Three Charges Dropped in Airman’s Spy Case
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WASHINGTON — The Air Force has dropped three of the counts in its espionage case against a Syrian-born airman who worked as a translator at the Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, prison camp for terrorism suspects.
The lawyer for Senior Airman Ahmad I. Al-Halabi, a supply clerk assigned to the prison, said Saturday that once those charges were removed, “simply the gut of the case was gone.”
The single count in the charge that accused Al-Halabi of “aiding the enemy,” a capital offense, was dropped. Also dropped were counts that dealt with e-mailing information about Guantanamo detainees and committing espionage by transmitting information to those unauthorized to receive it.
Al-Halabi still faces 17 of the 30 charges filed against him following his arrest in July after nine months as an Arabic translator at the prison. They include other espionage counts, disobeying an order, making false official statements, mishandling classified documents and lying on a credit application.
He is being held at Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento, his home base, where his court-martial will be held.
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