A U.S. military tribunal has charged an Iraqi prisoner at Guantánamo Bay with war crimes. Abd al Hadi al-Iraqi is accused of plotting and ordering attacks on Western troops in Afghanistan. He has been held at Guantánamo for more than seven years and is classified as one of 16 “high-value” prisoners. Military prosecutor Mark Martins said the case against al-Iraqi is strong, while defense attorney James Connell said the United States mishandled the case by failing to bring charges for years.

Brig. Gen. Mark Martins: “This is evidence we are confident can be proved — can prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt, which is why we bring it. And I will have to leave it at that.”

James Connell: “What happened here is that the justice process was hijacked by the CIA, and when Mr. al-Baluchi came into his custody, he was placed — held in CIA custody until September of 2006 instead of being presented to a justice system.”

Al-Iraqi’s case could help decide the future of the military tribunal system for Guantánamo prisoners. It is unclear if the tribunal will hear conspiracy charges against him since conspiracy is not considered a war crime.