Show First Guantanamo detainee h r K arrives in U US U.S. S J fr 1 Peter Finn The Washington Post The administration for the first time has transferred a 4 Guantanamo Bay detainee into the United States flying the suspect to New York early eady Tuesday to face federal charges in the 1998 East Africa embassy bombings US U.S. M Marshals took custody of Ahmed a Tanzanian at the military prison in Cuba and moved him to the Metropolitan Correctional Center in Manhattan officials said later pleaded not guilty in federal court Wearing a blue prison uniform with loose fitting pants and a shirt but no handcuffs was told h he has a right to legal counsel and that he needs to fill out financial forms if he wants a court- court appointed lawyer His current civilian lawyer Scott said he was withdrawing his pro bono representation but officials said could be tapped as the court- court appointed attorney under the new system Asked by the judge how he wished to plead answered in English Not guilty When the judge asked whether he understood his right to counsel the defendant replied I understand faces multiple charges harges and if convicted could face the death penalty for his role in inthe inthe inthe the bombing of US U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya which killed people including 12 Americans With his appearance in federal court today Ahmed is being held accountable for his alleged role in inthe inthe inthe the bombing of US U.S. Embassies in Tanzania and Kenya and the murder of people Attorney General Eric H. H Holder Jr said in a statement The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining and successfully prosecuting terror ten suspects through the criminal justice system and we will bring that experience to bear bearin bearin bearin in seeking justice in this case was indicted in New York before the Sept 11 2001 1 attacks captured three years later and held in a secret CIA prison overseas before being placed in Guantanamo in 2006 Four of his named co- co conspirators have already been tried and convicted and are serving life sentences in a super- super maximum security prison in Colorado The decision to move to the United States lays down an important marker for th the administration which wants to shut the military prison but has faced congressional resistance to the transfer of any Guantanamo inmates into the United States for resettlement trial or further detention It drew immediate criticism from Republicans The administration has made the decision to begin transferring these terrorists to the United States State's in spite of the overwhelming opposition of the American people and serious questions from members of Congress of both parties said House Minority Leader John Boehner R A conference committee of Senate and House members of the defense appropriations subcommittees has been considering language that would restrict the administrations administration's ability to move detainees out of Guantanamo without a comprehensive plan for where to place them Lawmakers also want assurance that bringing detainees into the United States presents no risk to the country's national security Noting a bill passed 90 6 last month that banned the transfer of detainees from Guantanamo to US U.S. prisons Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell R said the president was ignoring the clear desire of Congress and the American people that these terrorists not be brought to the United States McConnell also questioned whether had authority to move under undercurrent undercurrent undercurrent current law saying theres an argument that existing law prohibits bringing terrorists into the United States He declined to say if Congress would consider further action to stop the administration from bringing other detainees here for trial But Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin D strongly defended decision noting that the United States already houses many accused terrorists in prisons around the country The Justice Department sensitive to the criticism from opponents said in a news release that there are inmates in federal prisons who have c connections to international terrorism and that there has never been an escape from the facility in Florence Colo where many of them are held three Thirty-three convicted terrorists are currently incarcerated at the Colorado prison including shoe-bomber shoe Richard Reid and Sheikh Omar Rahman Abdel-Rahman convicted of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing the Justice Department noted In a speech last month signaled that transfer was imminent and that after over a decade it is time timeto to finally see that justice is served and that is what we intend to do The decision to transfer him to New York followed a review of his case by bya a Justice Department- Department led interagency task force that is examining the cases of all detainees who remain at Guantanamo Bay Federal prosecutors allege that I II obtained bomb materials scouted the embassy hi iri hithe the Tanzanian capital and escorted an Egyptian suicide bomber from Kenya to Dar es Salaam in advance of the nearly simultaneous blasts in Kenya and Tanzania The bombing in Tanzania Tanzania- killed 11 people all all' Africans and 2133 I people were killed in the i 1 attack on the embassy in Nairobi the Kenyan capital Shortly before the bombings anda and and- a number of alleged conspirators co-conspirators fled to Afghanistan Military Military- prosecutors said he he- worked as a trainer at a a. a terrorist training camp there and as a bodyguard for Osama bin Laden a former Islamic cle cleric c was captured in July 2004 after a hour 10 shootout in the Pakistani city of V He was taken to a CIA secret prison before he and 13 other high value detain detainees es including Khalid Sheik Mohammed the self self- proclaimed mastermind of the Sept 11 attacks were transferred to Guantanamo in September 2006 He has been held there at the top top- secret Camp 7 run by the CIA t- t |