U.S. military prosecutors have filed charges against a Saudi
prisoner held at Guantanamo Bay who is related by marriage to one of the
Sept. 11 hijackers, the Pentagon said Wednesday.
Prosecutors
filed war crimes charges that include aiding terrorism against Ahmed
al-Darbi for allegedly training with al-Qaida and taking part in plots
to attack oil tankers in the Strait of Hormuz and off the coast of
Yemen, the Pentagon said in a statement.
He would face up to life in prison if convicted.
"Mr. al Darbi's alleged crimes are serious violations of the law of
war that were committed to terrorize and wreak havoc on the world
economy," the chief Guantanamo war crimes prosecutor, Army Brig. Gen.
Mark Martins, said in a statement.
The charges must be reviewed
and approved by a legal official who oversees the military tribunals at
Guantanamo before al-Darbi can be arraigned at the U.S. base in Cuba.
Al-Darbi's
lawyer has previously said that the marriage connection was the reason
that al-Darbi was detained in the first place and charged that the
prisoner was abused by U.S. troops in Afghanistan. The lawyer did not
immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Al-Darbi
was among the prisoners at Guantanamo who were previously charged but
the case was dismissed along the others so that President Barack Obama's
administration could make changes to the tribunals, known as military
commissions.
The Obama administration had wanted to close
Guantanamo but was prevented by Congress, which passed a law prohibiting
the government from moving prisoners to the U.S. There are now nearly
170 men held at the prison, including several dozen expected to
eventually face charges.
Source: Stars and Stripes
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