Airman at Guantanamo faces spying charges ( 2003-09-24 16:49) (Agencies)
An Air Force translator for
suspected terrorists at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp tried to send classified
information about the prisoners to his native Syria, military authorities
charge.
Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi is behind bars at a California Air Force
base, facing 32 criminal charges. The most serious — espionage and aiding the
enemy — could carry the death penalty.
Pentagon officials said a broader investigation into possible security
breaches at the Guantanamo Bay facility in Cuba was continuing.
Military authorities accuse al-Halabi, 24, of sending e-mail with information
about the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay "to unauthorized person or persons whom
he, the accused, knew to be the enemy." The Air Force documents detailing the
charges do not say who "the enemy" is.
Al-Halabi also is accused of planning to give classified information about
the prisoners as well as more than 180 written messages from detainees to a
person who would then go to Syria.
A military attorney representing al-Halabi, Air Force Maj. James E. Key III,
denied the charges, telling The Washington Post: "Airman al-Halabi is not a spy
and he is not a terrorist."
The Pentagon's disclosure Tuesday of the case against al-Halabi came three
days after officials said a Muslim chaplain at the base had been arrested. The
chaplain, Army Capt. Yusef Yee, has been held without charge since his Sept. 10
arrest.
The two men knew each other, an Air Force spokesman said, but officials said
they didn't know whether there had been any conspiracy to breach security at the
prison camp.
The charges against al-Halabi include an allegation that he failed to report
unauthorized contacts between prisoners and other military personnel. The others
were not identified.
Al-Halabi worked for nine months as an Arabic language translator at
Guantanamo Bay, a job that ended shortly before his July 23 arrest as he arrived
in Jacksonville, Fla., on a flight from the prison camp.
When he was arrested, al-Halabi was carrying two handwritten notes from
detainees that al-Halabi intended to turn over to someone traveling to Syria,
the charging documents say. He also was carrying his personal laptop computer
containing classified information about detainees and 180 messages from
detainees he intended to send to Syria or Qatar, it was alleged.
The documents also allege that al-Halabi:
_Took pictures of the prison camp.
_Had unauthorized contact with the inmates, including giving them baklava
desserts.
_Had contacts with the Syrian Embassy to the United States which he failed to
report as required.
_Lied to the Air Force by falsely claiming to have become a naturalized U.S.
citizen in 2001. Al-Halabi, who joined the Air Force in January 2000, is Syrian.
Syria and the United States have normal diplomatic relations, although Syria
is on the U.S. list of countries that are state sponsors of terrorism. Defense
Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld and other administration officials accuse Syria of
having a chemical weapons program and of helping Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein's regime before and during the war.
Syrians have made up the largest number of foreign fighters captured in
Iraq since the war ended, Rumsfeld said during a visit to Iraq earlier this
month. Syria has denied helping Saddam's regime or having a chemical weapons
program.
Secret documents al-Halabi is accused of trying to pass to Syria include
details of flights to and from the Guantanamo Bay base; names, serial numbers
and cell numbers of prisoners; a map of the base; and other military documents.
Al-Halabi is charged with eight counts related to espionage, three counts of
aiding the enemy, 11 counts of disobeying a lawful order, nine counts of making
a false official statement and one count of bank fraud. The bank fraud charge
involves allegations al-Halabi used false information in credit card
applications for several prominent banks.
It was unclear whether those allegations were related to the espionage
charges; the charging documents said al-Halabi made the credit applications
before he was transferred to Guantanamo Bay.
About 660 suspected al-Qaida or Taliban members are imprisoned at the U.S.
Navy base. American officials are interrogating them for information on
the terrorist network.
The military has classified many details about the prison camp and the
detainees and has not identified any of the men being held there.
