Ahmed F. Mehalba
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Ahmed Fathy Mehalba (b. 1973) was a United States Air Force civilian translator who was convicted of lying to government agents and removing classified documents from the Guantanamo Bay detention facility.
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[edit] Childhood and emigration to United States
Born in Egypt, Mehalba emigrated to the United States and became a naturalized citizen. Mehalba received a medical discharge from the Army in May 2001 and was later hired a San Diego defense contractor, Titan Corporation, to be an Arabic-English translator at Guantanamo Bay.
[edit] Arrest at Logan Airport
In 2003, Mehalba was assigned as a civilian interpreter at Guantanamo. He was arrested on September 29, 2003, at Boston Logan Airport. Mehalba had flown into Logan through Italy from Cairo, Egypt. On routine admission through customs, Mehalba presented a US passport and a US military identification card. When asked about some computer CDs, he said that they contained only music and videos he had made while in Egypt. One CD was labeled secret. Mehalba told inspectors that he did not have any official US government documents.
Mehalba's former girlfriend was U.S. Army Specialist Deborah Gephart, who was dishonorably discharged from the Army while a student at the Army's counter-intelligence school at Fort Huachaca, Arizona in 2001. Gephart had stated that Mehalba's uncle was with Egyptian intelligence. During his interview at Logan Airport, Mehalba discussed Gephart, but denied she was his girlfriend.
[edit] Espionage charges against Mehelba
Mehelba was one of four people accused of security breaches at the Guantanamo Bay detention facility. The others were Air Force enlisted Senior Airman Ahmad Al Halabi, Army Captain and Muslim Chaplain James Yee, and Army Colonel Jack Farr.
[edit] Conviction and sentence
On January 10, 2005, Mehalba pleaded guilty to lying to government agents and removing classified documents. On February 18 2005, Mehalba was sentenced to 20 months in prison, with credit for 17 months, time served. He was released in March, 2005.
[edit] External links
- Finer, Jonathan Interpreter Pleads Guilty to Taking DataWashington Post, (January 11, 2005)
- CNN Court-martial begins for ex-Gitmo interpreter
- Complaint .pdf in United States vs. Mehelba
- Photo of Mehalba Washington Times
- Former Civilian Translator Sentenced to 20 Months Rantburg (February 18, 2005)
