Airman Charged With Spying at Guantanamo
Posted: Tue Sep 23, 2003 11:01 pm
Airman Charged With Spying at Guantanamo 15 minutes ago Add White House - AP Cabinet & State to My Yahoo! By MATT KELLEY, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Military officials have charged an Air Force translator at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects with espionage and aiding the enemy for allegedly trying to send information about detainees to Syria.
The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s disclosure of the case against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi comes three days after officials said a Muslim chaplain at the base had been arrested. The chaplain, Army Capt. Yusef Yee, has not been charged.
The two men knew each other, an Air Force spokesman said, but officials said they didn't know if there had been any conspiracy to breach security at the prison camp.
The charges against al-Halabi, however, include an allegation that al-Halabi failed to report unauthorized contacts between prisoners and another member of the military. That other military member is not identified.
Al-Halabi, 24, of Detroit, is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers said Tuesday. The most serious charges against him, espionage and aiding the enemy, could carry the death penalty.
Al-Halabi worked for nine months as an Arabic language translator at Guantanamo Bay, a job that ended shortly before his July 23 arrest as he arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., on a flight from the prison camp.
When he was arrested, al-Halabi was carrying two handwritten notes from detainees that al-Halabi intended to turn over to someone traveling to Syria, the charging documents say. He was also carrying his personal laptop computer, which contained classified information about detainees and 180 messages from detainees al-Halabi intended to send to Syria or Qatar, the documents allege.
Al-Halabi also is accused of taking pictures of the prison camp and having unauthorized contact with the inmates, including giving them baklava desserts. He also is alleged to have had contacts with the Syrian Embassy to the United States which he failed to report as required.
Al-Halabi is of Syrian descent. Military officials said Tuesday they were unsure of al-Halabi's citizenship.
He is charged with eight counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, nine counts of making a false official statement and one count of bank fraud.
Pentagon officials said a broader investigation into possible security breaches at Guantanamo Bay continues.
About 660 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban members are imprisoned at the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) base. American officials are interrogating them for information on the terrorist network.
The military has classified many details about the prison camp and the detainees and has not identified any of the men being held there.
Espionage and aiding the enemy are military charges that can carry the death penalty, said Eugene Fidell, a civilian lawyer in Washington and president of the National Institute of Military Justice. The commanding general in charge of al-Halabi's case would have to decide whether military prosecutors could seek the death penalty in this case, Fidell said.
That decision has not been made, Shavers said. Air Force officials also have not decided yet whether al-Halabi's case will be handled by a court-martial.
The last military execution was in 1961, Fidell said.
Al-Halabi was based at Travis Air Force Base in California and assigned to a logistics unit there, Shavers said. An item in that base's newspaper from July 2002 said he was assigned to the 60th Support Squadron and was selected for an early promotion last year.
Yee was arrested Sept. 10 and is being held at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. A senior law enforcement official has said authorities confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying.
A military magistrate ruled on Sept. 15 there was enough evidence to hold Yee, 35, for up to two months while the military investigates.
Last week, federal agents raided Yee's apartment in Olympia, Wash., according to a local Islamic cleric, Mohammad Joban. He quoted Yee's wife as saying agents retrieved a computer and a list of phone numbers from the apartment.
Al-Halabi was arrested July 23 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, also after getting off a flight from the base in Cuba. The next day, military authorities flew him to Travis Air Force Base. At some point later, he was transferred to Vandenberg, Shavers said.
WASHINGTON - Military officials have charged an Air Force translator at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp for terror suspects with espionage and aiding the enemy for allegedly trying to send information about detainees to Syria.
The Pentagon (news - web sites)'s disclosure of the case against Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi comes three days after officials said a Muslim chaplain at the base had been arrested. The chaplain, Army Capt. Yusef Yee, has not been charged.
The two men knew each other, an Air Force spokesman said, but officials said they didn't know if there had been any conspiracy to breach security at the prison camp.
The charges against al-Halabi, however, include an allegation that al-Halabi failed to report unauthorized contacts between prisoners and another member of the military. That other military member is not identified.
Al-Halabi, 24, of Detroit, is being held at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers said Tuesday. The most serious charges against him, espionage and aiding the enemy, could carry the death penalty.
Al-Halabi worked for nine months as an Arabic language translator at Guantanamo Bay, a job that ended shortly before his July 23 arrest as he arrived in Jacksonville, Fla., on a flight from the prison camp.
When he was arrested, al-Halabi was carrying two handwritten notes from detainees that al-Halabi intended to turn over to someone traveling to Syria, the charging documents say. He was also carrying his personal laptop computer, which contained classified information about detainees and 180 messages from detainees al-Halabi intended to send to Syria or Qatar, the documents allege.
Al-Halabi also is accused of taking pictures of the prison camp and having unauthorized contact with the inmates, including giving them baklava desserts. He also is alleged to have had contacts with the Syrian Embassy to the United States which he failed to report as required.
Al-Halabi is of Syrian descent. Military officials said Tuesday they were unsure of al-Halabi's citizenship.
He is charged with eight counts related to espionage, three counts of aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, nine counts of making a false official statement and one count of bank fraud.
Pentagon officials said a broader investigation into possible security breaches at Guantanamo Bay continues.
About 660 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban members are imprisoned at the U.S. Navy (news - web sites) base. American officials are interrogating them for information on the terrorist network.
The military has classified many details about the prison camp and the detainees and has not identified any of the men being held there.
Espionage and aiding the enemy are military charges that can carry the death penalty, said Eugene Fidell, a civilian lawyer in Washington and president of the National Institute of Military Justice. The commanding general in charge of al-Halabi's case would have to decide whether military prosecutors could seek the death penalty in this case, Fidell said.
That decision has not been made, Shavers said. Air Force officials also have not decided yet whether al-Halabi's case will be handled by a court-martial.
The last military execution was in 1961, Fidell said.
Al-Halabi was based at Travis Air Force Base in California and assigned to a logistics unit there, Shavers said. An item in that base's newspaper from July 2002 said he was assigned to the 60th Support Squadron and was selected for an early promotion last year.
Yee was arrested Sept. 10 and is being held at a Navy brig in Charleston, S.C. A senior law enforcement official has said authorities confiscated classified documents Yee was carrying.
A military magistrate ruled on Sept. 15 there was enough evidence to hold Yee, 35, for up to two months while the military investigates.
Last week, federal agents raided Yee's apartment in Olympia, Wash., according to a local Islamic cleric, Mohammad Joban. He quoted Yee's wife as saying agents retrieved a computer and a list of phone numbers from the apartment.
Al-Halabi was arrested July 23 at the Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, also after getting off a flight from the base in Cuba. The next day, military authorities flew him to Travis Air Force Base. At some point later, he was transferred to Vandenberg, Shavers said.