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U.S. court upholds conviction in Bush al Qaeda plot
A U.S. appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of an American citizen for plotting to assassinate President George W. Bush and conspiring with al Qaeda, rejecting his claims of torture by the Saudi police.As part of its ruling, the appeals court based in Richmond, Virginia, overturned Abu Ali's 30-year prison sentence on the grounds it was unreasonably lenient and sent the case back for resentencing. "In this case, we are satisfied that Abu Ali received a fair trial, though not a perfect one, and that the criminal justice system performed those functions which the Constitution envisioned for it," the three-judge panel concluded. Abu Ali's lawyers argued he had been tortured into confessing while he was held in Saudi Arabia, but the appeals court disagreed and concluded his statements were voluntary. Abu Ali, who was born in Texas and lived in the Washington suburb of Falls Church, Virginia, was arrested in June 2003 while studying at a Saudi university and was held in Saudi custody for 20 months before being returned to the United States after being indicted. In Saudi Arabia, he signed confessions and made statements admitting to the plot against Bush and to having ties to an al Qaeda cell. But when the case went to trial, Abu Ali's lawyers said he made up the confessions after being tortured by the Saudi domestic security police. Saudi officials denied Abu Ali's claims of mistreatment. U.S. prosecutors said there was no evidence to prove he had been tortured. Posted by: Fred 2008-06-07 |
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