Former 'Enemy Combatant' Pleads Not Guilty in Illinois . . . last enemy combatant held on U.S. soil.

[BuyingThyme]

Former 'Enemy Combatant' Pleads Not Guilty in Illinois
Originally held in a Navy brig in South Carolina under allegedly extreme conditions,
al-Marri is now in isolation in a federal prison in Illinois

David Mercer
The Associated Press
March 24, 2009

A man locked up for seven years since being accused of plotting terrorist attacks in the U.S. as an al-Qaida sleeper agent pleaded not guilty to federal charges Monday and was told his fate may be decided by the end of the year.

U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm set a May 26 for the start of Ali al-Marri's trial on charges of conspiracy and supporting terrorism, but acknowledged it would be moved and said he would realistically like to begin by November or December.

The case will be complex -- much of the evidence involves national security issues and attorneys say they have had to apply for federal clearances.

Al-Marri, 43, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley University in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he was tied to organizers of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. A legal U.S. resident, the native of Qatar was declared an "enemy combatant" by the Bush administration and held without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

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Al-Marri spent much of his time at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C. in isolation and faced interrogations and conditions his attorneys said amounted to torture. Attorneys said his conditions later improved.

President Barack Obama, after the U.S. Supreme Court had agreed in December to consider al-Marri's challenge of his enemy combatant status, ordered that al-Marri be surrendered to civil authorities after he was indicted in Peoria.

He had been the last enemy combatant held on U.S. soil.

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