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CNN Live Today

Second American Taliban to Be Transferred to U.S.

Aired April 04, 2002 - 13:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Yasser Esam Hamdi, he is the second alleged American Taliban member, and he is being held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. But possibly not for long. Our Kelli Arena is keeping tabs on the situation. She joins us now from Washington -- Kelli.

KELLI ARENA, CNN JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, U.S. government sources tell us that he will be moving from Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to the United States later on today. He will be taken by military jet. He will be landing in the Washington area at Dulles Airport in Virginia. That I'm told, is for jurisdictional reasons. Then he is off to the Norfolk Naval Base in Norfolk, Virginia.

We are told that he will remain in military custody. There had been some thought earlier that he might be turned over to the FBI, but right now he is still classified as a combatant in the battlefield, and until a decision has been made between the Pentagon and the Justice Department, he will remain in military custody. The U.S. is, of course, exploring both avenues, either taking him through the military justice route, or through the criminal justice system here. That would also take place in the Alexandria, Virginia courthouse where the other American Taliban, John Walker Lindh, is currently going through his legal process.

This is a different story from the John Walker Lindh case. With John Walker Lindh, the Justice Department had information from him, there was an alleged confession, there were circumstances that involved the killing of a CIA agent. There were very clear and specific charges that could be brought against him.

There is also this situation of dual citizenship. Hamdi is both a Saudi and an American citizen. There is a situation that he has fought for a foreign enterprise and so there is a question of legality here that is being sorted out by the lawyers of the Justice Department with the Department of Defense. And when a decision is made, then we will find out which course of action will be taken. But for now, to underscore, he remains in military custody and will for the foreseeable future. Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Now, Kelli, is the military plane already en route or on the ground in Guantanamo picking him up?

ARENA: I do not believe it is en route yet. I did not really get a clear picture on timing. I do believe our defense correspondent has a better idea on that. I was more concerned with whether he was going to be handed over to the FBI or not. And right now it looks like he remains in military custody.

WHITFIELD: OK. And there's no way of telling -- I know it's early on in the stage and we still have an awful lot of questions and very few answer coming from the authorities, but are they giving you any indication as of yet as to how long he might be in military custody?

ARENA: They haven't made that decision yet. This is a much more complicated issue, as I said before, from the John Walker Lindh situation. And so, the main goal here is to get him to the United States, keep him in military custody, have the lawyers battle it out, the -- I'm told by one government source that the Justice Department has provided some legal advice to the Department of Defense and to how they should dealing with this. It has got to be a meeting of the minds. They have got to grapple over it, and as I said, there is an issue of dual citizenship that has to be, you know, dealt with as well.

So there are some very, very complicated legal issues that have to be sorted out before any decision can be made. So this could be -- this could be tomorrow, this could be days, you know, weeks from now. We have no idea.

WHITFIELD: All right, thanks very much, Kelli Arena, reporting from Washington now.

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