The U.S. Defense Department announced on Wednesday new charges against another detainee held in Guantanamo Bay, bringing the total number of prisoners charged under the controversial military tribunal system to 14.
Charges were sworn Wednesday against Mohammed Kamin of Afghanistan. Mr. Kamin, believed to be in his 20s, is charged with providing material support to terrorism. If convicted, he faces a maximum penalty of life in prison.
The charges relate to incidents that took place between January and May of 2003. Mr. Kamin is alleged to have joined al-Qaeda and attended the group's training camps during that time. His training consisted of building remote detonators for improvised explosive devices and small arms attacks.
Mr. Kamin is also alleged to have placed explosive under a bridge in Afghanistan and launched missiles into an Afghan town which was occupied by U.S. soldiers at the time.
The charges against Mr. Kamin will now be forwarded to Judge Susan Crawford, the convening authority for the military tribunal system. She will decide whether to refer some, all or none of the charges to the court.
Of the 275 detainees at Guantanamo, approximately 80 are expected to face trial by military commission. Another 70 or so are expected to be freed, although the U.S. faces serious hurdles in finding a country where they can send some of those detainees. It is unclear what will happen to the rest of the detainees.
The only citizen of a Western nation still in Guantanamo is Canadian Omar Khadr, who faces murder charges. Mr. Khadr is due in court on Thursday for pre-trial arguments, but his trial is not expected to formally get under way for another few months.
