| Osama bin Laden's alleged accountant boycotted a review hearing to evaluate his legal status, and his attorney was barred from attending the proceedings at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Ibrahim Ahmed Mahmoud al Qosi, 44, is one of four prisoners charged with war crimes at the U.S. naval base on Cuba's eastern tip. The United States says al Qosi, of Sudan, worked as al-Qaida's chief accountant, paymaster and supply chief. Defense attorneys have criticized the review hearings as a sham, warning their clients not to speak at any proceedings unless they have an attorney present. A decision on their status can still be rendered without the participation of the prisoners. It was unclear whether al Qosi's boycott was connected to the barring of his attorney. Although the government views the hearings as purely administrative, there is nothing that prohibits prosecutors from using testimony given at the review hearings during the military commissions, or trials. Al Qosi's trial is scheduled for December. |