Posted on 01/14/2004 7:54:50 AM PST by Prince Charles
Case opens for accused Guantanamo spy
January 14, 2004
BY KIM CURTIS
TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A court-martial opened Tuesday against an Arabic translator for the Air Force who is accused of spying at the Guantanamo Bay military prison camp.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al Halabi, 24, is accused of trying to deliver more than 180 written and e-mail messages from Guantanamo detainees to Syria. The government says he stored the messages on his laptop and planned to carry them overseas.
He also is accused of trying to deliver secret documents about prison camp operations and names and other personal information about detainees to Syria.
Al Halabi was the first of four Guantanamo Bay workers arrested as part of an investigation into possible security breaches at the prison.
Al Halabi was arraigned on 17 counts of espionage, lying and disobeying orders. He also is accused of failing to report his contacts with the Syrian Embassy to his superiors and repeatedly lying to Air Force investigators.
While Al Halabi chose not to enter a plea Tuesday, his attorney, Maj. James Key, said he anticipates his client ''would plead not guilty to all the charges.''
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.