Ghailani verdict complicates future of civilian trials for terrorists
Top story: Ahmed Ghailani, the first former detainee at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility to be given a civilian trial, was found not guilty on 284 counts against him but convicted on one charge. The ruling will likely complicate the Obama administration's attempts to bring other terrorists held at Gitmo before civilian courts.
Ghailani was convicted of conspiracy to destroy U.S. property for his role in the U.S. embassy bombings in East Africa on Aug. 7, 1998. However, the 12-person jury cleared him of murder and attempted murder charges. The judge in the trial had previously excluded one of the prosecution's witnesses, who was likely to say that Ghailani purchased the explosives used in the attack from him. The judge ruled that the government's use of torture in obtaining the witness's identity made his information inadmissible.
Ghailani will face a sentence of life in prison and will serve a minimum of 20 years under the conspiracy conviction. However, the case is already being seized on by those opposed to using the federal court system to try suspected terrorists. Rep. Peter King, who is poised to become the chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee when the new Congress is sworn in, condemned the "total miscarriage of justice " in Ghailani's trial, saying that it demonstrates the absolute insanity of the Obama administration's decision to try al-Qaeda terrorists in civilian courts."
Nobel ceremony may drop Peace Prize presentation: Because Nobel Peace Prize laureate Liu Xiaobo is in prison and his wife is under house arrest, the Nobel Committee announced that the official handing over of the award may not take place. The rest of the ceremony is scheduled to proceed as planned, however.
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-David KennerSHIRLEY SHEPARD/AFP/Getty Images
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