Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi - 5th Prisoner at Gitmo to be charged gets details given to him of his offences

The Office of Military Commissions announced today that charges have been sworn against Guantanamo detainee Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed Haza al Darbi of Saudi Arabia (AKA Ahmed Mohammed AL DAf~BI; Ahmed Mohd Ahmed AL DARBI; Ahmad Muhammad Haza AL DARBI; Abed AL AZIZ; Abdel Aziz AL MAKKil; Abdel Rahim Abu Hudaifa AL MAKKI; Abdel Rahim AL JANOUBI; Abed Rahim AL JANOUBI; Mohammed HA2~; Abd AI Aziz AL JANOUBI; Ahmad Muhammed Ahmad HAZA'; AbdalAziz ALDARBI. The accused, al Darbi, (was born on January 9, 1975, in Ta'if, Saudi Arabia ?) is the brother-in-law of the Flight 77 hijacker al Mihdhar. Flight 77 is pne of the the planes that hit the Pentagon on 9/11.

He is the fifth prisoner charged in the revised Guantanamo tribunal system created in 2006, after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down an earlier version as illegal.

ooops !!!


The sworn charges are: Conspiring with others , to attack civilians, to murder in violation of the law of war, to destroy property in violation of the law of war, to hazard a vessel and to commit terrorism, and Providing Material Support to Terrorism. Mr. al Darbi was allegedly involved in planning attacks on a vessels in the Strait of Hormuz and off the coast of Yemen.

It is alleged that the accused, al Darbi, traveled to Jalalabad and met with U(O) sama bin Laden, trained at al Qaeda’s Jihad Wahl training camp and later served as a weapons instructor at another al Qaeda training camp. From 2001 through 2002, is also alleged that al Darbi moved money from al Qaeda into financial institutions for expenses related to a plot to attack a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz or off the coast of Yemen.

It is further alleged that al Darbi joined in preparations for an al Qaeda terrorist operation in traveling to several countries to purchase a GPS device, a boat, and other equipment in late 2000 or early 2001. The boat, named “Adnan would be loaded with explosives for future terrorist operations The accused, al Darbi, ultimately registered the boat in his name as the “al Rahal” under the Sao Tome flag, and also purchased an additional boat to instruct Yemenis how to swim and operate a boat. In the spring of 2002, al Darbi departed the UAE on board the boat “al Rahal” destined for Yemen, diverted the boat to Somalia due to concerns with his own passport, and during this discussed travel plans by satellite phone with Walid al Shiba.

In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2006 and the Manual for Military Commissions, sworn charges must be forwarded for review by the Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority. The Convening Authority may then refer any or all charges to trial by military commission, or may dismiss charges or specifications. If the Convening Authority decides to refer the case to trial, she will designate commission panel members. A military judge and trial dates will be designated at a later time.

Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, Legal Advisor to the Convening Authority, has stated that these War Crime courts are now moving intensely forward in open courts and with more due process than any war criminal has historically received. As the Military Commissions continue, our uniformed service members, including judges, prosecutors and defense counsel, will conduct these trials with the dignity, fairness, and respect for law that defines American military justice.

The sworn charges are only allegations that the accused has committed a war crime under the Military Commissions Act, and the accused is innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Complete charges in pdf 14 pages here in English and Arabic - this is the first time these have been made public and are worth considering.

1. You are hereby notified that criminal charges were sworn against you on the 20th day of
December, 2007, pursuant to the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA) and the Manual for
Military Commissions (MMC). A copy of this notice is being provided to you and to your
detailed defense counsel.
2. Specifically, you are charged with the following offenses:
CONSPIRACY
PROVIDING MATERIAL SUPPORT FOR TERRORISM

PS

Al Darbi was held in the Bagram Collection Point during the period of time members of Alpha Company of the 519th Military Intelligence Battalion routinely brutally beat their captives, resulting in the murders of two prisoners on December 4, 2001 and December 10, 2001. Al Darbi identified Damien M. Corsetti, a soldier nicknamed "the King of Torture" by his fellow GIs, as one of his abusers. al Darbi was able to identify was able to describe Corsetti's tattoos in detail one of which was across his stomach of the Italian word for Monster.

Corsetti's lawyer asserts that Al Darbi's claims of abuse are not credible. He repeats the meme al Qaeda training manuals instruct captives to lie about abuse, and asserts that Al Darbi is following those instructions.

Department of Defense spokesmen have announced that Al Darbi will not be allowed to testify at Corsetti's court martial

Moazzam Begg described Corsetti as a friend, who gave him a copy of the classic anti-war novel Catch-22. Begg said that Corsetti never abused him, and would stop for friendly conversations, and that he was one of the friendly GIs who had helped him endure his imprisonment. However Begg expressed the opinion that while Corsetti's superiors deserved a heavy load of responsibility for the abuses at Bagram and Abu Ghraib, low level soldiers like his friend Corsetti couldn't escape all responsibility if they committed illegal acts. He also explained how al Darbi described the abuse by Corsetti to him whilst in Bagram.

On 01 June 2006, PFC Corsetti was found not guilty of all charges.

On 2 October 2006, PFC Corsetti was honorably discharged from the United States Army.

In his defense, Corsetti's lawyer is reported to have said: ``The president of the United States doesn't know what the rules are. The secretary of defense doesn't know what the rules are. But the government expects this Pfc. [private first class] to know what the rules are?"