Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani the first Guantanamo detainee to be tried civilly was sentenced to life in prison yesterday after a trial on charges stemming from the bombing of the 1998 U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya that killed 224 people by U. S. District Judge
Lewis Kaplan. A New York jury convicted him of one count of conspiracy to damage or destroy U.S. property and found him not guilty on 284 counts of murder and conspiracy.

Ghailani was accused of buying gas tanks and a truck used in the embassy attacks. He did not actually participate in the attack. He flew to Pakistan the day before the attack. ¹After the bombing he worked as a driver and a bodyguard for Osama Bin Laden.

The life sentence was not unexpected. The judge has said that he thought the government was the victim of a lenient jury. While some have questioned the not guilty verdicts on the 284 murder and conspiracy charges, the truth of the matter is that the jury has spoken. The government did not prove its case on the remaining 284 counts beyond a reasonable doubt. Part of this is due to the suppression of evidence seized as a result of torture and the failure to Mirandize Ghailani prior to interrogating him. But this is the law which protects due process and prevents coerced self incrimination. Unlike those who are upset with the not guilty verdicts because they assumed guilt regardless of the facts, the important thing is that Ghailani got a fair trial.

The problem with the sentence, however, is that it does not take into consideration the fact that he was found not guilty on 284 out of 285 counts. Ghailani would have gotten the same sentence if he had been found guilty on all of the counts. While the judge may think that he is guilty on all counts the jury only convicted on only one and a lesser sentence is appropriate based on the sole conviction of a relatively minor count.

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani who is accused of participating in the 1998 bombing of the United States embassies in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya in which 224 people were killed was transferred from Guantanamo to New York City where he will stand trial. He is the first person held in Guantanamo to be transported to the United States for trial. Immediately upon his arrival he was taken to the U. S. District Court where he entered a not guilty plea.

He was arrested five years ago in Pakistan and he has been held in Guantanamo for three years. Between the time of his arrest and his placement in Guantanamo Ghailani was kept in secret foreign CIA prisons.

He is accused of buying a truck used in the Dar Es Salaam bombing. It is also alleged that he bought and loaded explosives onto the vehicle. From 2001 to 2004 it is alleged that he worked as a forger, forging documents for Al Qaeda,

Wadih el-Hage, an American citizen was convicted in 1998 of conspiring with Al Qaeda to kill Americans. He is serving his sentence at a super secure prison in Florence, Alabama. In the same trial Mohamed Rashed Daoud al-’Owhali, Khalfan Khamis Mohamed, and Mohammed Saddiq Odeh were convicted of murder in connection with the bombing of the embassies. they are also serving life terms.

Whatever happens Ghailani’s prosecution and trial must be carried out with the greatest transparency. In order to validate the trial in the eyes of the international community and in compliance with President Obama’s opening to the Muslim world the government should invite international observer including representatives from Muslim countries and representatives of Al Qaeda to observe the trial. The observers must be given the greatest latitude to view American jurisprudence. Furthermore Ghailani’s attorneys must be provided with all of the documents and discovery necessary for a vigorous and zealous defense. Not only will such efforts justify the trial in the eyes of the world community but it will prevent revengeful terrorist attacks on this nation if there is a conviction.