Trial Begins for Accused al-Qaeda Moviemaker

Prosecutors say propaganda director created terror recruitment videos
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 28, 2008 1:53 AM CDT
Trial Begins for Accused al-Qaeda Moviemaker
In this May 7, 2008 sketch, Guantanamo detainee Ali Hamza al-Bahlul, far left, holds up a handwritten sign that says 'boycott' in Arabic and English.    (AP Photo/Janet Hamlin )

The trial of a man accused of creating videos for al-Qaeda is under way at Guantanamo Bay, the Miami Herald reports. Prosecutors say Ali Hamza al Bahlul, a Yemeni, made recruitment videos for the terror group, including one that glorified the bombing of the USS Cole, prosecutors argue. He faces a life sentence if convicted by the nine-officer jury.

Bahlul refuses to recognize the court and has forbidden his Pentagon-paid attorney from participating in his defense. "I will never deny any actions I did alongside bin Laden fighting you and your allies, the Jews,'' Bahlul said at his arraignment last spring. "We will continue our jihad and nothing will stop us." The statement has been ruled inadmissible at this trial.
(More Guantanamo Bay stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X