Ghailani sentenced life in prison

Yegomasika said:

Poor boy he will spend the rest of his life in prison. What a waste of life!.

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• Paul Harris
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 January 2011 20.54 GMT <li class="history">Article history US attorney and lead prosecutor Preet Bharara delivers a statement following the sentence of Ahmed Ghailani to life imprisonment on 25 January. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images A former bodyguard for Osama bin Laden was today sentenced to life in prison for his role in blowing up US embassies in East Africa &#8211; and became the first former Guantánamo Bay detainee to be tried and jailed by a civilian American court.
  Ahmed Ghailani, 36, was captured in 2004 in Pakistan after a fierce battle with government troops. He was later found guilty of being part of the plot in which 224 people were killed in twin bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Ghailani had been held in Guantánamo Bay, but was later transferred to the US in what was widely seen as a test case for whether high-profile terror suspects could be effectively tried in the US judicial system.
  FBI pictures show Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, accused in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa. Photograph: Reuters Some conservative critics, especially Republicans in Congress, had said it was too much of a risk to try such cases in a civilian court rather than military commissions. They expressed concerns that the use of waterboarding in some cases might lead to acquittals if key evidence was found to have been obtained via torture.
  But the Obama administration has argued publicly that a civilian court was the right place for terror suspects who had attacked US targets and killed American civilians. The success in securing a full life term for Ghailani, who was convicted on a single conspiracy count yet acquitted on 280 other charges, might pave the way for further such trials, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
  Civil liberties groups, who have long been critical of Guantánamo Bay, welcomed the New York court's decision, saying it proved the White House should not listen to proponents of the military commissionsto reverse its course on pursuing civilian trials.
  "The Ghailani trial &#8230; should put to rest any unfounded fears that our federal justice system cannot conduct fair, safe and effective trials in terrorism cases, including when torture is an issue," said Hina Shamsi, a director at the American Civil Liberties Union.
  Ghailani will now almost certainly be sent to a "supermax" high security prison in Colorado, where other defendants convicted in the bombings are being held. His sentence includes no prospect of ever getting parole.
  Evidence presented at the trial showed how Ghailani, a Tanzanian, helped to purchase key components used in the bombs, including gas tanks and a vehicle used as one of the bombs. His defence had argued that he had been tortured in custody, but Judge Lewis Kaplan said that did not weigh against him getting a heavy sentence or being found guilty. "This crime was so horrible &#8230; the impact on him pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused," the judge said.
  Ghailani's trial also provided a platform for victims of the bombings 12 years ago to voice their anguish. Today they were allowed to give testimony in the Manhattan courtroom where the sentence was handed down. Sue Bartley, whose diplomat husband Julian died in Kenya, said the attacks had never ceased to cause pain to herself and her family. "What remains is a lingering, unsettling feeling that is compounded by grief, deep sadness and anger. The pain is with me every day. Often times it is unthinkable," she told the court.
  

• Paul Harris
• guardian.co.uk, Tuesday 25 January 2011 20.54 GMT <li class="history">Article history US attorney and lead prosecutor Preet Bharara delivers a statement following the sentence of Ahmed Ghailani to life imprisonment on 25 January. Photograph: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images A former bodyguard for Osama bin Laden was today sentenced to life in prison for his role in blowing up US embassies in East Africa – and became the first former Guantánamo Bay detainee to be tried and jailed by a civilian American court.
  Ahmed Ghailani, 36, was captured in 2004 in Pakistan after a fierce battle with government troops. He was later found guilty of being part of the plot in which 224 people were killed in twin bombings in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998. Ghailani had been held in Guantánamo Bay, but was later transferred to the US in what was widely seen as a test case for whether high-profile terror suspects could be effectively tried in the US judicial system.
  FBI pictures show Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, accused in the 1998 US embassy bombings in Africa. Photograph: Reuters Some conservative critics, especially Republicans in Congress, had said it was too much of a risk to try such cases in a civilian court rather than military commissions. They expressed concerns that the use of waterboarding in some cases might lead to acquittals if key evidence was found to have been obtained via torture.
  But the Obama administration has argued publicly that a civilian court was the right place for terror suspects who had attacked US targets and killed American civilians. The success in securing a full life term for Ghailani, who was convicted on a single conspiracy count yet acquitted on 280 other charges, might pave the way for further such trials, including alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed.
  Civil liberties groups, who have long been critical of Guantánamo Bay, welcomed the New York court's decision, saying it proved the White House should not listen to proponents of the military commissionsto reverse its course on pursuing civilian trials.
  "The Ghailani trial … should put to rest any unfounded fears that our federal justice system cannot conduct fair, safe and effective trials in terrorism cases, including when torture is an issue," said Hina Shamsi, a director at the American Civil Liberties Union.
  Ghailani will now almost certainly be sent to a "supermax" high security prison in Colorado, where other defendants convicted in the bombings are being held. His sentence includes no prospect of ever getting parole.
  Evidence presented at the trial showed how Ghailani, a Tanzanian, helped to purchase key components used in the bombs, including gas tanks and a vehicle used as one of the bombs. His defence had argued that he had been tortured in custody, but Judge Lewis Kaplan said that did not weigh against him getting a heavy sentence or being found guilty. "This crime was so horrible … the impact on him pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror he and his confederates caused," the judge said.
  Ghailani's trial also provided a platform for victims of the bombings 12 years ago to voice their anguish. Today they were allowed to give testimony in the Manhattan courtroom where the sentence was handed down. Sue Bartley, whose diplomat husband Julian died in Kenya, said the attacks had never ceased to cause pain to herself and her family. "What remains is a lingering, unsettling feeling that is compounded by grief, deep sadness and anger. The pain is with me every day. Often times it is unthinkable," she told the court.
  

bitimkongwe said:

Siwezi kukubali au kukataa kwamba huyu kijana ameshiriki, lakini kuna uhakika gani beyond reasonable doubt kwamba huyu ameshiriki?

kwanza mateso aliyopata kwa miaka kadhaa kule Guantanamo kabla ya kesi yake kwenda mahakamani inamlazimisha kukubali.

Mshtaki ngedere, hakimu ngedere - hukumu ya kweli itapatikana hapo? Kesi yenyewe inaendeshwa kwa kiingereza na ni uhakika kwamba huyu kijana itakuwa amefika Form 3 au Form 4, kiingereza cha mwendo wa kesi huo alikielewa? ndiyo maana alishindwa kujitetea kutokana na kutokuelewa lugha inayoongelewa.

Ningekubali zaidi kama hii kesi ingeendeshwa in one of the European countries (Germany, France, Belgium....) na judge wake kuhukumu hii. Hapo ningeona haki imetendeka.

Tumeona jinsi wenzetu Waingereza walivyoweza kuwatetea raia wao, sisi hata kuulizia mwenendo wa kesi hata siku moja haikufanyika.

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Utingo said:

ni vyema ukawaona watu walioachwa vilema, au kufiwa ndugu zao hapa Tanzania na Kenya kwa sababu ya Ghailani kushiriki katika kadhia ile na ukawaambia upupu wako huu.

Unaandika hivi kwa sababu hukuathirika kwa namna yo yote ile. Cha msingi vijana wasijiingize katika vitu wasivyojua madhara yake. Ghailani aliwahi kusema kuwa hajawahi kumwona Osama na wala hajawahi kutekeleza amri ya osama, unadhani hakujua kuwa ni kazi ya osama, au ni ujinga ule ule wa kukurupukia vitu usivyovijua kwa kuahidiwa mkate?, the job was under osama's command. and osama claimed credit for it. Ghailan alikataa mashtaka tu, na hakukataa kushiriki.

Pia hizo nchi zote za europe ulizozitaja ni members wa NATO iliyo under control na US kutokana na US kuchangia fedha nyingi katika NATO. ashukuru US alipewa hata wakili amefanikiwa kumtetea asinyongwe. Ingekuwa hapa bongo angeshafia mahabusu siku nyingi.

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bitimkongwe said:

Siwezi kukubali au kukataa kwamba huyu kijana ameshiriki, lakini kuna uhakika gani beyond reasonable doubt kwamba huyu ameshiriki?

kwanza mateso aliyopata kwa miaka kadhaa kule Guantanamo kabla ya kesi yake kwenda mahakamani inamlazimisha kukubali.

Mshtaki ngedere, hakimu ngedere - hukumu ya kweli itapatikana hapo? Kesi yenyewe inaendeshwa kwa kiingereza na ni uhakika kwamba huyu kijana itakuwa amefika Form 3 au Form 4, kiingereza cha mwendo wa kesi huo alikielewa? ndiyo maana alishindwa kujitetea kutokana na kutokuelewa lugha inayoongelewa.

Ningekubali zaidi kama hii kesi ingeendeshwa in one of the European countries (Germany, France, Belgium....) na judge wake kuhukumu hii. Hapo ningeona haki imetendeka.

Tumeona jinsi wenzetu Waingereza walivyoweza kuwatetea raia wao, sisi hata kuulizia mwenendo wa kesi hata siku moja haikufanyika.

Click to expand...

bitimkongwe said:

Siwezi kukubali au kukataa kwamba huyu kijana ameshiriki, lakini kuna uhakika gani beyond reasonable doubt kwamba huyu ameshiriki?

kwanza mateso aliyopata kwa miaka kadhaa kule Guantanamo kabla ya kesi yake kwenda mahakamani inamlazimisha kukubali.

Mshtaki ngedere, hakimu ngedere - hukumu ya kweli itapatikana hapo? Kesi yenyewe inaendeshwa kwa kiingereza na ni uhakika kwamba huyu kijana itakuwa amefika Form 3 au Form 4, kiingereza cha mwendo wa kesi huo alikielewa? ndiyo maana alishindwa kujitetea kutokana na kutokuelewa lugha inayoongelewa.

Ningekubali zaidi kama hii kesi ingeendeshwa in one of the European countries (Germany, France, Belgium....) na judge wake kuhukumu hii. Hapo ningeona haki imetendeka.

Tumeona jinsi wenzetu Waingereza walivyoweza kuwatetea raia wao, sisi hata kuulizia mwenendo wa kesi hata siku moja haikufanyika.

Click to expand...