Guantánamo Detainee Has Arrived in New York

The Guantánamo detainee who was ordered by President Obama to face trial in civilian court has arrived in New York, and will appear Tuesday in Federal District Court in Manhattan, the Justice Department announced.

The former detainee, Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani, is to be arraigned on charges that he participated in a conspiracy that included the bombings in 1998 of the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, attacks organized by Al Qaeda that killed more than 200 people and injured thousands.

Mr. Ghailani, who could face the death penalty, has been accused of helping to obtain explosives and a truck for use in the bombing of the American embassy in Tanzania, and assisting with other logistics.

Mr. Ghailani, a Tanzanian believed to be in his mid-30s, was captured in 2004, then held in secret prisons run by the Central Intelligence Agency until his transfer in 2006 to the naval base at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.

There, he also faced military charges stemming from the bombing as well as what the authorities say were his activities with Al Qaeda right up until his capture.

The military charged that he received weapons and explosives training at a Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan in late 1998, and that he later served as a bodyguard and cook to Osama bin Laden.

The military also charged that he worked as a document forger for Al Qaeda, preparing passports, travel and identification documents for Qaeda operatives to use in carrying out terrorists acts.

The military charges were dropped late last month.

President Obama announced last month that Mr. Ghailani would be transferred to civilian court as part of his effort to close Guantánamo, and try terrorism suspects in federal courts “wherever feasible.”

The president said of Mr. Ghailani: “After over a decade, it is time to finally see that justice is served, and that is what we intend to do.”

Much debate over the decision to close Guantánamo has focused on where to safely hold detainees who are considered the most dangerous.

The Justice Department said on Tuesday that Mr. Ghailani would be held pending trial at the Metropolitan Correctional Center, a federal facility that has been used to hold many terrorism defendants over the years.

“The Justice Department has a long history of securely detaining” terror suspects in the criminal justice system, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. said in a statement.

One early issue that may be addressed on Tuesday is the matter of who will represent Mr. Ghailani.

Scott L. Fenstermaker, a lawyer in Manhattan, has filed court papers saying he was retained by Mr. Ghailani in the federal court case. Meanwhile, federal prosecutors have asked a judge to remove Mr. Fenstermaker from the case, questioning whether he is authorized to act on Mr. Ghailani’s behalf.

And adding more intrigue to the case, military lawyers who have been representing Mr. Ghailani at Guantánamo have asked their superiors for permission to come to New York to help defend him in civilian court. They have not yet been given an answer, an official said Tuesday.

By BENJAMIN WEISER, nytimes.com
Margot Williams contributed reporting.