Al-Qaida leader on trial for USS Cole attack

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- The alleged mastermind of the deadly 2000 suicide bombing of the USS Cole warship off Yemen was arraigned Wednesday in a U.S. military court at Guantanamo.

It was the first time alleged al-Qaida leader Abd al Rahim al Nashiri has appeared in court since he was captured nine years ago, The Miami Herald reported.

The U.S. government is seeking the death penalty against the 46-year-old defendant, a former millionaire from Saudi Arabia who appeared before an Army judge in a white prison camp uniform, the newspaper said.

Defense attorneys say the alleged torture Nashiri underwent at the hands of the CIA following his arrest eliminates any "moral authority" the United States has in seeking the death penalty. Prosecutors say no evidence gleaned through torture will be used at the trial.

Nashiri was subjected to interrogations that included mock executions, threats to his family and waterboarding, officials said.