Ghailani Sentenced|to Life in Prison

Kenyan victim Elizabeth Maloba recalled seeing killed and maimed victims near the U.S. Embassy, "Others without heads. Others burned without recognition. Others without legs. ... As I sleep, I see them. As I walk, I see them."

Justina L. Mdobilu said that she was speaking as the only Tanzanian victim in attendance. The rest wanted to put the incident behind them, she said, citing a Chinese proverb, "To be angry is to let others' mistakes punish yourself." Mdobilu was eight months pregnant when she survived the attack. She said her child was born "healthy and smart."

Several victims spoke of their struggles with post-traumatic stress disorder. Mdobilu, an employee of the U.S. Embassy in Tanzania, said that she had to "run and hide" during a drill at work, even though it was not an actual emergency. Another victim spoke about falling after hallucinating of a "false step" while walking a staircase.

Two African victims spoke about the shame associated with their injuries and their losses in the face of local taboos. One woman spoke about the difficulty of being seen as a widow, and a man talked candidly about how impotence affected his marriage since the attacks.

Another man, James Ndeda of Kenya, called for one year in prison for each of the victims of the attacks, more than 200 in total. He added that in Africa, if a man dies in prison, a chain is wrapped around his coffin until his sentence is served.

After they spoke, Ghailani's attorney, Quijano, tried to defend his client.

"Mr. Ghailani was tortured," Quijano said. "Whatever euphemism is used, standard interrogation techniques, we submit it is torture in violation of Geneva Conventions. We have the Constitution. We have laws that govern."

In a recently unsealed letter from the defense containing several pages that are blackened out, non-redacted portions generally describe "enhanced interrogation techniques" that may have been used for Ghailani in detail.

The letter includes a list of "standard measures," such as shaving, stripping, diapering, hooding, sleep deprivation and face slapping. Other "enhanced measures" include the use of white noise, light and temperature changes, cramped confinement, and stress positions.

The defense also argued that Ghailani "saved lives" by providing the U.S. with critical information.

"We submit that Mr. Ghailani provided the U.S. government with information and intelligence that was actionable and acted upon by our government," Quijano said. "It was information and intelligence that saved lives, and I suggest that is not hyperbole. This unique and unprecedented factor should be considered by this court."

As he had argued throughout the trial, Quijano said that Ghailani was an unwitting dupe into the Embassy bombings, who wept for its victims after he realized what had happened.

"The person you have sentenced is not who the government has depicted," Quijano said, adding that Ghailani was "unique among the men held at Gitmo, and unique among men generally. Someone lured into a world that he could not escape. Someone who had wept for the deaths. Someone who harbors no hatred to the United States."

Quijano then read a letter from Ghailani's former lead defense counsel in Guantanamo, Col. Jeffrey P. Colwell of the U.S. Marine Corps.

"In my opinion, based upon my knowledge and contacts with both him and his family, Mr. Ghailani is not a radical jihadist, a terrorist, or a danger to society," Colwell wrote.

Lt. Col. Richard Reiter also wrote a letter to the sentencing judge on Ghailani's behalf, Quijano said, noting that they risked their names and reputations in stepping forward.

When asked if he had anything to add to his attorney's remarks, Ghailani simply shook his head.

"The information that he provided, he did not learn in a seminar, he did not learn in a book, he learned by doing," prosecutor Michael Farbiarz replied. "It is an insult to the truth. It is an insult to common sense. ... He is a man who cannot muster a moment of contrition."

Kaplan was also unmoved by the claims of Ghailani's innocence.

"I am not persuaded that Mr. Ghailani is the harmless and innocent person that has been put forward - not at all," Kaplan said, moments before announcing his sentence.

The judge added that Ghailani's attorneys, in defending him, served in the "patriot" tradition of John Adams, the American Founding Father who defended British soldiers after the Boston Massacre.

As they had throughout the trial, Ghailani's attorneys comforted him during the reading of the sentence. They hugged as a U.S. Marshal handcuffed Ghailani and led him out of the courtroom.

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