After Prosecutor Resigns, Charges Dropped, for Now, Against 5 Gitmo Suspects
Charges have been dropped against five terrorism suspects at Guantanamo with links to Abu Zubaydah, an al-Qaida recruiter who was subjected to waterboarding during interrogations.
Prosecutors say the charges were only temporarily dropped to give the government more time to prepare its case following the resignation of a military prosecutor, the Los Angeles Times reports. The prosecutor, Lt. Col. Darrel Vandeveld, quit the job because of concerns that exculpatory evidence was not being turned over to the defense.
One of the detainees, a former British resident accused of plotting to release a radioactive “dirty bomb,” has complained he was tortured during interrogations, the New York Times reports. The government has indicated in a habeas case challenging the detention of the detainee, Binyam Mohamed, that it will drop the dirty bomb allegations.
Defense lawyers for two of the detainees told the Los Angeles Times that the charges may have been dropped to delay difficult cases before the elections. Clive Stafford Smith, a lawyer for one of the suspects, said prosecutors may be hoping to prevent Vandeveld from testifying about problems with the legal process.
The chief military prosecutor, Col. Lawrence Morris, told the New York Times that charges would be refiled. “We have plenty of evidence to convict all of them,” he said.
