Ghailani is Innocent

On November 17, 2010, the Federal Jury in New York found Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani guilty of one count of conspiracy to blow up a government building, a crime which entails a sentence of 20 years to life, but cleared of the 284 other charges.

Ghailani is one of the most wanted terrorists in the list of the United States of America’s Federation Bureau of Intelligence (FBI) for having being connected with twin US embassy attacks in East Africa, according to Wikipedia. He was captured and detained by Pakistani forces in a joint operation with the United States in 2004.

He was one of the 14 people at secret allocations abroad. Until June 9, 2009, Ghailani had been held in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

US Embassy Bombing

After the take over of President Barrack Obama administration, Ghailani was transported from Guantanamo Bay to New York City to stand trial in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on the morning of June 9, 2009. He is currently being held in the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan.

Ghailani was acquitted the 284 other charges because last month, according to Salon.Com, the federal judge presiding over the case, Lewis Kaplan, banned the testimony of a key witness because the Government under George Bush and Dick Cheney learned of his identity not through legal means but instead by torturing Ghailani and also possibly coerced the testimony of that witness.

Obtaining witness through torture is among the grand violations of human rights. According to the UN Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, “no exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture.”

The Convention continues that “Each State Party shall ensure that all acts of torture are offences under its criminal law. The same shall apply to an attempt to commit torture and to an act by any person which constitutes complicity or participation in torture.”

In any circumstances, the use of force or torture to obtain witness from Ghailani is against international laws. The decision by the residing jury to acquaint him of all charges except one goes well with international standards to protect human rights and shame those who arbitrarily violate human rights for the interest better known to themselves.

Through judicial evidence that there were some witnesses obtained through torture and coercive actions against Ghailani, I am forced to believe that even the one charge that he was found guilty of conspiracy to blow up a government building should be acquainted off and instead, the federal court should investigate thoroughly on charges of obtaining witnesses through torture and use of force so that justice could take its course against the involved individuals. His guilty or not guilty of even one count should go inline with the arrest of other individuals involved in the torture of Ghailani.  Unless this is done, he is supposed to remain innocent until is proved otherwise.