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U.S. Civilian Court Sentences Guantanamo Detainee To Life In Jail


A U.S. court has sentenced the first Guantanamo detainee to have a U.S. civilian trial to life in prison for his role in the bombing of two U.S. embassies in Africa in 1998.

U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan rejected requests for leniency, saying anything Ahmed Ghailani suffered at the hands of the CIA and others "pales in comparison to the suffering and the horror" caused by the bombing of the embassies.

Ghailani, a Tanzanian national, was captured in Pakistan in 2004 and later interrogated overseas at a secret CIA-run camp.

He was moved to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in 2006 before being transferred to New York for prosecution.

Last year, he was convicted of conspiring to attack U.S. government buildings but was acquitted of more than 200 counts of murder and dozens of other charges.

compiled from agency reports

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