Posted on 02/23/2005 7:25:33 PM PST by river rat
WASHINGTON (AP) - A Virginia man accused of plotting with al-Qaida to kill President Bush should be held indefinitely, federal prosecutors said Wednesday in court filings that also rejected his contention that he was tortured while held in Saudi Arabia. At a court hearing a day earlier in Alexandria, Va., 23-year-old Ahmed Abu Ali offered to display scars on his back as proof that he was tortured by Saudi authorities. In their filing Wednesday, prosecutors said, "There is no credible evidence to support those claims."
Abu Ali never complained about his treatment during several meetings with an American diplomat in Saudi Arabia, according to the filing. Moreover, an American doctor examined him Monday and found "no evidence of physical mistreatment on the defendant's back or any other part of his body."
Edward MacMahon, one of Abu Ali's lawyers, said Wednesday he had not seen the government's motion and declined to comment. But on Tuesday, both MacMahon and defense lawyer Ashraf Nubani had said they had seen the scars on his back. Nubani said they looked like whip marks.
Abu Ali would pose "an exceptionally grave danger to the community" if released before his trial, prosecutors said in Wednesday's filing in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Abu Ali also would be unlikely to show up for his trial, they said.
Until now, the government has said little about the Abu Ali's arrest and detention in Saudi Arabia, where he was held for 20 months before being suddenly flown to America on Tuesday.
His lawyers and family allege the Saudis held him at the U.S. government's request and tortured him with the knowledge of American officials. Prior to Abu Ali's return, a lawsuit filed on his family's behalf in U.S. District Court in Washington sought information about his capture and treatment.
The government sought to have the case dismissed, but U.S. District Judge John Bates has declined, saying the family has presented circumstantial evidence to support their claims of torture.
Abu Ali was born in Houston and moved to Falls Church, Va., a Washington suburb. He was valedictorian of the Islamic Saudi Academy in Alexandria, then went to Saudi Arabia to study. He was arrested there in June 2003 but never charged.
Bates has scheduled a hearing in the civil lawsuit on Thursday. A hearing on whether Abu Ali should remain in custody until his trial was pushed back to Tuesday, the Justice Department said.
The judge wrote in December that there was "at least some circumstantial evidence that Abu Ali has been tortured during interrogations with the knowledge of the United States."
In addition, Bates wrote that Abu Ali's family said a U.S. diplomat reported to them that Abu Ali said FBI agents who questioned him threatened to send him to the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.
He noted at the time that the government had not attempted to rebut the family's claims. Since then, however, the Justice Department has filed a classified document seeking to justify its call for the civil case to be dismissed.
Morton Sklar, Abu Ali's lawyer in the civil case, said his client's return to the United States should not end the lawsuit. "Our main concern is that the United States government seems to have done a very effective job of diverting attention from its own responsibility for illegal conduct by focusing attention on the criminal charges," Sklar said.
A Justice Department spokesman said he would have no comment before the hearing in the civil case.
To make its criminal case against Abu Ali, the government might have to disclose details about his detention that it has sought to keep secret.
The government could try to use classified evidence, limiting defense lawyers' access to it, several civil rights and defense lawyers said. A similar issue has yet to be resolved in the case against Zacarias Moussaoui, the only U.S. defendant charged in an al-Qaida conspiracy that includes the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
Confessions and other evidence that result from coercive questioning or outright torture probably would not be allowed at trial. "If the information comes from mistreatment in Saudi Arabia, it would raise questions about whether there's enough evidence for the indictment to hold," said Priti Patel, an expert on detentions of terrorism suspects for Human Rights First.
In the indictment, the government alleges Abu Ali discussed assassinating Bush, conducting a terrorist attack in the United States and establishing an al-Qaida cell here.
It is unclear how much the indictment relies on Abu Ali's own words or those of several unidentified conspirators who the indictment says were known al-Qaida members.
---
Try the punk, if guilty -- then execute his sorry ass.
Semper Fi
OH THANK GOD! I was worried!
"Here at the CO-pa...Co-pa-ca-BAN-a..."
Ya mean,they had him stand on the panties instead of putting them on his head.;^)
I remember reading they are told to scream they are being tortured if caught. It's in one of the pamphlets sleeper cells use.
That sucks.
1. At the beginning of the trial, once more the brothers must insist on proving that torture was inflicted on them by State Security [investigators] before the judge.
2. Complain [to the court] of mistreatment while in prison.
Hey, Abu, you're a good Muslim, you know the rules in the Kingdom. You are lucky they didn't behead you.
As well, arrested in the Kingdom... Don't think that was the FBI or DC's finest with jurisdiction. So, the Saudi's picked you up, "tortured" you, and now you want to sue the US? WTF?
LOL I mean, plotting to kill the president is wrong, I guess, but how dare they hard a hair on this INNOCENT man's head! Bush lied! Haliburton! blah blah blah... ;)
Regardless of his religion, he is a U.S. citizen. And he should get the same rights to a fair trial that you would want RR.
This guy doesn't know how lucky he is...to be alive...
Our young warriors are a LOT more considerate than some of the old timers I served with...
He would NEVER have achieved "prisoner status" in our AO.
Semper Fi
YOU BAD!!!!
His claim is that U.S. agents knew about the torture. But I agree, it doesn't mean crap whether U.S. agents knew or not, it is the jurisdiction of the Saudi Government. If they feel that torture is ok, that's their decision. The one problem with it is this. His confession will be thrown out when he is tried here. So, the U.S. Attorney better have a solid case.
Don't they have a "religious ritual" that requires them to beat themselves with a whip of some sort??
As I said... TRY him, if GUILTY, KILL HIS SORRY YOUNG ASS.
Semper Fi
not tortured? Just dam
That's great. So, all the government would have to do is definitively link this scumbag to Al-Queda and his complaint is null just by his indoctrination.
A Muslim lied!!! I'm shocked, SHOCKED.....
Try the punk, if guilty -- then execute his sorry ass.
Your retort was out of where? Where did river rat suggest not giving him a fair trial, especially on the grounds of religion?
Its not like river rat used Judge Roy Bean's line:
We're gonna give you a fair trial and hang you in the morning
Though, in all honesty, we could use more judges like that.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.