Bin Laden media man to boycott trial

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Aug. 17 (UPI) -- An alleged al-Qaida filmmaker held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, says he will sit out his war crime trial until he is sentenced.

Ali Hamza al Bahlul, 39, of Yemen is accused of serving as terrorist leader Osama bin Laden's media secretary and producing all ''propaganda products" for the al-Qaida network, The Miami Herald reported Sunday.

Bahlul told military judge Air Force Col. Ronald Gregory his trial is a "legal farce'' in which he would not participate.

''You are the judge and I am the accused,'' he told the judge. "At the same time you are my enemy. We really don't accept this kind of logic."

Bahlul's attorney, U.S. Air Force Reserve Maj. David Frakt, said he was prepared not to defend his client since that is his request.

''His wish is to boycott. I'm not aware of any obligation ... to put on a defense,'' Frakt said.

American Civil Liberties Union attorney Jennifer Turner said a trial where Bahlul would not offer a defense "destroys any possibility of any appearance of legitimacy and fairness."