Months ago there was a small number of
diaries (see also
BemusedBrit's and
Musing85's entries) about a U.S. citizen named Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23. He's been charged, finally (he was arrested in Saudi Arabia in June 2003), with discussing possible ways to assassinate Bush. His biggest problems? He was
tortured in Saudi Arabia for a while, and his "confession" may be allowed in a U.S. court...
The
BBC news reports that he has been charged in a court in Virginia as a co-conspirator to assassinate Bush, in addition to 5 other charges. The original story, though, was that the U.S. was using "secret evidence" to hold him in Saudi Arabia, and that his parent's were suing to get him back in the U.S. His lawyers were unable to see this secret evidence, and it is not clear from the latest news sources whether they have had a chance to see this evidence still. I would
hope that they have...
Now, for the caveats and hand-wringing. I'm not saying that this man should not be investigated for his involvement in a plot to assassinate someone (regardless of their title). I'm not saying he's innocent or guilty. I am terribly interested in knowing what kind of legal precedent this case will set if they allow evidence collected under suspicion of torture to be admitted in court, on top of the precedent they've already set by allowing a U.S. citizen to be held (and possibly tortured) abroad.
Anyone have any thoughts about this?