WASHINGTON (AP) — A Yemeni man’s family ties to Osama bin Laden and his admission that he and Mr. bin Laden had two conversations in the weeks before the Sept. 11 attacks are not enough to keep holding him at Guantánamo Bay, a judge wrote in an order announced Friday.
The judge, Gladys Kessler of Federal District Court here, ruled that the detainee, Muhammed al-Adahi, 47, must be released.
Mr. al-Adahi testified, via videoconference from Guantánamo, that in July 2001 he took his sister to Afghanistan to celebrate her marriage to a man the United States suspects was a bodyguard for Mr. bin Laden. The wedding was at Mr. bin Laden’s house, and Mr. al-Adahi said he was introduced to Mr. bin Laden there and then briefly met with him a few days later. He said Mr. bin Laden, for at most 10 minutes, asked about the religious community in Yemen.
Judge Kessler wrote, “While it is tempting to be swayed by the fact that petitioner readily acknowledged having met bin Laden on two occasions and admitted that perhaps his relatives were bodyguards and enthusiastic followers of bin Laden, such evidence — sensational and compelling as it may appear — does not constitute actual, reliable evidence that would justify the government’s detention of this man.”
Justice Department lawyers argued the ties showed that Mr. al-Adahi was a Qaeda insider whose brother-in-law was helping him rise up the group’s ranks. They said Mr. al-Adahi trained at the Al Farouq terrorist camp for a few days before he was kicked out for disobeying orders.
No comments:
Post a Comment