International   

U.S. drops charges against Muslim Chaplain

By Sridhar Krishnaswami

WASHINGTON, MARCH 20. Under the pretext of national security concerns, the United States Army has dropped all charges against a Muslim Chaplain who was accused of mishandling classified documents at the Guantanamo Bay Base. The Base houses scores of suspected terrorists and has become a focal point of attention among civil rights activists in the United States and overseas.

Captain James Yee — a Chinese American — is being allowed to return to his earlier duty station in the State of Washington, according to the United States South Command in Florida that has jurisdiction over the facility in the Base.

The Commander of the Joint Task Force at the Base, Gen. Geoffrey Miller had concluded that there would be concerns of national security from the release of evidence during the time of the trial.

"In the grand scheme of things and in the interest of national security, Gen. Miller felt like the charges needed to be dropped. It seemed to be the prudent way to proceed," a spokesman for the Southern Command said.

Capt.Yee spent more than two months in custody after the military accused him of being involved in an espionage ring at the Base in Cuba but the Government has been unable to bring about a case of capital espionage. And all along there has been little from the prosecution about the case leaving many to wonder whether Capt. Yee was being singled out because of his religion or because of race.

The military charged Capt. Yee with mishandling classified information, failing to obey an order, making a false official statement, allegedly downloading pornography on his official laptop and adultery.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

International

News: Front Page | National | Tamil Nadu | Andhra Pradesh | Karnataka | Kerala | New Delhi | Other States | International | Opinion | Business | Sport | Miscellaneous |
Advts: Classifieds | Employment | Updates: Breaking News |

Stories in this Section

• Anti-war protesters take to the streets
• Narrow win for Chen; Opposition contests poll verdict
• Arabs think they are worse off after Iraq war
• Malaysia to go to the polls today
• Karuna `whipping up regionalism'
• Putin urges tough action to defend Serbs
• Pakistan captures 100 `foreign' militants
• U.S. drops charges against Muslim Chaplain
• Clarification
• Former Dutch Queen is dead
• Transplant baby doing fine

Copyright © 2004, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu