Alleged Al Qaeda Sleeper Agent in U.S. Pleads Guilty

[kpete]

Source: ABC News


Alleged Al Qaeda Sleeper Agent in U.S. Pleads Guilty
Last 'Enemy Combatant' Held on U.S. Soil Pleads to Terrorism Charges
By JASON RYAN, PIERRE THOMAS and THERESA COOK
April 30, 2009

The man known for nearly six years as the last "enemy combatant" held on U.S. soil has pleaded guilty to supporting terrorism.
Guilty Plea Called Imminent in Case of Al-Qaeda Suspect Marri
Accused al Qaeda operative Ali al-Marri is shown in January 2009.
(Ho New/Reuters)

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, dubbed an "enemy combatant" by the Bush administration, entered his plea Thursday before a U.S. district judge in Peoria, Ill. He admitted to one count of conspiring to provide material support or resources to a foreign terrorist organization. Sentencing is set for July 30.

Al-Marri was held without charges at the U.S. Navy brig in Charleston, S.C., from 2003 until a federal grand jury indicted him in February.

The indictment on two counts of allegedly providing material support to al Qaeda paved the way for his release from military custody into the U.S. criminal justice system.

Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/Terrorism/story?id=7469224&page=1

[MidwestTransplant]

1. I thought the civilian justice system couldn't deal with terrarists?

[RC]

2. Sentence reduced to time served...

The defendant is free to go.

[winyanstaz]

3. So how many times was he tortured,

in those six years?
Was he never tortured?
If I was tortured for six years I am sure I would confess to anything to get them to stop.

[harmonicon]

4. how many people will now be arrested for illegally holding him captive for six years?

[struggle4progress]

5. Ali Saleh Kahlah Marri admits helping 9/11 architects (LAT)

By Joel Hood and Josh Meyer
May 1, 2009

... "Good riddance. The sooner the better," said one career Justice Department official who spoke on the condition of anonymity Thursday because he was not authorized to discuss the case.

That official and others said the case was becoming a quagmire for federal prosecutors, given the complicated issues involved -- such as how to bring into court all of the classified evidence to be used against Marri.

Defense lawyers were gearing up to challenge the admissibility of much of that evidence, including statements that they said Marri had made under duress or even torture. They alleged in court documents that he was subjected to inhumane, degrading, and physically and psychologically abusive treatment.

On Thursday, defense attorney Lawrence Lustberg said Marri's time in the brig was exceedingly difficult and at times "crossed the line into torture" ... http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-enemy-combatant1-2009may01,0,7173449.story

[struggle4progress]

6. Accused al Qaeda agent pleads guilty in U.S. court (Reuters)

By Andy Kravetz

... Marri collected information about how to hack into protected computer systems, and obtained stolen credit card numbers and driver's licenses, prosecutors said.

He was originally arrested in Peoria in December 2001 as a material witness in a New York investigation of the September 11 attacks. Marri was then returned to Peoria and charged with credit card fraud and lying to the FBI.

But the charges were dropped in 2003 and then-President George W. Bush declared him an "enemy combatant" and sent him to the Consolidated Naval Brig in South Carolina. He was held in the military prison without charge and in extreme isolation for nearly six years.

Following a review ordered by President Barack Obama, Marri's case was transferred to the U.S. court system, and he was indicted in Illinois in February on terrorism charges ...

http://uk.reuters.com/article/usTopNews/idUKTRE54000420090501?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0&sp=true

[struggle4progress]

7. Al-Qaeda 'agent' in US court plea (BBC)

... In December 2008 the Supreme Court agreed to review the legality of his detention.

But two months later, after President Barack Obama took office, he was formally charged by a federal court with supporting a foreign terror group.

A second charge against him was dropped as part of the plea deal.

He .. will be sentenced on 30 June.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/8028157.stm

[struggle4progress]

8. Marri Admits Conspiring With Al-Qaeda Operatives; Faces Up to 15 Years (WP)

By Carrie Johnson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, May 1, 2009

... Accompanying Marri's plea deal was a statement of facts detailing his contacts with senior al-Qaeda officials and his plans within the United States.

The statement said that between 1998 and 2001, Marri attended terrorist training camps where he learned tradecraft such as prearranged codes to hide telephone numbers and e-mail messages ...

Marri knew at the time that he was providing himself to al-Qaeda to further their terrorist objectives, the documents said ...

As part of the deal, Marri also agreed that an almanac that investigators recovered from his home "was bookmarked at pages showing dams, waterways and tunnels in the United States, consistent with al Qaeda attack planning regarding the use of cyanide gases" ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/30/AR2009043003822.html

[Solly Mack]

9. Some background

Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri

"In Brief – Mr. al-Marri, a citizen of Qatar and legal U.S. resident, was arrested in Peoria, Illinois, in 2001 as a material witness in the FBI's investigation of 9/11. In 2002, he was charged with credit card fraud and other criminal offenses. Shortly before his criminal trial commenced in June 2003, President Bush declared him an "enemy combatant" and moved him to a Navy Brig in South Carolina, where the government has subjected him to torture and other cruel treatment. Over five years later, Mr. al-Marri still remains in solitary confinement without charge.


Al-Marri v. Gates
In Brief – Mr. al-Marri was placed in solitary confinement upon his transfer to the U.S. Naval Brig in South Carolina, in June 2003, and forced to endure painful stress positions, extreme sensory deprivation, as well as threats of violence and death while being detained incommunicado for 16 months. In August 2005, Mr. al-Marri filed this lawsuit to challenge his unlawful and unconstitutional conditions of confinement and mistreatment.

Procedural History – In the course of this lawsuit, the government unlawfully destroyed videotapes and other important electronic and paper records documenting the military's interrogation and treatment of Mr. al-Marri. To prevent futher destruction of the 50+ interrogation recordings and other evidence (see New York Times article on tape destruction), attorneys for Mr. al-Marri filed a motion with the Court to prevent further destruction of evidence. That motion is still pending. "


Al-Marri and the power to imprison U.S. citizens without charges

"In Peoria, he lived with his wife and five children. Shortly after the 9/11 attack, al-Marri was detained as a material witness and subsequently charged in a civilian court with a variety of crimes relating to credit card fraud and making false statements as part of the 9/11 investigation. He vehemently denied those accusations, and -- in June, 2003 -- he was preparing for his criminal trial, scheduled to begin the following month.

Suddenly -- a month before his trial was to begin -- George Bush declared him to be an "enemy combatant" and ordered the U.S. military to seize him from civilian officials and transfer him to military custody. There -- in a South Carolina military brig -- al-Marri has remained for the last five years, with no criminal charges having been brought against him and no meaningful opportunity to contest his guilt in a court of law. He has been kept in solitary confinement and denied any contact with the outside world other than his lawyers. "