The United States has begun jury selection in the first death‑penalty case to be heard at Guantánamo Bay, focusing on a Saudi national accused of planting the explosive that sank the USS Cole in Yemen in 2000, killing 17 American sailors.
Legal Proceedings and Political Context
Legal experts say the trial will test the limits of the military commissions framework that the Obama administration inherited from its Bush predecessor. The prosecution is seeking the death penalty as part of a broader justice programme that aims to hold perpetrators of terrorist attacks accountable. Defence lawyers argue that the pre‑trial proceedings have been marred by delays and concerns over the admissibility of evidence