Guantanamo prisoners Islamic chaplain detained

A US Army Islamic chaplain who counselled al Qaida prisoners at Guantanamo Naval Base in Cuba has been detained as part of a military investigation, officials said.

Captain James Yee, also known as Yousef Yee, according to US military records in Guantanamo, has been confined since September 10. But he has not been charged with any crimes, US military spokesman Captain Thomas Crosson said.

Captain Crosson said he does not know the nature of the investigation: “If charges were formally filed, then we’d be able to tell you.” He didn’t know if an Article 32 hearing, similar to a grand jury, had been scheduled.

Captain Yee was taken into custody at a naval station in Jacksonville, Tennessee, Capt Crosson said.

A senior law enforcement official said FBI agents confiscated classified documents Capt Yee was carrying and questioned him before he was handed over to the military.

Bill Hurlburt, a spokesman with the FBI in Jacksonville, confirmed that agents were at the scene, but he declined to comment any further.

Capt Yee is being held at a military brig in Charleston, South Carolina, Capt Crosson said. That is the same place where officials are holding Yaser Esam Hamdi, a US-born Saudi who allegedly fought with the Taliban, and Jose Padilla, a former Chicago gang member charged with plotting to detonate a radioactive “dirty bomb”.

Capt Yee is a Muslim chaplain who was assigned to the base at Guantanamo Bay in November, Capt Crosson said. He served as the Islamic adviser to the Joint Taskforce Commander. The base in eastern Cuba is overseen by the Miami-based Southern Command. It is where about 650 men from 43 countries are held, all accused of having links to the al-Qaida terrorist network or Afghanistan’s fallen Taliban regime.

A Chinese-American and 1990 West Point graduate, Captain Yee converted to Islam in college and became a chaplain after spending time in the Army.