U.S.: Suspect in Bush Plot Not Tortured

WASHINGTON Feb 24, 2005 — 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."
...
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.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=527541&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

Where is his sense of humor????

the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

All of these splashy cases have crumbled. I remember the breathless capture of Capt Yee...

Muslim ex-spy suspect wins award, ovation

SACRAMENTO -- A Fort Lewis-based Muslim chaplain imprisoned for 76 days in solitary confinement, then cleared in an espionage investigation says he and another former spy suspect are victims of a "new culture of eroding civil liberties" in the United States.

Army Capt. James Yee was greeted with an award and a standing ovation by the Council on American-Islamic Relations when he was presented with a "Courage and Inspiration Award" at the organization's Sacramento fund-raising event. He was saluted by a racially and ethnically diverse 400-member audience that included both Muslims and Christians.

Yee is awaiting discharge at Fort Lewis.

Yee said he and Ahmad Al Halabi, one of Yee's assistants at the U.S. internment center for suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, were victims of an overzealous government. Al Halabi also attended the Saturday event......

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/200782_yee23.html?searchpagefrom=1&searchdiff=94

CIA’s private jet an open secret in terror war 12-28

 A twenty-three-year-old American citizen has been detained
for 18 months without charges in Saudi Arabia. A U.S.
district court issued a ruling citing evidence suggesting that
U.S. officials orchestrated Abu Ali's arrest, that the
U.S. government is behind his continued detention, and that
the reason the U.S. is keeping Abu Ali in Saudi Arabia is to
avoid the scrutiny of the federal courts. 12-28

http://www.oldamericancentury.org/civil-liberties/civil_dec.htm

OOPS! the scrutiny of the federal courts is upon US.

Why did they warehouse this guy in Arabia? Oh, I dunno, maybe because torture isn't ILLEGAL there or something? Fuck, what do I know, maybe they figured he wanted to visit the "homeland" he never knew....

Is this, by any chance, a government doctor?

This story has got holes large enough to run an entire fleet of Mack trucks through it.

Sounds like Saudi prisons are happy happy fun places!

The prosecutor added Abu Ali was allowed to play soccer and work out while in Saudi custody and called his allegations of mistreatment “an utter fabrication.”

Minor complication: his only acuser is dead

Abu Ali’s arrest has been complicated by the news that the only person who accused Abu Ali of terrorist ties is dead. The suspected member of Al-Qaeda, who was not named, was killed in a shootout with Saudi authorities 17 months ago, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

“It now turns out the only witness to these supposed conversations about killing the president is dead, and that raises questions about how the government is going to prove its case,” said Edward MacMahon, a lawyer for Abu Ali. “I think they’ve got a problem.”

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=59504&d=25&m=2&y=2005