Detainee says he’s boycotting hearings

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba – A Yemeni man accused of being Osama bin Laden’s former bodyguard told a U.S. military tribunal Wednesday he regarded Americans as enemies and announced he would boycott the hearings, which proceeded anyway.

Led into the courtroom by two U.S. soldiers, Guantanamo detention center detainee Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al Bahlul announced he was boycotting the proceedings, saying he could not appoint his own lawyer, that secret evidence can be withheld from detainees and that the United States was “an enemy to the nation of Muslims.”

“I am boycotting all sessions, even if I’m forced to be present,” said a calm al Bahlul, who is accused of belonging to al-Qaida, before removing his translation headphones.

Al Bahlul, who wasn’t handcuffed, held up a sign written in Arabic that read “boycott.” He signed the paper, dated it and presented it to Army Col. Peter E. Brownback. He later removed his translating headphones.

Brownback, the presiding officer, denied al Bahlul’s request to represent himself and set a May 15 trial date. Al Bahlul is charged with conspiring with al-Qaida members to commit war crimes, including attacking civilians, and faces other conspiracy charges.

Prosecutors charge that al Bahlul was ordered by bin Laden to create a video glorifying the attack on the USS Cole that killed 17 sailors.