Guantanamo prisoner admits al-Qaida membership

A Yemeni poet accused of writing terrorist propaganda admitted he was a member of al-Qaida and asked to represent himself before a US military commission today.

The request is to be considered by John Altenburg, a retired Army general in charge of the proceedings at the US base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul, 36, of Yemen, was defiant as he appeared before the five-member panel charged with conspiracy to commit war crimes, which could bring a sentence of life in prison.

“As God is my witness, and the United States did not put any pressure on me, I am an al-Qaida member,” the detainee said through an Arabic interpreter, his head shaved and wearing tan pants and a grey polo shirt.

There was no date set for the next hearing, pending a decision by Altenburg.

Army Colonel Peter Brownback initially said the order setting up military commissions did not allow for al Bahlul to represent himself.

“I have a large amount of knowledge,” al Bahlul said, when asked whether he had sufficient knowledge of American culture to understand the proceedings.

Brownback warned that even if he was allowed to represent himself, there may be evidence he would not be allowed to see because he does not have clearance for classified information.

The hearings are the first step toward trials before five-member military commissions.

Al Bahlul is accused of being a “key al-Qaida propagandist who produced videos glorifying the murder of Americans to recruit, inspire and motivate other al-Qaida members” to attack the United States and other countries.