A US Air Force enlisted man has been charged with spying and aiding the enemy while working as an Arabic translator at the US base in Cuba where hundreds of suspected al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners are jailed, the Pentagon says.
Senior US Airman Mr Ahmad al Halabi of Detroit, Michigan, is in jail at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, where he is charged with 32 counts, including espionage and other criminal violations, according to the Pentagon.
Defence department officials said Mr al Halabi, a 24-year-old Muslim, was found to have classified information on a computer in violation of strict security rules at the US Naval Base in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
The announcement came as the Pentagon also investigated possible espionage charges against Army Islamic chaplain Rev James Yee, held in a military jail in South Carolina since September 10th.
No charges have been filed against Yee, who this year ministered to many of the 660 prisoners at Guantanamo. Air Force Maj. Michael Shavers, a Pentagon spokesman, said Mr al Halabi knew Rev Yee, but it was not clear whether the two arrests were linked.
Mr Al Halabi is also charged with three counts of aiding the enemy as well as disobeying orders and making false official statements.
NBC News said a 10-page indictment alleged Mr al Halabi was carrying a laptop computer with 180 electronic notes, and two handwritten notes from detainees to be delivered to Syria and details about the US military installation at Guantanamo.
Citing defence department officials, NBC reported that the airman's arrest was part of a wider investigation involving at least three other people. A Pentagon spokesman was not immediately available for comment.
Al Halabi was arrested on July 23rd at the U.S. Naval Air Station in Jacksonville, Florida, after getting off a flight from Guantanamo. Officials gave no explanation of why al Halabi's arrest was only disclosed two months after it happened.