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| Guantánamo Detainee Pleads Guilty 2002 Tanker Attack | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| FORT MEADE, Md. — A Saudi detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday pleaded guilty before a military commission to terrorism-related offenses that involved a 2002 attack by Al Qaeda on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The plea deal will give him a specific sentence and a prospect of leaving the American military prison, where he had been held in indefinite detention for nearly 11 years. | FORT MEADE, Md. — A Saudi detainee at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, on Thursday pleaded guilty before a military commission to terrorism-related offenses that involved a 2002 attack by Al Qaeda on an oil tanker in the Strait of Hormuz. The plea deal will give him a specific sentence and a prospect of leaving the American military prison, where he had been held in indefinite detention for nearly 11 years. |
| As part of the deal, the detainee, Ahmed Muhammed Haza al Darbi, 39, is believed to have agreed to testify against a higher-profile terrorism defendant, Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, a fellow Saudi. Mr. Nashiri is facing death-penalty charges before the commission and is accused of helping plan several maritime terrorist attacks, including the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole off the coast of Yemen. | As part of the deal, the detainee, Ahmed Muhammed Haza al Darbi, 39, is believed to have agreed to testify against a higher-profile terrorism defendant, Abd al Rahim al Nashiri, a fellow Saudi. Mr. Nashiri is facing death-penalty charges before the commission and is accused of helping plan several maritime terrorist attacks, including the 2000 bombing of the American destroyer Cole off the coast of Yemen. |
| Mr. Nashiri is also accused of orchestrating an attack by suicide bombers on the French oil tanker Limburg, off the coast of Yemen on Oct. 6, 2002. Suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the ship, killing one crew member and wounding 12 other sailors. | Mr. Nashiri is also accused of orchestrating an attack by suicide bombers on the French oil tanker Limburg, off the coast of Yemen on Oct. 6, 2002. Suicide bombers rammed an explosives-laden boat into the ship, killing one crew member and wounding 12 other sailors. |
| Mr. Darbi, a slightly pudgy man with a relatively short beard and long hair pulled into a pony tail, wore a white button-down shirt, glasses, and a yellow-green tie. He spoke briefly, providing short answers as the judge, Col. Mark Allred of the Air Force, asked whether he was voluntarily entering the plea and agreeing to a lengthy stipulation of facts about what he had done. | Mr. Darbi, a slightly pudgy man with a relatively short beard and long hair pulled into a pony tail, wore a white button-down shirt, glasses, and a yellow-green tie. He spoke briefly, providing short answers as the judge, Col. Mark Allred of the Air Force, asked whether he was voluntarily entering the plea and agreeing to a lengthy stipulation of facts about what he had done. |
| “I agree with all parts of the stipulation,” Mr. Darbi said through an interpreter. | “I agree with all parts of the stipulation,” Mr. Darbi said through an interpreter. |
| Mr. Darbi told the military commission it was true that from 2000 to 2002, he helped plan for an operation by Al Qaeda to sink one or more civilian petroleum tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow band of water at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. | Mr. Darbi told the military commission it was true that from 2000 to 2002, he helped plan for an operation by Al Qaeda to sink one or more civilian petroleum tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow band of water at the mouth of the Persian Gulf. |
| Among other things, he said, he purchased boats, Global Positioning System devices, and a hydraulic crane in the United Arab Emirates for use in the operation, as well as handling money earmarked by Al Qaeda for it. He also sailed a boat toward Yemen for the purpose of the planned attacks. He also acknowledged that he had intended for civilians to be killed, in violation of the laws of war. | Among other things, he said, he purchased boats, Global Positioning System devices, and a hydraulic crane in the United Arab Emirates for use in the operation, as well as handling money earmarked by Al Qaeda for it. He also sailed a boat toward Yemen for the purpose of the planned attacks. He also acknowledged that he had intended for civilians to be killed, in violation of the laws of war. |
| In a twist, Mr. Darbi was already at Guantánamo by the time the Limburg was attacked. He was arrested by the police in Azerbaijan in June 2002 – several months before the attack – after flying there from Dubai, according to a classified dossier on him that was leaked by Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Pfc. Bradley Manning. Mr. Darbi was transferred to American custody and arrived at Guantánamo in August 2002. | In a twist, Mr. Darbi was already at Guantánamo by the time the Limburg was attacked. He was arrested by the police in Azerbaijan in June 2002 – several months before the attack – after flying there from Dubai, according to a classified dossier on him that was leaked by Chelsea Manning, formerly known as Pfc. Bradley Manning. Mr. Darbi was transferred to American custody and arrived at Guantánamo in August 2002. |
| “Obviously you were not there, you were somewhere else,” Colonel Allred said. “But the actual perpetrators were there and you are liable for their actions as a principal.” | “Obviously you were not there, you were somewhere else,” Colonel Allred said. “But the actual perpetrators were there and you are liable for their actions as a principal.” |