US brings first charges against Guantanamo prisoners

3.00pm

WASHINGTON - The United States has brought conspiracy charges against a Yemeni man and a Sudanese man, both described as having close ties to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, making them the first Guantanamo Bay prisoners to face criminal charges, the Pentagon said on Tuesday.

The Defence Department said Ali Hamza Ahmed Sulayman al Bahlul of Yemen and Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi of Sudan were charged with a single count each of conspiracy to commit war crimes and will be brought to trial before a military tribunal.

Pentagon spokesman Major John Smith said Pentagon prosecutors do not plan to seek the death penalty against either man if convicted.

Both are among the roughly 650 foreign terrorism suspects imprisoned at the US naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

In a statement, the Pentagon identified al Bahlul as a "key al Qaeda propagandist who produced videos glorifying the murder of Americans to recruit, inspire and motivate other al Qaeda members" to attack Americans, the United States and other countries.

The Pentagon described al Qosi as a key al Qaeda accountant and weapons smuggler who was "a long-time assistant and associate of bin Laden dating back to the time when bin Laden lived in Sudan." The Pentagon said both men have served as personal bodyguards for bin Laden.

- REUTERS