Two Yemeni nationals accused of fighting against U.S. troops in Afghanistan and Iraq have been charged in civilian court in New York with conspiring to murder Americans abroad and giving material support to al Qaeda, according to court documents unsealed Tuesday.
The handling of the case against Saddiq al-Abbadi and Ali Alvi is an indication of what the Obama administration has planned for captured al Qaeda fighters as it moves to close the terrorist prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The two men were arrested in Saudi Arabia and expelled to the United States, where Alvi, 30, also known as “Issa al-Yemeni,” was arraigned in U.S. District Court on Sunday and al-Abbadi, 36, also known as “Sufiyan al-Yemeni,” was set to be arraigned on Tuesday, the Justice Department said. Each faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment if convicted on all charges.
Al-Abbadi is accused of fighting for al Qaeda against U.S. troops in both Afghanistan and Iraq, Alvi in Afghanistan. The two men also are accused of trying to help an unnamed U.S. citizen join al Qaeda in Pakistan.
Al-Abbadi led a battle against U.S. forces in Paktia province, Afghanistan, in May 2008 during which one U.S. Army Ranger was killed and several others were seriously wounded, according to the charges.
“There is no escape from the reach of our law for violent terrorists, especially if they target our military,” said Loretta Lynch, U.S. Attorney in New York and President Obama’s nominee to be attorney general. “Al-Abbadi and Alvi may have operated in the mountains of Afghanistan, but now they face justice in a courtroom in Brooklyn.”
Blocked by Congress from closing Guantanamo as he had promised, Obama is trying instead to empty it by executive order.
The administration has released or transferred 44 suspected terrorists from the facility over the past 18 months, and officials have promised more to come. The recent flow from the prison comes after a period of more than a year in which no one left.
Only 122 remain of the 779 people sent to Guantanamo since the prison opened on Jan. 11, 2002 — the smallest population ever. Other than nine who died in custody, the rest have been repatriated, transferred to other countries or freed.
But Obama’s rush to close the prison has raised concerns about what the administration would do with new detainees. Obama has opted for a policy of killing suspected terrorists and has sent the few who have been captured during his time in office to civilian courts, as in this case.
