Defense lawyers told a military judge they want jurors told that Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri could be held indefinitely under the law of war even if they find him not guilty in the military commission trial for the 2000 USS Cole bombing.
Defense asks judge to inform jury that an acquittal would not automatically lead to release because al-Nashiri is separately held as a law-of-war detainee under the 2001 AUMF.
Al-Nashiri has been in U.S. custody since 2002 after CIA black-site detention and alleged torture, and was indicted at Guantanamo in 2011.
Jury selection for the first-ever Guantanamo death-penalty trial is expected in October, with the main trial proceedings scheduled at Guantanamo in 2027.
# Summary
Defense lawyers in the military commission case against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri want the judge to tell the jury upfront that a not-guilty verdict would not automatically free him. Al-Nashiri is charged in the October 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole that killed 17 U.S. sailors. The government has held him since 2002 as an al-Qaeda affiliate under the 2001 Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF), treating him as a law-of-war detainee who can be detained for the duration of "continuing hostilities."
# What the defense asked for
# Background on al-Nashiri's detention
# How this affects the jury and trial
The defense wants jurors to have a clear explanation of the separate legal tracks: the military commissions prosecution seeking convictions and a death sentence, and the law-of-war detention status that can persist regardless of the verdict. Jury selection is scheduled to begin in October, and the main trial activity is expected at Guantanamo in 2027. The unusual overlap of criminal prosecution and indefinite detention raises procedural and fairness questions the defense says jurors should know about.
# Why this matters
The case is both legally and politically sensitive. It involves the first death-penalty trial at Guantanamo, the long-term use of the AUMF to justify detention, and a defendant who was previously held in CIA black sites. The defense is arguing that jurors must understand how the government's separate detention authority could leave al-Nashiri confined even if they decline to convict him.
# Related procedural notes
Recent pretrial activity in the case includes filings about remote testimony and a last-minute sanity board ordered by the military judge. Prosecutors have indicated many witnesses will appear by video because the event occurred more than two decades ago and many prospective witnesses are no longer in active government service.
# Bottom line
The defense seeks an explicit jury instruction about law-of-war detention so jurors understand that a not-guilty verdict would not guarantee release. The broader legal question is how criminal process and wartime detention authorities interact in a long-running case tied to the post-9/11 security framework.
Carol Rosenberg reports from Guantánamo Bay on the upcoming pre-trial hearing in the USS Cole bombing case. The post Guantánamo Dispatch: The USS Cole Case Edges Toward Trial appeared first on Just Security .
The witnesses in Guantanamo’s first-ever death penalty trial, the USS Cole bombing case, are expected to testify by video feed. The post Guantanamo Dispatch: Prosecutors Turn to Remote Testimony For First-Ever Capital Trial at Guantanamo appeared first on Just Security .
A new mental health exam for the defendant, Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, could signal delay in the USS Cole bombing case before jury selection begins at Guantanamo Bay. The post Guantanamo Dispatch: Military Judge Orders Last Minute Sanity Board in USS Cole Bombing Case appeared first on Just Security .
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