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Category: Al-Marri
Detainee at Gitmo released — Judge says no go
I have written extensively about Ali al-Marri who was held as an enemy combatant for being an al Qaida operative. He was arrested here in Peoria in 2001 on criminal charges which were dropped in 2003 and then reinstated in February 2009. He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 100 months in the slammer last fall. At the time, a local federal judge decried the practice of holding a person indefinitely without charges, saying we as a country are better than that.
Well, it looks like another federal judge agreed. It’s not the same thing, of course, but a judge in District of Columbia said no go to the United States holding a guy “described in the report of the 9/11 Commission that investigated the hijacked plane attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon as “a significant al Qaeda operative” who helped arrange for the Hamburg cell members to travel to Afghanistan for training.”
The reasons aren’t known it as the original ruling was classified. I hope to have something more on that later in the day. But I think it goes to the heart of what is the problem with detaining people without a charge. We as a country better than that. We as a country follow the rule of law and if it means that some fish get away, then so be it but we are better as a country for it. I know, we are at war. I know, some people will say such a ruling cost lives. Maybe so.
The man in question is Mohamedou Ould Slahi of Mauritania. (see the Washington Post story for more background. The link is above). BUt here’s something interesting for those who say we have to hold him.
That passage from the Washington Post story tells me one thing. He has been locked up and out of touch for nearly nine years. At what point is a person still dangerous. That, I think, was the central question in the al-Marri case. I don’t claim to be an expert on al Qaida and probably am sprouting off about things that I shouldn’t. But hey, never stopped me before. My guess is that a lot of the people he dealt with are dead or in hidding. The organization has changed so much that he might not know how to plug back in and we will probably keep a close eye on him.
That said, the ruling doesn’t mean he is getting out soon. The Obama administration might challenge it. Again, read the Washington Post story (link above).
Author Andy KravetzPosted on March 23, 2010 Categories Al-MarriLeave a comment on Detainee at Gitmo released — Judge says no go
Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 3.2
quick quotes from the defense
Larry Lustberg is speaking. He was one of the original lawyers on the case, coming on board around 2002. I remember that. Here’s he’s speaking of al-marri’s time in the brig.
“He had no idea when it would end, or whether it would end. … You can’t even mark off the days.”
That led to hopelessness and despair, the defense said
Because of sensory deprivation, isolation, etc., “Some of that punishment has already been visited upon him.”
Author Andy KravetzPosted on October 30, 2009 Categories Al-MarriLeave a comment on Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 3.2
Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 3
some quotes from the judge
Here are some quick hits from U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm. I’ll try to get some more later but it’s late and I want to go to bed.
Talked about the person al-Marri used to be in previous time in America, then said: “I don’t understand how we got from that picture to training at an al-Qaida camp in Pakistan, but we know it happened.”
“It’s also clear in my mind that after Sept. 11, you had to know what was expected. … After that, you made a conscious, deliberate decision to continue.”
On him bringing his family along as part of his mission: “I don’t know how you made that choice. … I find that troubling.”
“I believe that when you do go home, and you will, that you will renew acquaintances and associations.”
Questioned the idea that getting to know Americans during the trial made him feel differently about the people here, since he’d already spent extensive time in the U.S. in earning a degree from Bradley: “I can only assume that you met an awful lot of nice Americans in that time. … Why did you need this epiphany from the friends you made on your defense team? You were here for eight years.”
“I believe that you do not truly regret what you did, and I believe that you would do it again.”
In coming here as a sleeper agent, he believes al-Marri knew what he was getting into.
“I can only assume that means everything that involves — including the possibility of death by martyrdom.”
Author Andy KravetzPosted on October 30, 2009 Categories Al-MarriLeave a comment on Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 3
Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 2
After reading comments today and talking with people, I figured I’d add a few more thoughts on the issue. First off, his conditions in the brig. Here’s the deal. Al-Marri was taken from Peoria on June 23, 2003, just as U.S. District Judge Michael Mihm was to hold a crucial hearing. At this hearing—and I was there—the government was going to have to “put up or shut up” about the charge (then lying to the FBI and credit card fraud). Mihm said no more hiding. if you have a case, show it. The hearing was a suppression hearing and the trial was about a month out. Anyway, in a shocking development, al-Marri was declared an EC (enemy combatant) and whisked off to the Brig in Charleston. There, he was subject to interrogation by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for just over a year. He was held in a small concrete cell with no windows (well, they were blacked out), a concrete floor, no mirror, and a steel frame bed. No mattress. No pillow. No blanket. No toilet paper unless he needed it. He was not allowed to see out in the prison. No guards would talk to him. Their name tags were blacked out. When he left his cell, his eyes were covered by goggles. His ears were covered by muffs. His hands and legs were shackled and the chains connected to a belly chain. The interrogators would take away his glasses and his socks. They would make threats about his family. Told him he could disappear.
On some level, I don’t have a problem with this. On some level, we are at war. Information came out that al-Marri was linked to two of the masterminds of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. He arrived in the US the day before 9-11, and was looking up information on poisons, waterways and dams. On some level, we need to do something to make sure the people are safe. And both sides agree that he was never physically tortured. However, the mental aspect was brutal. So much so that Mihm said in open court that it was unacceptable for DIA people to make threats about a man’s family. That’s not who we are, the judge said. And I agree. the US of A is the best place in the world. Why? Because we do it right, even when it’s not convenient or good for us. Here you have rights. Here, there is a rule of law. Here, people do not disappear. And that’s why all our brave men and women serve, to protect our way of life. And yes, I get it that al-Marri would have probably cared less if the roles were reversed and he was in charge. But still, we are better than that.
On the other hand, I have always said that he should have remained in the civilian courts where it started. He was arrested in Dec. 2001, as a material witness for a federal grand jury in NYC. Within months, he was charged out there with credit card fraud. The case was moved back here after a year or so due to a venue issue. Then it was drooped and then it came back nearly six years later. All that time, however, he was in a “legal black hole” as one of al-Marri’s attorneys put it. Should he have been there? A huge problem with that question is that we don’t know what his mission was. My guess is that al-Marri himself didn’t know. He was a sleeper agent sent here to do something but either he got caught before he found out, wasn’t that good of a terrorist and they didn’t trust him or was too stupid. He’s not dumb, that’s for sure. Mihm, himself acknowledged that. But it is troubling that a man who was here for much of the 1980s, had a good job in Qatar working for a bank and a cute family would go to a terrorist training camp and pledge himself to kill Americans.
See part three for some quotes by Mihm….
Author Andy KravetzPosted on October 30, 2009 Categories Al-MarriLeave a comment on Thoughts on the al-Marri sentencing – part 2