Dina Temple-Raston

Osama Bin Laden's Son-In-Law Set To Appear In N.Y. Court

Dina Temple-Raston — Mon, 08 Apr 2013 07:24:00 +0000

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is expected to appear in a New York courtroom Monday afternoon.

Abu Ghaith was captured by U.S. officials in February, and his arrest is considered important not just because he was so close to bin Laden, but also because the Obama administration has decided to try him in a federal court instead of using a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

On the surface, Abu Ghaith, 47, would appear to be a perfect candidate for a trial at Guantanamo. He is affiliated with al-Qaida, and he is a foreigner.

Pakistan's Ambitious Program To Re-Educate Militants

Dina Temple-Raston — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 07:15:00 +0000

A Pakistani army officer named Col. Zeshan is giving a tour of a jihadi rehabilitation center secreted in the hills of northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley.

"This place was also captured by the Taliban," he says, walking me around the heavily guarded complex. "The army took over this place from them ... when the war was going on."

The war against the Pakistani Taliban in Swat began in 2009. It was a military offensive that took a year to drive most of the Pakistani Taliban out of the valley.

Bin Laden's Son-In-Law Arrested, Brought To U.S.

Dina Temple-Raston — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 16:51:00 +0000

Update at 4:30 p.m. EST. Details Of Capture

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and a former al-Qaida spokesman, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, is in U.S. custody and is being held in a Manhattan jail. He could appear in a federal court as soon as Friday, U.S. officials familiar with the case say.

His capture is considered important not just because he was so close to bin Laden but also because U.S. officials have decided to try him in a federal court, not Guantanamo Bay.

Abu Ghaith, 48, may be best known for his multiple appearances in al-Qaida propaganda videos.

Sept. 11 Trial Judge Gives Defense Attorneys Access To 'Camp 7'

Dina Temple-Raston — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 22:29:00 +0000

Defense attorneys in the trial of the five men accused of orchestrating the terror attacks on September 11th will get to see for the first time where their clients are incarcerated.

The army judge presiding over the trial at Guantanamo Bay said today he will allow the lawyers to visit a secret section of the prison.

It's known as Camp 7 and it's nestled in the crevice of a hill at Guantanamo Bay.

Hints Of Progress After Investigation at Guantanamo Court

Dina Temple-Raston — Mon, 18 Feb 2013 08:41:00 +0000

The most dramatic moment of the week's hearing at Guantanamo Bay's military commissions was when a one-legged man stood up and began to berate the judge.

The one-legged man, Walid bin Attash, is one of the defendants in the high-profile Sept. 11 case, and his complaint was a throwback to a time when the tribunal first opened.

Alleged Sept. 11 Plotters Appear In Court, But Focus Is On Lawyers

Dina Temple-Raston — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:47:00 +0000

Pretrial hearings in the death penalty trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of planning the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks lasted a little more than an hour Monday before the judge recessed the session until Tuesday.

The men, who all came into the courtroom in camouflage vests and traditional garments known as shalwar kameez, have been in jail — awaiting this trial — for more than a decade.

They were arraigned back in May, didn't enter pleas, and their trial has been moving at a plodding pace ever since.

Procedure Questions Expected To Bog Down Hearings For Alleged Sept. 11 Planners

Dina Temple-Raston — Mon, 11 Feb 2013 08:31:00 +0000

Pretrial hearings resume Monday in the death penalty trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of planning the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. The men have been in jail, awaiting trial, for more than a decade. The hearings in their case started back in May, and they have hardly moved forward since then.

Eventually, the case will be one of dueling narratives. The prosecution will focus on the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the defense will talk about the treatment of its clients after their capture.

After Fighting To Go To School, A Pakistani Woman Builds Her Own

Dina Temple-Raston — Sun, 06 Jan 2013 11:15:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Hs2hxrY_HI

The Tony Soprano of Karachi: Gangster Or Politician?

Dina Temple-Raston — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 16:01:00 +0000

Gangsters have been part of life in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, for decades. And nowhere is their rule more notorious than in the slums of Lyari, a dusty warren of low-slung tenement houses in the south central part of Karachi.

And in Pakistan, they are a little different from the American variety. They are part Tony Soprano — with the attendant extortion schemes and kickbacks and armed enforcers — but they are also, in a sense, politicians closely aligned to the various political parties.

Pakistan's 'Patriot Act' Could Target Politicians

Dina Temple-Raston — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 08:49:00 +0000

Earlier this month, Pakistan's powerful Lower House of Parliament passed what analysts have dubbed Pakistan's Patriot Act. Its name here is "Investigation for Fair Trial Bill."

It has been presented to the Pakistani people as a way to update existing law and usher the rules for investigation in Pakistan into the 21st century. Among other things, it makes electronic eavesdropping admissible as evidence in court.

To American ears, the argument for the new law should sound vaguely familiar.