Guantanamo terror suspect to face military commission

GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) -- The Pentagon has accused the third Guantanamo terror suspect to face a U.S. military commission in as many days of being a "key Al-Qaida propagandist."
But his father says his son is just a peace-loving man who enjoys writing poetry.
Ali Hamza Ahmad Sulayman al-Bahlul, 33, of Yemen, was scheduled to appear today for a preliminary hearing on a charge of conspiracy to commit war crimes.
The hearings are the first step to military commissions, or trials, to be heard by a five-member military panel -- the first such proceedings since World War II.
Osama bin Laden's chauffeur, 34-year-old Salim Ahmed Hamdan of Yemen, declined to enter a plea in the first hearing Tuesday.
David Hicks, a 29-year-old Australian cowboy accused of fighting with Afghanistan's ousted Taliban regime, pleaded innocent Wednesday.
Accusation
The Pentagon has accused al-Bahlul of being a "key Al-Qaida propagandist who produced videos glorifying the murder of Americans to recruit, inspire and motivate other Al-Qaida members" to attack the United States and other countries.
Al-Bahlul's father, Hamza Ahmed, told The Associated Press in previous interviews in Yemen that the family has suffered from his son's detention, both "psychologically and financially."
"He is cultured and peace-loving and he speaks English and enjoys reading and writing poetry," Ahmed said, noting his son used to send money home.
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