Verdict On East Africa Embassy Bombing Disappointing For US

A New York federal judge has prevented a key witness from providing evidence in the case involving a suspect in 1998's bombing of the US Embassy in East Africa, after declaring that the authorities found out about the man through forceful interrogations at a covert CIA prison overseas.

The verdict comes as a big blow to US prosecutors who believed that the man was a "giant witness" in the trial of Ahmed Ghailani, a Tanzanian national who is accused of acquiring bomb material and providing information about the US Embassy in Tanzania to an Egyptian suicide attacker. Simultaneous attacks in capital Dar es Salaam and Nairobi left 224 people dead, including 12 US citizens.

The verdict by federal judge Lewis A. Kaplan can hinder any attempts by Obama administration to implement its plan to put key Al Qaeda fighters being detained in Guantanamo Bay on trial in US civilian courts.

Ghailani is the first former Guantanamo Bay captive to have been put on trial in a US federal court. The trial is being closely monitored to determine whether Ghailani's detention in CIA prison can hinder the legal proceedings and strengthen the argument of those who claim that key captives must be prosecuted by military courts, where statements issued during captivity are considered more valid

Hussein Abebe, a taxi driver, was to testify that he provided the explosives used in embassy bombing to Ghailani. But according to Kaplan, the compulsion of Ghailani led to Abebe's discovery as a witness. He delayed the legal proceedings to give some time to the government to reassess its legal policy.