Judge gets two views of confession

The Washington Times ^ | 10-21-05 | Matthew Barakat

[JZelle]

Saudi security police say Ahmed Omar Abu Ali was like "a bag of water" in his initial interrogation, spilling forth with a confession that he was an al Qaeda member and that he discussed plans to assassinate President Bush.

A federal judge must decide which version he believes after hearing closing arguments yesterday in a six-day pretrial hearing in Alexandria to determine whether a confession Abu Ali gave to the Saudis in July 2003 should be allowed as evidence at his upcoming trial. The confession is the government's key piece of evidence. If U.S. District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee tosses it out of court, the entire case could be dismissed. Prosecutors would have the option of appealing the ruling. Judge Lee must decide whether he believes the testimony he heard from members of the Mubahith during an unusual deposition held in Saudi Arabia in July, or whether he believes Abu Ali, 24, who told his story for the first time Wednesday in court testimony. Khurrum Wahid, Abu Ali's attorney, said yesterday that the Mubahith officers simply were not credible in their testimony in July, when they said the Mubahith have never used force to extract a confession. The Mubahith also said that they did not interrogate Abu Ali until three days after his arrest, and that he confessed immediately when confronted with evidence gleaned from other al Qaeda members. In fact, Mr. Wahid said, Abu Ali had been interrogated four or five times on the day of his arrest, and he agreed to cooperate only after being whipped.

[JZelle]

I bet it's thrown out.

[CatoRenasci]

well, we have a dilemma: wouldn't surprise me if (1) the guy was third-degreed and (2) he's guilty as sin. If it were here that he was worked over, confession should not be admissable. If from outside the US, it should be admissible, although subject to attack as being (1) coerced and (2) not corroborated. Of course, if it's corroborated, he should swing.