Tanzanian Ghailani deserves new trial: Lawyers

Ghailani, first captured in Pakistan in 2004, is the first Guantanamo prisoner to stand trial on US mainland.

NEW YORK: Tanzanian Ahmed Ghailani, the first Guantanamo prisoner to go on trial, should have his conviction vacated and be put through a new trial, his lawyers told a New York judge, court sources said Friday.

On November 17, Ghailani, 36, was cleared of 286 charges arising out of the 1998 US embassy bombings in East Africa that killed 224 people, but was found guilty of conspiring to destroy US property, which carries a 20 years-to-life prison sentence.

"Ghailani submits that his conviction should be vacated and the charges either dismissed or remanded for retrial," his lawyers said in a 40-page long court filing. They contend that by clearing him of all but one charge, "the jury did not believe the government had proved this case."

First captured in Pakistan in 2004, Ghailani has been held since 2006 at the US naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and was the first prisoner to stand trial on the US mainland. He is due for a sentencing on January 25.