Former Saudi prisoner accused of Bush assassination plot
A man who spent time in a Saudi prison was charged in the US today with conspiring to assassinate President George Bush and conspiracy to support the al-Qaida terrorist network.
Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 23, a US citizen, made an initial appearance in a Washington court.
He claimed he was tortured while detained in Saudi Arabia since June of 2003 and offered through his lawyer to show the judge his scars.
The indictment said that in 2002 and 2003 Abu Ali and an unidentified co-conspirator discussed plans for Abu Ali to assassinate Bush.
They discussed two scenarios, the indictment said, one in which Abu Ali “would get close enough to the president to shoot him on the street” and, alternatively, “an operation in which Abu Ali would detonate a car bomb”.
Abu Ali was arrested up in Saudi Arabia while studying at a university there. His family contends that US officials were behind the detention and wanted him held in Saudi Arabia so he could be tortured for information.
A lawsuit brought on their behalf in a Washington court seeks to compel the government to disclose what it knows about Abu Ali and his detention.
Abu Ali’s appearance in court today was a surprise because the government never publicly disclosed that he had left Saudi Arabia.
According to the indictment, Abu Ali obtained a religious blessing from another unidentified co-conspirator to assassinate the president.
More than 100 of his supporters crowded the courtroom in Alexandria, a Washington suburb, and laughed when the charge was read aloud alleging that he conspired to assassinate Bush.
When Abu Ali asked to speak, Magistrate Liam O’Grady suggested he consult his lawyer, Ashraf Nubani.
“He was tortured,” Nubani told the court. “He has the evidence on his back. He was whipped. He was handcuffed for days at a time.”
When Nubani offered to show the judge his back, O’Grady said that Abu Ali might be able to enter that as evidence on Thursday at a detention hearing.
“I can assure you you will not suffer any torture or humiliation while in the marshals’ custody,” O’Grady said.
Abu Ali is charged with six counts and would face a maximum of 80 years in prison if convicted.
