Trial delay ‘another disappointment' for USS Cole victim's family
GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA (WBOY) — This week marked Saundra Norman's sixth or seventh trip to Guantanamo Bay to observe court proceedings in the case of Abd Al-Rahim Al-Nashiri, the accused mastermind behind the terrorist attack on the US Navy destroyer USS Cole in 2000.
She's been to the military base in southern Cuba so many times that she has trouble keeping count. Norman's son, Petty Officer First Class Kevin Rux, was one of 17 sailors killed when a bomb-laden small boat struck the ship while it was docked in Yemen.
On Monday morning, another round of pre-trial motions was set to be held for Al-Nashiri, but the military judge presiding over the case delayed the trial until June 2026 to allow defense attorneys more time to prepare. Al-Nashiri faces the death penalty.
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'Another disappointment,' said Mrs. Norman via text to 12 News Monday afternoon.
Al-Nashiri's trial has been delayed several times since his arrest in 2002. Defense attorneys have previously argued that the evidence against Al-Nashiri was based on hearsay and torture.
'We've had (victims') parents who have died without seeing justice,' Norman told 12 News in 2023. 'We just need to get this trial going. It keeps the wound open and it just doesn't get any easier.'
Mrs. Norman and the surviving family members of the victims will spend the rest of the week together at the base.
Kevin Rux's body is buried at the National Cemetery in Taylor County. The bridge over Interstate 79 at Saltwell Road in Harrison County is named in his memory.
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