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa. His trial will serve as an important test for plans to try other terror suspects in civilian courts, at a time when some critics contend that such transfers will endanger U.S. security.
Reuters:
The United States transferred the first detainee from the Guantanamo Bay prison on Tuesday to stand trial in a U.S. civilian court in a test case for President Barack Obama’s plans to close the controversial prison for foreign terrorism suspects.
Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian held at the U.S. naval base in Cuba since 2006 accused of involvement in the bombing of U.S. embassies in Africa, arrived in New York escorted by U.S. marshals, the Department of Justice said.