Accused East Africa Embassy Bomber Held at Guantanamo Bay to Be Prosecuted in U.S. Federal Court

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who has been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility since September 2006, will be prosecuted in federal court in the United States pursuant to the March 12, 2001 superseding indictment currently pending against him in the Southern District of New York.

In accordance with the President’s Jan. 22, 2009 Executive Order, which called for a review of all Guantanamo detainees and the closure of the Guantanamo Bay detention facility within a year, the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force conducted a thorough review of Ghailani’s case. As a result of that review, Ghailani’s case was referred to the Justice Department for prosecution pursuant to the superseding indictment against him in the Southern District of New York.

"By prosecuting Ahmed Ghailani in federal court, we will ensure that he finally answers for his alleged role in the bombing of our embassies in Tanzania and Kenya," said Attorney General Eric Holder. "This administration is committed to keeping the American people safe and upholding the rule of law, and by closing Guantanamo and bringing terrorists housed there to justice we will make our nation stronger and safer."

Ghailani was first indicted on Dec. 16, 1998, by a federal grand jury in the Southern District of New York for conspiring with Osama bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda to kill Americans overseas and for his role in the Aug. 7, 1998, bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salam, Tanzania, which killed at least eleven people and caused injuries to at least 85 people.

Ghailani has since been charged in several superseding indictments in the Southern District of New York. He currently stands accused in a March 12, 2001, superseding indictment with 286 different counts, including charges related to his role in the murder of more than 200 people in the 1998 bombings of the U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya, as well as his participation in an al-Qaeda conspiracy to murder, bomb, and maim U.S. civilians anywhere in the world.

Among other things, the superseding indictment alleges that Ghailani assisted in the purchase of the Nissan truck as well as the oxygen and acetylene tanks that were used in the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania. He is further alleged to have participated in loading boxes of TNT, cylinder tanks, batteries, detonators, fertilizer and sand bags into the back of the truck in the weeks immediately before the bombing. Ghailani departed Africa for Pakistan the night before the bombing.

Ghailani was captured in July 2004. In September 2006, he and several other "high value detainees" were transferred to Guantanamo Bay. Ghailani has remained in Defense Department custody at Guantanamo Bay since that time.

On March 31, 2008, the Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions swore charges against Ghailani under the Military Commissions Act for his alleged role in the 1998 attack on the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania and for his alleged service to al-Qaeda after the bombing, including serving as a document forger, physical trainer at an al-Qaeda camp, and as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden.

Ghailani was charged with the following substantive offenses: murder in violation of the Law of War, murder of protected persons, attacking civilians, attacking civilian objects, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, and destruction of property in violation of the Law of War and Terrorism. He was also charged with conspiracy to commit all of the above offenses, as well as providing material support to terrorism. On Oct. 3, 2008, these charges were referred to trial by military commission.

In January 2009, a military commissions judge issued a stay in the military commission trial involving Ghailani. The Office of the Chief Prosecutor of the Military Commissions recently filed a motion seeking an additional 120-day continuance in Ghailani’s military commissions case.

The public is reminded that the charges contained in a criminal indictment are mere allegations and each defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law.

Note: Chart formatting won’t post properly here.

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June 9, 2009

Note: The following text is a quote:

http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2009/June/09-ag-563.html

Ahmed Ghailani Transferred from Guantanamo Bay to New York for Prosecution on Terror Charges

Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who had been held at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility since September 2006, arrived early this morning in the Southern District of New York to face criminal charges stemming from his alleged role in the Aug. 7, 1998 bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya.

After a thorough review of his case by the interagency Guantanamo Review Task Force, Ghailani was recently referred for criminal prosecution in the Southern District of New York pursuant to a March 12, 2001 superseding indictment against him.

Ghailani was transferred from the custody of the Department of Defense to the Southern District of New York by the U.S. Marshals Service. He is currently in custody at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, which has housed numerous terror suspects over the years during their prosecutions in the Southern District of New York. Ghailani is expected to make his initial appearance in Manhattan federal court later today.

Ghailani faces 286 separate counts in the March 2001 superseding indictment. Among other violations, the superseding indictment charges him with conspiring with Usama bin Laden and other members of al-Qaeda to kill Americans anywhere in the world, as well as separate charges of murder for the deaths of each of the 224 people killed in the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and various other offenses related to the bombings.

“With his appearance in federal court today, Ahmed Ghailani is being held accountable for his alleged role in the bombing of U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the murder of 224 people,” said Attorney General Eric Holder. “The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror suspects through the criminal justice system, and we will bring that experience to bear in seeking justice in this case.”

The chart below details the charges against Ghailani and the statutory maximum penalties. The public is reminded that the charges and allegations contained in the superseding indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Count(s) Description of Charge Maximum Penalties
Counts 1 – 6: Conspiracies to Murder, Bomb, and Maim
1 Conspiracy to Kill U.S. Nationals Life
2 Conspiracy to Murder, Kidnap, and Maim At Places Outside the United States Life
3 Conspiracy to Murder Life
4 Conspiracy to Use Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S. Nationals Death or life
5 Conspiracy to Destroy Buildings and Property of the United States Life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
6 Conspiracy to Attack National Defense Utilities 10 years
Counts 7 – 286: The Africa Bombings
7 Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya Death or life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
8 Bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Death or life (mandatory minimum of 20 years)
9 Use and Attempted Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S. Nationals in Nairobi, Kenya Death or life
10 Use and Attempted Use of Weapons of Mass Destruction Against U.S. Nationals in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Death or life
11–223 Murders in Nairobi, Kenya Death or mandatory life
224–234 Murders in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Death or mandatory life
235–275 Murder of U.S. Employees in Nairobi, Kenya Death or mandatory life
276 Attempted Murder of U.S. Employees in Nairobi, Kenya 20 years
277–278 Murder of U.S. Employees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Death or mandatory life
279 Attempted Murder of U.S. Employees in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 20 years
280–281 Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Nairobi, Kenya Death or mandatory life
282 Attempted Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Nairobi, Kenya 20 years
283 Attempted Murder of Internationally Protected Persons in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania 20 years
284 Using and Carrying An Explosive During the Commission of A Felony 10 years consecutive
285 Using and Carrying A Dangerous Device During the Bombing Of the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya 30 years consecutive
286 Using and Carrying A Dangerous Device During the Bombing Of the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Life or 30 years consecutive
Fact Sheet

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