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CNN Saturday Morning News

Officials Ponder Legal Action Against Alleged U.S. Taliban Fighter

Aired April 06, 2002 - 08:20   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.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: The second American suspected of fighting with the Taliban has spent his first night back on U.S. soil. Yasser Hamdi is being held at a Virginia naval base, and now U.S. officials are trying to figure out how to proceed against him legally.

Our Jonathan Aiken is live at the Pentagon with more on this -- hi, Jonathan.

JONATHAN AIKEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, Kyra.

You're right, first full day on U.S. soil for Yasser Esam Hamdi. He's the American born Saudi thought to be a Taliban loyalist. The 22-year-old Hamdi the focus of a lot of discussion not only here at the Pentagon, but across the river at the Justice Department and the White House, as U.S. officials ponder how they want to proceed next in what could be a somewhat complicated legal case.

Hamdi was brought to the United States yesterday. He was transferred under heavy guard to the Norfolk Naval Air Station from Camp X-Ray, the military facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Hamdi has been staying there along with many other detainees who were brought over from Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Now, the complication in all of this is a birth certificate that appears to back up Hamdi's claim that he was born to Saudi parents in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The family apparently went back to Saudi Arabia when Hamdi was just a toddler.

Now, the complication is if Hamdi is an American citizen, this will directly affect how not only the U.S. judicial system, but also in the short run, anyway, how the military will deal with him physically and also deal with his case.

The top U.S. commander of troops in Afghanistan, who has something to say on this subject, called discussions on Hamdi a work in progress.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. TOMMY FRANKS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: With respect to this particular case, I think it will unfold in the days ahead as judgments are made in Washington about what the correct handing of this detainee is. So I've read the reports, but I am not on the inside of the thinking about what the next step should be with this man.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

AIKEN: Now, if Hamdi is an American citizen, he's going to have to come out of that brig at Norfolk, Virginia and be transferred to a civilian facility. And among the places he could be taken, the Alexandria City Detention Center, which is located a few miles down river and is also home to Zacarias Moussaoui and John Walker Lindh, who will be facing trial at the courthouse, the federal courthouse across the street this fall.

This will also mean that the U.S. government will have to press charges against Hamdi and do it soon. Because if he is not an American citizen, the military can hold him indefinitely without charges. There are other issues to be raised here, the questions of dual citizenship. Is he, in fact, a Saudi citizen? Has he forfeited his right to U.S. citizenship by taking up arms against U.S. soldiers? All of this, Kyra, has yet to be determined.

PHILLIPS: Our Jonathan Aiken live at the Pentagon. Thanks, Jon.

AIKEN: Sure.

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