First Gitmo Detainee Arrives in States for Trial

Facing 286 felony counts against him, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani arrived in federal court this morning to stand trial for a rash of bombings in Tanzania and Kenya stretching back a decade.Ghailani, who was previously in the custody of New York Metropolitan Correction Centerβ€”a holding tank for numerous accused terroristsβ€”had been at Guantanamo since 2006. He…

Facing 286 felony counts against him, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani arrived in federal court this morning to stand trial for a rash of bombings in Tanzania and Kenya stretching back a decade.

Ghailani, who was previously in the custody of New York Metropolitan Correction Centerβ€”a holding tank for numerous accused terroristsβ€”had been at Guantanamo since 2006. He is the first such detainee to be transferred stateside. This move comes as the controversy mounts over President Obama's plans to close the prison camp by 2010.

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According to CNN, Ghailani, a Tanzanian national "is accused of conspiring with Osama bin Laden and other members of al Qaeda to kill Americans anywhere in the world. He also faces separate charges of murder for the deaths of each of the 224 people killed in the U.S. Embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and various other offenses related to the bombings."

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