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U.S. Unlikely to Prosecute U.S.-Born Afghan Detainee
Monday, April 8, 2002
(10:44 AM ET)
By Tabassum Zakaria
Reuters

U.S. born Yaser Esam Hamdi (L) is unlikely to be prosecuted by the Justice Department, so he will stay in a military prison until a decision is made about his fate, a U.S. defense official said April 8, 2002. Hamdi, shown being led by a Northern Alliance soldier Dec. 1, 2001, is the second American known to have been captured in Afghanistan and was transferred last week to the U.S. Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia, from the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
Image Credit: Reuters.

As a presumed U.S. citizen, he cannot be tried by a military tribunal, and releasing him to his country of origin would mean setting him free in the United States. One option could be holding Hamdi until the end of the conflict.

WASHINGTON -- Reuters
The Justice Department is unlikely to prosecute a second American-born prisoner captured in Afghanistan among Taliban and al Qaeda fighters, so he will stay in a military prison until a decision is made about his fate, a U.S. defense official said Monday.

Yaser Esam Hamdi, 22, the second American known to have been captured in Afghanistan, was transferred last week to the U.S. Navy base at Norfolk, Virginia, from the Navy base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Justice officials had interviewed Hamdi and it appeared they would not seek custody of him, the defense official said on condition of anonymity.

"It is not likely that Justice is going to want him," the official said. "I think it is more likely they will say at some point here soon 'this is not one we're interested in'."
(More: iWon.com News Source)
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