Airman in Spy Case Freed Until Trial

A military judge released a Syrian-born U.S. airman accused of espionage at the U.S. military base in Guantanamo, Cuba, from jail Wednesday, saying Ahmad I. Al-Halabi should be allowed to return to regular duty until his trial.

Judge Col. Barbara Brand said she made her decision based on new evidence after the Air Force translator’s lawyer charged that prosecutors had tampered with evidence and obstructed justice.

“I order immediate release. There are lesser forms of restraint that are available,” Brand said during pretrial court-martial hearings.

Halabi still faces charges of spying and misusing classified information while serving as a translator at Guantanamo Bay, where the United States has imprisoned suspected al Qaeda and Taliban fighters.

He faces life in prison if convicted of charges that include carrying jail maps, letters and other documents from Guantanamo Bay and sending e-mail on behalf of prisoners.

“I am sorry I cannot comment now. It feels great though,” Halabi, 25, said as he left the military courtroom. He had been in custody since July and was subject to strict rules, including a ban onspeaking Arabic even to relatives.

As he left, an Air Force official shook his hand and congratulated him. The boyish-looking airman smiled for perhaps the first time in court. An Air Force spokesman said restrictions are to be determined by the base. Halabi will likely remain at Travis.

Although Halabi’s defense attorneys have submitted several motions to dismiss all charges against Halabi, Brand ruled Wednesday that she finds there is still evidence to suggest “crimes were committed” and denied the motion.

Yet Brand complained about the way the prosecutors were handling case evidence. “I’ll tell you this court is very upset about how discovery is happening, or not happening,” she said.

She noted that the prosecution received something from the FBI but failed to provide a copy of it to the defense. Not having access to all the evidence in the case has been an ongoing complaint of the defense.

Halabi’s attorney Donald Rehkopf charged that prosecutors had tampered with evidence.

The attorney also said prosecutors told an investigator not to submit corrected information into Halabi’s case file.

He asked that the entire 17-count case against Halabi to be dismissed because of “false testimony.”

Government prosecutors did not deny or agree that special agent Suzanne Sultan had submitted a correction to her testimony. Lt. Col. Bryan Wheeler, the lead prosecutor, said the incident did not constitute an obstruction of justice.

“This is not a constitutional issue,” Wheeler said.

“It is a military procedural issue.”

Halabi is one of three men, including another Arabic translator and an officer in the unit interrogating prisoners, charged in connection with their work at Guantanamo.

In March, the U.S. Army dropped all criminal charges against a fourth man, Muslim Army chaplain Capt. James Joseph Yee, after earlier accusing him of spying, mutiny, sedition, aiding the enemy and espionage.