LARRY O’DELL
Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The first military detainee from Afghanistan to be brought to the U.S. for trial faces arraignment on terrorism charges in a Virginia courtroom.
A detention hearing also is set Friday morning for Irek Hamidullin in federal court in Richmond. Hamidullin faces 12 charges, including providing material support to terrorists, trying to destroy U.S. military aircraft and conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
According to the indictment, Hamidullin is a Russian veteran of the war in Afghanistan who stayed in the country and joined the Taliban. He was captured in 2009 after an attack on Afghan border police and U.S. soldiers. His transfer to the U.S. represents the latest attempt by the Obama administration to show that it can use the criminal court system to deal with terror suspects.
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