News / National
Somali held for over 2 mnths without being warned of Miranda rights: US
05 Jul 2011 at 23:35hrs | Views
WASHINGTON ' According to NewYork Times, the Obama administration announced Tuesday that it would prosecute in civilian court a Somali man accused of ties to two Islamist militant groups. The decision to fly the man to New York for trial, after he had been interrogated for more than two months aboard a United States naval vessel before being advised of his Miranda rights, is likely to reignite debate about the detention and prosecution of terrorism suspects.
In an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was charged with nine counts related to accusations that he provided support to the Somalia-based Al Shabaab and the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Mr. Warsame was captured on April 19, and a plane carrying him arrived in New York City around midnight Monday night, officials said.
While the Justice Department called Mr. Warsame an "Al Shabaab leader," it does not accuse him of plotting any particular attack and also noted that he is relatively young, in his "mid-twenties." Other administration officials said that while he was not a top-tier militant figure, his capture and interrogation were an intelligence victory because he has provided a wealth of information about the two groups and ties between then.
Moreover, his case is likely to have outsized significance in the political arena because it resonates with intense debates surrounding the administration's counter-terrorism policies – including whether to bring newly captured detainees to the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; whether to prosecute terrorism cases in civilian court or before a military commission; and the rights of terrorism suspects during interrogation.
The House has already passed a bill that likely would prohibit the transfer of such military detainees into the United States – though the administration opposes such a restriction. In a statement, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Republican of California, denounced the administration's decision.
"The transfer of this terrorist detainee directly contradicts Congressional intent and the will of the American people," he said. "Congress has spoken clearly multiple times – including explicitly in pending legislation – of the perils of bringing terrorists onto U.S. soil. It is unacceptable that the administration notified Congress only after it unilaterally transferred this detainee to New York City despite multiple requests for consultation."
But administration officials said that civilian court was a better fit for Mr. Warsame because his prosecution would face fewer legal hurdles there. Civilian prosecutors will need only to prove that he provided support to the two groups, since both are designated foreign terrorist organizations. Military prosecutors would have first needed to establish that the commission has jurisdiction over him -- a task that would involve introducing classified evidence in an effort to prove that the two groups are part of Al Qaeda or are engaged in hostilities against the United States.
The case comes at a time when the administration is increasingly worried about thickening ties between the groups in Somalia and Yemen, and whether the Somali group is starting to look beyond its parochial efforts to a broader conflict with the West.
The indictment says that Mr. Warsame has fought on behalf of Al Shabaab since 2007. Starting in 2009, it says, he began to work with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, providing money, training and communications equipment. It also alleged that he went to Yemen in 2010 and received explosives and other military-type training, worked to broker a weapons deal between the two groups, and trained others in making bombs.
In a telephone briefing with reporters, senior administration officials said American forces captured Mr. Warsame, along with another person, somewhere "in the gulf region" on April 19. Another official separately said the two were picked up on a fishing trawler in international waters between Yemen and Somalia. That other person was later released.
Mr. Warsame was taken to a naval vessel, where he was questioned for the next two months by military interrogators, the officials said. They said his detention was justified by the laws of war, but declined to say whether their theory was that Al Shabaab is covered by Congress's authorization to use military force against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – meaning the United States is now at war with that group -- or whether the detention was instead justified by his interactions with Al Qaeda's Yemen branch, or something else.
The officials also said interrogators used only techniques in the Army Field Manual, which complies with the Geneva Conventions. But they did not deliver a Miranda warninge. One official portrayed those sessions as "very, very productive," but declined to say whether his information contributed to a drone attack on suspected Al Shabaab militants in Somalia last month.
Eventually, Mr. Warsame was given a break from questioning for several days. Then a separate group of interrogators came in. They delivered a Miranda warning, but he waived his rights and continued to cooperate, the officials said.
Throughout that period, Obama administration officials were engaged in internal deliberations about what to do Mr. Warsame. Eventually, they "unanimously" decided to prosecute him in civilian court. If he is convicted of all the charges against him, he would face life in prison.
Last week, Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, who was until recently in charge of the military's Joint Special Operations Command, told a Senate hearing that detainees are sometimes kept on Navy ships until the Justice Department can build a case against them, or they are transferred to other countries for detention.
Another senior administration official said on Tuesday such detentions are extremely rare, and no other detainees are now being held aboard a navy ship.
In an indictment unsealed in the Southern District of New York, Ahmed Abdulkadir Warsame was charged with nine counts related to accusations that he provided support to the Somalia-based Al Shabaab and the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula. Mr. Warsame was captured on April 19, and a plane carrying him arrived in New York City around midnight Monday night, officials said.
While the Justice Department called Mr. Warsame an "Al Shabaab leader," it does not accuse him of plotting any particular attack and also noted that he is relatively young, in his "mid-twenties." Other administration officials said that while he was not a top-tier militant figure, his capture and interrogation were an intelligence victory because he has provided a wealth of information about the two groups and ties between then.
Moreover, his case is likely to have outsized significance in the political arena because it resonates with intense debates surrounding the administration's counter-terrorism policies – including whether to bring newly captured detainees to the military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba; whether to prosecute terrorism cases in civilian court or before a military commission; and the rights of terrorism suspects during interrogation.
The House has already passed a bill that likely would prohibit the transfer of such military detainees into the United States – though the administration opposes such a restriction. In a statement, the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Representative Howard P. "Buck" McKeon, Republican of California, denounced the administration's decision.
"The transfer of this terrorist detainee directly contradicts Congressional intent and the will of the American people," he said. "Congress has spoken clearly multiple times – including explicitly in pending legislation – of the perils of bringing terrorists onto U.S. soil. It is unacceptable that the administration notified Congress only after it unilaterally transferred this detainee to New York City despite multiple requests for consultation."
But administration officials said that civilian court was a better fit for Mr. Warsame because his prosecution would face fewer legal hurdles there. Civilian prosecutors will need only to prove that he provided support to the two groups, since both are designated foreign terrorist organizations. Military prosecutors would have first needed to establish that the commission has jurisdiction over him -- a task that would involve introducing classified evidence in an effort to prove that the two groups are part of Al Qaeda or are engaged in hostilities against the United States.
The case comes at a time when the administration is increasingly worried about thickening ties between the groups in Somalia and Yemen, and whether the Somali group is starting to look beyond its parochial efforts to a broader conflict with the West.
The indictment says that Mr. Warsame has fought on behalf of Al Shabaab since 2007. Starting in 2009, it says, he began to work with Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, providing money, training and communications equipment. It also alleged that he went to Yemen in 2010 and received explosives and other military-type training, worked to broker a weapons deal between the two groups, and trained others in making bombs.
In a telephone briefing with reporters, senior administration officials said American forces captured Mr. Warsame, along with another person, somewhere "in the gulf region" on April 19. Another official separately said the two were picked up on a fishing trawler in international waters between Yemen and Somalia. That other person was later released.
Mr. Warsame was taken to a naval vessel, where he was questioned for the next two months by military interrogators, the officials said. They said his detention was justified by the laws of war, but declined to say whether their theory was that Al Shabaab is covered by Congress's authorization to use military force against the perpetrators of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks – meaning the United States is now at war with that group -- or whether the detention was instead justified by his interactions with Al Qaeda's Yemen branch, or something else.
The officials also said interrogators used only techniques in the Army Field Manual, which complies with the Geneva Conventions. But they did not deliver a Miranda warninge. One official portrayed those sessions as "very, very productive," but declined to say whether his information contributed to a drone attack on suspected Al Shabaab militants in Somalia last month.
Eventually, Mr. Warsame was given a break from questioning for several days. Then a separate group of interrogators came in. They delivered a Miranda warning, but he waived his rights and continued to cooperate, the officials said.
Throughout that period, Obama administration officials were engaged in internal deliberations about what to do Mr. Warsame. Eventually, they "unanimously" decided to prosecute him in civilian court. If he is convicted of all the charges against him, he would face life in prison.
Last week, Vice Adm. William H. McRaven, who was until recently in charge of the military's Joint Special Operations Command, told a Senate hearing that detainees are sometimes kept on Navy ships until the Justice Department can build a case against them, or they are transferred to other countries for detention.
Another senior administration official said on Tuesday such detentions are extremely rare, and no other detainees are now being held aboard a navy ship.
Source - NewYork Times
