Today, Osama Bin Laden’s son in law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, was convicted of “ …conspiring to kill Americans and providing material support to terrorists” as written in an article published in the New York Times. Abu Ghaith is an Islamic cleric who after 9/11 gave speeches on his father in law’s behalf as well as assured that there would be more terrorist attacks in the future. What struck me most about this article is that his lawyer, Stanley L. Cohen, believes that the guilty verdict reached by the jury is not entirely right and that there are grounds for appeal. When Abu Ghaith took to the witness stand, he claimed that Bin Laden asked him to “deliver a message to the world” about what had happened on 9/1. This message came in the form of a video that Cohen is arguing cannot be used to tie Abu Ghaith to Al Qaeda. He believes this video simply portrays a man doing his duty as an imam, or Muslim “theologian”, not a man being a messenger for Al Qaeda.
Defense Attorney, Stanley Cohen (source) Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (source)
His trial also poses another critical question and that is whether or not people being held in Guantanamo Bay should have their trials at the prison before a military tribunal or on U.S. soil in civilian courts. The Obama administration has made this change from suspected terrorists being tried at Guantanamo Bay to being tried in the U.S. This change is seen as step towards closing the prison. The article states, “…the lightning speed from his arrest to verdict — would seem to serve as a rejoinder to critics of the Obama administration’s efforts to try suspected terrorists in civilian court, rather than before a military tribunal.” Personally, I am in support of the closure of Guantanamo Bay (on humanitarian grounds), but I understand the arguments of those who oppose the closure. However, I do hope that Abu Ghaith’s case, whether or not his conviction(s) get appealed, will set a precedent for future cases and begin to move more and more of these suspected terrorists trials into the U.S. courts.
Guantanamo Bay (source)
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