USS Cole Bomber Loses Insanity Appeal
The terrorist behind the 2000 USS Cole bombing lost an initial competency appeal Friday as his death penalty trial looms.
The terrorist behind the 2000 USS Cole bombing lost an initial competency appeal Friday as his death penalty trial looms.
An Army psychiatrist ruled Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri competent to stand trial, while a federal judge declined to involve himself in the case, and a military judge agreed to hear from mental health experts that disagree with the psychiatrist’s findings, Just Security reported Saturday. This occurs as a jury is selected for his trial, which is set to be the first capital trial by military commission at Guantanamo Bay.
A military official with insider ties to the Office of Military Commissions told the Daily Caller News Foundation that the RMC 706, a rule used to determine if a defendant is mentally competent to stand trial, determined on Friday that there was nothing about al-Nashiri’s mental competency hindering him from standing trial. However, the court is proceeding with an RMC 909 —another ruling used to assess a defendant’s mental competency.
Orchestrated by two Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, the attack targeted the USS Cole, a Navy destroyer fueling at the port of Aden in Yemen on Oct. 12, 2000. The attack killed 17 American sailors and injured approximately 40 more. Al-Nashiri is accused of masterminding the attacks, and overseeing all