Sufyian Barhoumi was charged in the
first version of the military commissions. But those charges were dropped after
the Supreme Court ruled that version of the military commissions was unconstitutional
in Hamdan v Rumsfeld. In May 2008 Barhoumi was charged in a military commission
with conspiracy and material support for terrorism. Those charges were
dismissed in October 2008. In January 2009 he was once again charged with
conspiracy and material support for terrorism.
Barhoumi almost
secured a plea deal with a 20 year sentence. The plea deal was not reached due
to a disagreement over whether Barhoumi should get credit for time served.
In October 2012 the DC
appeals court overturned the conviction of Salim Hamdan for Material Support
for terrorism because the law that gave military commissions jurisdiction over
that crime was enacted in 2006, years after Hamdan was captured. In January 2013
the DC appeals court overturned the conviction of Ali Ah-Bahlul for material
support for terrorism and conspiracy for the same reason.
As a result, the charges
against Barhoumi were dismissed in January 2013. Barhoumi’s lawyer Justin Swick
told Wall Street Journal reporter Jess Bravin that, “for years your ticket out
of Guantanamo was being found guilty, now there’s nothing to be found guilty
of.”
In his article, Bravin
explained that, “elsewhere in the American justice system, suspects go free
unless prosecutors file charges. In Guantanamo, the opposite is true: Detainees
who aren’t charged […] nevertheless face indefinite detention because the
Pentagon has classified them as enemy combatants.”
Barhoumi was dismayed when
he learned the charges against him were dropped. He told prosecutors he would
plead guilty to any charge and ask for leniency in the sentencing phase of the
trial.
Barhoumi’s lawyers told
Bravin that prosecutors won’t file charges against him unless he agrees to
testify against other detainees. Barhoumi declined their offer, saying he will
not help convict someone in a system he sees as illegitimate.
Barhoumi has been at
Guantanamo for over 11 years.
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