ianstone
07-13-2010, 05:28 PM
Judge Allows Trial Despite Long Detention in Terror Case
By BENJAMIN WEISER (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/benjamin_weiser/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: July 13, 2010
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A federal judge has rejected a claim by a terrorist defendant in Manhattan that his nearly five years of detention by the American government before being transferred into the civilian court system violated his Constitutional right to a speedy trial.
The ruling comes in the case of [URL="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/ahmed_khalfan_ghailani/index.html?inline=nyt-per"]Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/nyregion&pos=Frame4A&sn2=be39a6a9/d502c4ce&sn1=483bc37e/3bf524da&camp=foxsearch2010_emailtools_1225558c_nyt5&ad=NeverLetGo_120x60&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efoxsearchlight%2Ecom%2Fnev erletmego), who last year became the first former detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to be moved into the civilian court system for trial.
The decision by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/lewis_a_kaplan/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of United States District Court in Manhattan could make it easier for the Obama administration to try other former detainees, like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/khalid_shaikh_mohammed/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the professed planner of the 9/11 plot, in the civilian system.
“The government is entitled to attempt to hold Ghailani accountable in a court of law for his alleged complicity in the murder of 224 people and the injury of more than 1,000 others,” the judge wrote, refusing to dismiss the charges against Mr. Ghailani.
Mr. Ghailani faces charges of conspiring in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa. Mr. Ghailani later trained with Al Qaeda (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and worked as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/osama_bin_laden/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the authorities have said.
After Mr. Ghailani was captured in 2004, he was held in secret overseas jails run by the C.I.A. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central_intelligence_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and later in the military prison at Guantánamo Bay. In 2009, the Obama administration ordered him transferred into the civilian system, and he was brought to New York for trial.
“Although the delay of this proceeding was long and entirely the product of decision for which the executive branch of our government is responsible,” Judge Kaplan held, “the decisions that caused the delay were not made for the purpose of gaining any advantage over Ghailani in the prosecution of this indictment.”
Mr. Ghailani is scheduled for trial this fall in New York.
Both Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers and a spokeswoman for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan declined comment on the ruling.
In his 46-page decision, Judge Kaplan weighed the factors used to assess speedy trial claims, like the length of and reason for a delay, and the prejudice caused to a defendant.
While the delay in bringing Mr. Ghailani to trial had been long, he said, it “did not meaningfully infringe upon any interest protected by the right to a speedy trial.”
In a nod to the current political debate about trying terrorists in civilian courts, Judge Kaplan noted: “The court understands that there are those who object to alleged terrorists, especially non-citizens, being afforded rights that are enjoyed by U.S. citizens. Their anger at wanton terrorist attacks is understandable. Their conclusion, however, is unacceptable in a country that adheres to the rule of law.”
Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers did not challenge the government’s authority to detain Mr. Ghailani for intelligence gathering, but they argued that also prosecuting him in civilian court so many years later on a 1998 indictment was “perhaps the most egregious violation in the history of speedy-trial jurisprudence.”
Federal prosecutors disagreed, contending Mr. Ghailani was a “longstanding Qaeda terrorist” who was believed to have “actionable intelligence” about terrorist plots. “This was done, simply put, to save lives,” the office of Preet Bharara (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/preet_bharara/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the United States attorney in Manhattan, wrote.
Judge Kaplan noted that the specific interrogation techniques (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central_intelligence_agency/cia_interrogations/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) used on Mr. Ghailani remain classified (the judge issued a separate classified ruling along with his public decision). But he concluded that the two years Mr. Ghailani spent in C.I.A. custody “served compelling interests of national security.”
“Suffice it to say,” the judge said, “the C.I.A. program was effective in obtaining useful intelligence from Ghailani throughout his time in C.I.A. custody.”
Judge Kaplan made clear that one factor weighing against Mr. Ghailani’s claim was that he would have been detained as an enemy combatant throughout the period of the government’s delay of prosecution.
“None of the entire five-year delay of this prosecution subjected Ghailani to a single day of incarceration that he would not otherwise have suffered,” the judge noted.
By BENJAMIN WEISER (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/w/benjamin_weiser/index.html?inline=nyt-per)
Published: July 13, 2010
[/URL]
A federal judge has rejected a claim by a terrorist defendant in Manhattan that his nearly five years of detention by the American government before being transferred into the civilian court system violated his Constitutional right to a speedy trial.
The ruling comes in the case of [URL="http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/ahmed_khalfan_ghailani/index.html?inline=nyt-per"]Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (http://www.nytimes.com/adx/bin/adx_click.html?type=goto&opzn&page=www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/nyregion&pos=Frame4A&sn2=be39a6a9/d502c4ce&sn1=483bc37e/3bf524da&camp=foxsearch2010_emailtools_1225558c_nyt5&ad=NeverLetGo_120x60&goto=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efoxsearchlight%2Ecom%2Fnev erletmego), who last year became the first former detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, to be moved into the civilian court system for trial.
The decision by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/k/lewis_a_kaplan/index.html?inline=nyt-per) of United States District Court in Manhattan could make it easier for the Obama administration to try other former detainees, like Khalid Shaikh Mohammed (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/m/khalid_shaikh_mohammed/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the professed planner of the 9/11 plot, in the civilian system.
“The government is entitled to attempt to hold Ghailani accountable in a court of law for his alleged complicity in the murder of 224 people and the injury of more than 1,000 others,” the judge wrote, refusing to dismiss the charges against Mr. Ghailani.
Mr. Ghailani faces charges of conspiring in the 1998 bombings of two American embassies in East Africa. Mr. Ghailani later trained with Al Qaeda (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/a/al_qaeda/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and worked as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/osama_bin_laden/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the authorities have said.
After Mr. Ghailani was captured in 2004, he was held in secret overseas jails run by the C.I.A. (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central_intelligence_agency/index.html?inline=nyt-org) and later in the military prison at Guantánamo Bay. In 2009, the Obama administration ordered him transferred into the civilian system, and he was brought to New York for trial.
“Although the delay of this proceeding was long and entirely the product of decision for which the executive branch of our government is responsible,” Judge Kaplan held, “the decisions that caused the delay were not made for the purpose of gaining any advantage over Ghailani in the prosecution of this indictment.”
Mr. Ghailani is scheduled for trial this fall in New York.
Both Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers and a spokeswoman for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan declined comment on the ruling.
In his 46-page decision, Judge Kaplan weighed the factors used to assess speedy trial claims, like the length of and reason for a delay, and the prejudice caused to a defendant.
While the delay in bringing Mr. Ghailani to trial had been long, he said, it “did not meaningfully infringe upon any interest protected by the right to a speedy trial.”
In a nod to the current political debate about trying terrorists in civilian courts, Judge Kaplan noted: “The court understands that there are those who object to alleged terrorists, especially non-citizens, being afforded rights that are enjoyed by U.S. citizens. Their anger at wanton terrorist attacks is understandable. Their conclusion, however, is unacceptable in a country that adheres to the rule of law.”
Mr. Ghailani’s lawyers did not challenge the government’s authority to detain Mr. Ghailani for intelligence gathering, but they argued that also prosecuting him in civilian court so many years later on a 1998 indictment was “perhaps the most egregious violation in the history of speedy-trial jurisprudence.”
Federal prosecutors disagreed, contending Mr. Ghailani was a “longstanding Qaeda terrorist” who was believed to have “actionable intelligence” about terrorist plots. “This was done, simply put, to save lives,” the office of Preet Bharara (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/b/preet_bharara/index.html?inline=nyt-per), the United States attorney in Manhattan, wrote.
Judge Kaplan noted that the specific interrogation techniques (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/central_intelligence_agency/cia_interrogations/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier) used on Mr. Ghailani remain classified (the judge issued a separate classified ruling along with his public decision). But he concluded that the two years Mr. Ghailani spent in C.I.A. custody “served compelling interests of national security.”
“Suffice it to say,” the judge said, “the C.I.A. program was effective in obtaining useful intelligence from Ghailani throughout his time in C.I.A. custody.”
Judge Kaplan made clear that one factor weighing against Mr. Ghailani’s claim was that he would have been detained as an enemy combatant throughout the period of the government’s delay of prosecution.
“None of the entire five-year delay of this prosecution subjected Ghailani to a single day of incarceration that he would not otherwise have suffered,” the judge noted.