U.S. Charges 2 Detainees as Aides to Bin Laden

Two men alleged to have been close associates and bodyguards of Osama bin Laden have been charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes and ordered to stand trial before the first U.S. military tribunals to be convened since World War II, the Pentagon announced Tuesday.

Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan are the first prisoners held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to face criminal charges. The Pentagon said it expected more charges to follow against other prisoners.

Al Qosi is alleged to have been a key Al Qaeda paymaster and weapons smuggler and “a longtime assistant and associate of Bin Laden,” according to the charges.

The charges described Al Bahlul as an Al Qaeda “propagandist” who worked in the organization’s “media office.” Al Bahlul, the charges allege, was “personally tasked” by Bin Laden “to create a video glorifying, among other things, the attack on the USS Cole” in 2000.

Military officials said the two were chosen as the first to be charged because “the cases against them were ready,” and not because of the nature of their crimes. The charges do not mean they will be the first Guantanamo detainees to be tried. The Pentagon has yet to impanel a military commission to try such cases.

“They are not the worst of the worst or the least of the characters down there,” said Maj. Michael Shavers, a Pentagon spokesman.

While President Bush authorized the death penalty for suspects convicted by military tribunals, prosecutors would not seek it for the two charged Tuesday, Shavers said. They face a maximum of life in prison if convicted.

More than 650 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo without being charged and without access to legal counsel in conditions criticized by human rights and legal advocacy groups. Other high-profile captives, including a number of suspects reportedly linked to the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, are confined at undisclosed locations. The Pentagon has promised them all “full and fair” trials, but has insisted on its right to tailor the process according to its rules.

Al Bahlul and Al Qosi were among six detainees designated by Bush in July as being eligible to be tried by a military commission. No explanation has been given by the government about why they were eligible. The charges against the men do not include any documentation of the government’s claims that they were terrorist co-conspirators.

The charges state that the two men “willfully and knowingly” joined into a conspiracy with Bin Laden to attack civilians, kill and commit terrorism.

The indictments list several terrorist crimes attributed to Al Qaeda, including the 2001 attacks, the 1998 bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania and the 2000 bombing of the U.S. Navy destroyer Cole.

The indictments do not allege the pair played a specific role in planning for or carrying out the attacks.

According to the charges, Al Bahlul traveled from Yemen to Afghanistan in 1999 to join Bin Laden’s cause and to receive military training at the Al Qaeda-sponsored Aynak camp. The charges say that from late 1999 through December 2001, Al Bahlul was personally assigned by Bin Laden to create several instructional and motivational recruiting videos for Al Qaeda.

In the weeks before Sept. 11, Al Bahlul helped Bin Laden and others move from their base of operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan, the government charges. On the day of the attacks, Al Bahlul tried, at Bin Laden’s instruction, to set up a satellite connection at the terrorist leader’s mountain hideaway so that Bin Laden could view news reports. His attempts failed, the government says.

Al Qosi joined Al Qaeda in 1989 and remained a member until his capture in December 2001, the indictments said. He traveled with Bin Laden, serving as a driver and quartermaster, and also worked as an accountant and treasurer for a business designed to provide income and cover for Al Qaeda operations, according to the charges.

Among other activities, Al Qosi signed checks on behalf of Bin Laden, exchanged money on the black market and couriered money on behalf of Al Qaeda, the indictments say.

The charges against the two men come amid mounting criticism of the military legal process.

In an interview, Navy Lt. Cmdr. Philip Sundel, one of two military defense lawyers assigned to represent Al Bahlul, condemned the military tribunal process and said he had yet to obtain permission to meet with his client or to view the evidence gathered by prosecutors.

“We have grave concerns about virtually every aspect of the military commission process and the risk that it poses to the chances of our client getting a fair trial,” Sundel said.

He said “checks and balances do not exist in this process.”

Of his client, Sundel said: “Certainly the fact that he’s been in detention for two years without access to lawyers, and under conditions that have been criticized by a variety of people, causes us concern about our ability to have a productive relationship with our clients.”

Military tribunals were last used by the U.S. after World War II to try Nazi war criminals. In November 2001, two months after terrorists hijacked commercial airplanes and crashed them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, Bush issued a White House directive creating the military trial system.

The commissions share some similarities with military courts-martial. But unlike those military trials, verdicts by the military commissions will not be eligible for appeal to civilian courts.

The proceedings of the military tribunals could be kept secret. A conviction, which in civilian criminal court would require a unanimous jury verdict, could be handed down on a two-thirds vote by a military jury. A death sentence would have to be unanimous.

While U.S. courts provide many layers of appeals, military commission findings and sentences are final once approved by the president or the secretary of Defense.

Pentagon officials said they had built a courtroom at the U.S. base in Cuba, as well as an execution chamber, should one be needed.

Detainees held elsewhere could be brought to Cuba or tried at other locations.