Openings in Guantanamo detainee’s trial depend on whether judge lets key gov’t witness testify

Fate of key witness unknown in detainee’s NY trial

NEW YORK — Opening statements at the first civilian trial for a Guantanamo Bay detainee could begin as early as Wednesday unless a New York judge blocks a key government witness from testifying.

Federal Judge Lewis Kaplan is expected to rule Wednesday on the fate of a witness who sold explosives to defendant Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani (AH’-mehd KAL’fahn guh-LAHN’-ee).

Kaplan has said he will delay the trial a few days if he excludes the witness and prosecutors appeal.

Defense attorneys say the witness should be excluded because he was discovered only after Ghailani underwent harsh questioning at a CIA-run camp overseas in 2004.

Ghailani is charged with conspiring in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. The attacks killed 224 people, including a dozen Americans.