Ahmed Omar Abu Ali
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali | |
---|---|
Born | March 1981 (age 43) providing material support to terrorists, two counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization (Al-Qaeda ),one count of contributing goods and services to Al-Qaeda, one count of receiving services from Al-Qaeda, and charges of conspiracy to assassinate the president of the United States, conspiracy to hijack aircraft, and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. |
Penalty | life sentence (on appeal) |
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali (
Background
Born in
Arrest and detention in Saudi Arabia
In June 2003, Abu Ali was arrested by Saudi authorities while taking exams at the
In response to the detention by the Saudi government, Abu Ali's family, represented by Morton Sklar and the
US criminal trial
The District Court in DC never got a chance to rule on the issue of jurisdiction. In February 2005, Abu Ali was transferred to US custody pursuant to a criminal indictment, returned by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia on February 3, 2005.[7] The indictment charged Abu Ali with two counts of providing material support to terrorists, two counts of providing material support to a terrorist organization (Al-Qaeda), one count of contributing goods and services to Al-Qaeda, and one count of receiving services from Al-Qaeda.
The indictment was later amended to add charges of conspiracy to assassinate the President of the United States, conspiracy to hijack aircraft, and conspiracy to destroy aircraft. The indictment alleged that Abu Ali had joined a terrorist cell in Medina, led by senior al-Qaeda members
Pretrial hearings
Abu Ali went to trial in the fall of 2005. The government's evidence was focused on a detailed confession Abu Ali had made while in Saudi custody. Abu Ali challenged the admissibility of the confession, claiming: (1) the confession was involuntary due to alleged torture he had suffered at the hands of the Saudis; and (2) he should have been given certain constitutional protections (including
After an extended pre-trial suppression hearing, in which Abu Ali himself testified,[9] Judge Gerald Bruce Lee, who presided over the case, ruled that Abu Ali's confession to Saudi agents was admissible.[10][11]
Abu Ali’s testimony regarding his torture
Abu Ali testified that on the first day, his interrogators asked him whether he knew specific people and whether he knew about bombings in Riyadh. At one point, his blindfold was taken off. Abu Ali said he then saw the bruised face of a man through a window in the door to the room. The man was asked if he knew Abu Ali, and he shook his head no, then was taken away. Abu Ali was not fed this day. The Saudis hit him, slapped him, punched him in the stomach, and pulled his beard, ears, and hair. He was not allowed to use the bathroom, even when Abu Ali asked to wash up for prayers. The next day, the Saudis continued hitting him. At one point, he was taken from the chair in which he was sitting, and his handcuffs were handcuffed to a chain or other handcuffs in the floor, leaving him with his knees to his chest on the ground, hunched over with his head on his fists, and his feet shackled. Then someone began to strike him on the back and to yell, “confess!” He does not know what he was hit with, or how many times. Although he was blindfolded, Abu Ali said he could hear four different voices in the room, and that he thinks he was assaulted by only one person. Abu Ali said it was “very painful” and that it was the “first time I felt extreme pain.” While he was being hit on the back, people in the room kept telling him to “confess.” When the beating began, he was clad in an undershirt and long underpants. At one point, his undershirt was torn off and he was struck on his bare back. Eventually, Abu Ali told them he would cooperate. The beating stopped, and he was taken back to his cell.[12]
Marks on Abu Ali’s back
There were several marks on Abu Ali's back which the defense presented as physical evidence that Abu Ali had been tortured. The prosecution claimed that these marks were not the result of torture but merely “pigment discolorations.”
The defense expert was Dr. Allen Keller, the director of the Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture. Dr. Keller physically examined Abu Ali and said that he observed about seven to ten scars on Abu Ali's back which evince scars from the whipping Mr. Abu Ali claims he suffered during interrogation in Medina.
The government expert was Dr. Robert Katz, a dermatologist. He did not physically examine Abu Ali but viewed photographs that the court had taken. Dr. Katz stated that, in his opinion, the marks depicted on Abu Ali's back in the photograph were not scars, but “pigment discolorations.”
The judge sided with the prosecution.[12]
Jury trial and appeal
The jury trial took place in November 2005. On November 22, 2005, after deliberating for two and a half days, the jury returned a unanimous guilty verdict on all counts.[13][14] On March 29, 2006, Ali was sentenced to 30 years in prison for his crime.[15] While prosecutors had pushed for a life sentence, Judge Gerald Bruce Lee explained that the (relatively) light sentence was handed down because Abu Ali's actions "did not result in one single actual victim. That fact must be taken into account."
On appeal, the
Mr. Ali is held under highly restrictive conditions in
Criticism of trial by Amnesty International
Amnesty International has called Abu-Ali's trial unfair based on their observations in the period from November 7 to 10, 2005.[19] They conclude that:
Amnesty International is seriously concerned that the trial of Ahmed Abu Ali may set a precedent in US courts of according unqualified support to the declarations of a foreign government regarding its human rights record as a means of rendering evidence admissible, including statements obtained by torture and ill-treatment. In this case, the statements of officials from Saudi Arabia, a state with a clear record of widespread torture and ill-treatment, flatly denying that such practices existed appear to have been taken at face value with no serious attempts allowed to challenge the claims presented
See also
Notes
- ^ Dao, James, and Lichtblau, Eric, "Case Adds to Outrage for Muslims in Northern Virginia," The New York Times, February 27, 2004, accessed November 11, 2009
- ^ "Conviction upheld in Bush assassination plot". CNN. June 6, 2008. Archived from the original on June 13, 2008.
- ^ "The New Republic Online: Suspect Policy". Archived from the original on September 7, 2005. Retrieved June 3, 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - ^ World Organization for Human Rights USA, Chronology of events through 2004[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Jerry Markon "Relentless Terrorism Prosecutor Faces Accusations of His Own," The Washington Post, September 14, 2008". Washingtonpost.com. September 14, 2008. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ Abu Ali v. Ashcroft, 04-1258 (D.D.C. Dec. 16, 2004).[permanent dead link]
- ^ "U.S. v. Abu Ali, 05-CR-53" (PDF). Fox News. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ "DOJ Press Release" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on May 11, 2009. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ Al Qaeda Suspect Tells of Bush Plot, The Washington Post, September 20, 2005.
- ^ "Judge Rules in Alleged Bush Assassination Plot is Admissible, USA Today, Oct. 24, 2005". Usatoday.com. October 24, 2005. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ Judge Allows Statement by Al Qaeda Suspect, The Washington Post, October 24, 2005.
- ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on July 16, 2011. Retrieved September 18, 2009.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ All Things Considered (November 22, 2005). "Jury Finds Abu Ali Guilty on Terrorism Charges, NPR, Nov. 22, 2005". Npr.org. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ US man guilty of Bush death plot, BBC, November 22, 2005.
- ^ FBI Press Release Archived September 25, 2006, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Court orders new sentence for al-Qaida member Archived June 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ (AFP) – July 27, 2009 (July 27, 2009). "AFP: American Al-Qaeda gets life in prison for Bush plot". Retrieved March 29, 2010.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Ed Pilkington New York (July 10, 2009). "Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado blocked Barack Obama books requested by detainee | Books | guardian.co.uk". London: Guardian. Retrieved March 29, 2010.
- ^ "The trial of Ahmed Abu Ali – Findings of Amnesty International's trial observation". Web.amnesty.org. Retrieved March 29, 2010.