Guantánamo Begins 1st Death-Penalty Trial Jury Selection in 17-Sailor USS Cole Bombing
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 2
Guantánamo Begins 1st Death-Penalty Trial Jury Selection in 17-Sailor USS Cole Bombing
2 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 2
Summary
Thirty-six military officers from a pool of 200 arrived at Guantánamo over the weekend as jury selection opened for Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, 61.
The military commission must choose 12 jurors and six alternates for the Saudi defendant, who is accused of orchestrating the 2000 USS Cole bombing in Aden that killed 17 American sailors.
Jury selection could take weeks, with more officers expected to be brought to the base before the panel is finalized.
The case is the first death-penalty trial at Guantánamo and, like the separate Sept. 11 case, has been shaped by years of litigation over the defendants' torture in CIA custody and the use of later interrogations.
The trial itself is scheduled to begin in June 2028, extending a prosecution tied to an attack long seen as a precursor to Sept. 11.