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www.defense.gov/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=14424
IMMEDIATE RELEASE No. 322-11
April 20, 2011
DOD Announces Charges Sworn Against Detainee Nashiri
The Department of Defense announced today that military commissions prosecutors have sworn charges against Abd al Rahim Hussayn Muhammad al Nashiri of Saudi Arabia.
The chief prosecutor has recommended that the charges against Nashiri be referred as capital. Capital charges may only be pursued with the convening authority’s approval.
The charges allege that Nashiri was in charge of the planning and preparation for the attack on USS Cole (DDG 67) in the Port of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000. The attack killed 17 sailors, wounded 40 sailors, and severely damaged the ship by blowing a 30-foot by 30-foot hole in her side. The charges also allege that Nashiri was in charge of planning and preparation for an attempted attack on USS The Sullivans (DDG 68) as that ship refueled in the Port of Aden on Jan. 3, 2000.
It is further alleged that Nashiri was in charge of the planning and preparation for an attack on the French civilian oil tanker MV Limburg in the Gulf of Aden on Oct. 6, 2002. This attack resulted in the death of one crewmember and the release of approximately 90,000 barrels of oil into the gulf.
The charges allege that Nashiri committed offenses that are chargeable under the Military Commissions Act of 2009, 10 U.S.C. §§ 948a, et seq. Under that act, he may be convicted only if his guilt is proven beyond a reasonable doubt. Specifically, Nashiri is charged with the following substantive offenses: terrorism; attacking civilians; attacking civilian objects; intentionally causing serious bodily injury; hazarding a vessel; using treachery or perfidy; murder in violation of the law of war; attempted murder in violation of the law of war; conspiracy to commit terrorism and murder in violation of the law of war; destruction of property in violation of the law of war; and attempted destruction of property in violation of the law of war.
These charges go beyond what is necessary to establish that Nashiri may be lawfully detained under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force, as informed by the laws of war — an issue that each Guantanamo detainee may challenge in a habeas petition in federal court.
In accordance with the Military Commissions Act of 2009, the sworn charges will be forwarded to the Convening Authority, Bruce MacDonald. The convening authority will make an independent determination as to whether to refer some, all, or none of the charges for trial by military commission. If the convening authority decides to refer the case to trial, he will designate commission panel members (jurors). The chief trial judge of the Military Commissions Trial Judiciary would then assign a military judge to the case.
http://www.investigativeproject.org/2781/uss-cole-mastermind-to-stand-trial-at-gitmo
For The Record - The IPT Blog
“USS Cole Mastermind to Stand Trial at Gitmo”
by IPT News • Apr 20, 2011 at 6:12 pm
SNIPPET: “U.S. military prosecutors have re-filed charges against the alleged mastermind of the attack on the American warship USS Cole, in 2000. The perpetrator is one of three individuals who have been identified as eligible for military trials at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
Abd al-Rahim al Nashiri, a Saudi Arabian national of Yemeni descent, is accused of orchestrating the attack in 2000 in which a small, explosives-laden dinghy rammed into an American warship docked in the Yemeni Port of Aden.
“The charges allege that Nashiri was in charge of the planning and preparation for the attack on USS Cole (DDG 67) in the Port of Aden, Yemen, on Oct. 12, 2000. The attack killed 17 sailors, wounded 40 sailors, and severely damaged the ship by blowing a 30-foot by 30-foot hole in her side,” according to the U.S. Department of Defense press release.
Nashiri also is accused of coordinating the attempted attack on the USS The Sullivans in the Port of Aden in 2000 and the attack on the French civilian oil tanker, the MV Limburg in 2002. The latter attack killed one crewmember and resulted in the release of 90,000 barrels of oil into the Gulf of Aden. All these acts were allegedly carried out while Nashiri served as operations chief for Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).”