"Here comes another one, just like the other ones." Looks like the Government is not bothering with PC. I wish the media would get over it.
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Guantánamo Bay Aide Is Arrested at Boston Airport
By TERENCE NEILAN
A naturalized American of Egyptian descent who works at a United States prison camp for captured militants at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has been arrested in Boston after he was found to be in possession of what appeared to be classified information, the Department of Homeland Security said today.
The arrested man, Ahmed Mehalba, arrived at Logan Airport on Monday on a flight from Cairo by way of Milan.
Homeland Security officers from Customs and Border Protection began a routine examination of Mr. Mehalba in Boston and found compact discs in his baggage, the department said in a statement. One of the discs contained the apparently classified information, the department added.
Agents from Immigration and Customs Enforcement of the Department of Homeland Security and the Boston Joint Terrorism Task Force then arrested Mr. Mehalba.
Authorization for the arrest was given by the United States Attorney's Office in Boston, the department said.
A press officer for the attorney's office, Christina Sterling, said Mr. Mehalba would appear in court in Boston this afternoon. The charges are under seal until after the hearing.
Mr. Mehalba, who was described as a contract linguist, both translating and interpreting, at Guantánamo Bay, is the third person detained recently in an investigation of suspected espionage at the camp.
Last week another linguist at the camp, Senior Airman Ahmad I. al-Halabi, was charged with espionage and passing military secrets to Syria, the Pentagon said. A military lawyer for Airman al-Halabi, Maj. Kim E. London, disputed the military's accusations.
An Islamic chaplain in the Army, Capt. James J. Yee, also known as Youssef Yee, was taken into custody on Sept. 10 at a naval air station in Jacksonville, Fla., but he has yet to be charged. Captain Yee, also known as Youssef Yee, is being held at the Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., under suspicion that he, too, was spying for Syria at Guantánamo Bay. The Army is investigating his activities at the camp, military officials said.
Pentagon officials said last week that it was likely that Airman al-Halabi and Captain Yee knew each other, given the camp's small size and the need for Arabic-speaking interpreters in many of the camp's daily operations.
Captain Yee, a 1990 graduate of West Point who converted to Islam, was one of the few camp officials to have unrestricted access to prisoners, but at times he used an interpreter, the authorities said. It was unclear whether the arrests were related.
nytimes.com |
