Trial Date Set for Monday for the “Only ‘Enemy Combatant’ in Custody on American Soil”

You gotta’ love the way this reporter goes all out in trying to play the sympathy card for this guy.  If I were him, I’d withhold my sympathy until after the trial.

Ali al-Marri was originally arrested for credit card fraud, bank fraud, identity theft, and lying to a federal agent. The charges stemmed from al-Marri’s 2001 arrest as a material witness in an investigation of the September 11th attacks.  Evidently, the infamous Khalid Sheikh Mohammed fingered him as a sleeper agent who was suppose to “activate” and carry out terror attacks in the U.S. a few months after 9/11.  Now, I’m no Sherlock Holmes, but it seems to me that if Khalid knew al-Marri’s name and where he lived, there has got to be a link there, somewhere.  Just saying…

Anyway, al-Marri intended to plead innocent, and the F.B.I couldn’t coax any information out of him, so the Bush Administration put him in the care of the Department of Defense, hoping they would have more luck. Before agreeing to release him to the government, the presiding Libtard judge in the case ruled that the White House would be barred from charging Marri again with the same crimes. In legal jargon, the original charges were “dismissed with prejudice,” to protect Marri’s right not to be place in “double jeopardy.” As a result, the prosecutors have to bring a different set of charges.

All of this, of course, has reduced the government’s chance of getting a conviction – especially by today’s liberally brain-washed jury pools.

Also, you will be hearing a lot of whining about all the supposed “torture” al-Marri went through, blah, blah, blah.

Just thought you should be up-to-snuff on this guy since the MSM is most certainly going to paint him as an innocent victim of the eeeeevil Bush regime:

[BTW - Obama has dropped the term, "enemy combatant."  Evidently, the reporter for this story didn't get that particular memo...]

Alleged ‘enemy combatant’ faces trial in Illinois
By SOPHIA TAREEN – via Google News

PEORIA, Ill. (AP) — Ali al-Marri followed his older brother to central Illinois in the mid-1980s to pursue a business education unavailable in his native Qatar, becoming a Bulls fan and honing his pool-playing skills. He returned for further study more than 10 years later, bringing along his wife and five children.

But Al-Marri’s third trip to the area comes under far different circumstances — facing trial on federal charges alleging he supported al-Qaida terrorists. His first court appearance is Monday.

Al-Marri, 43, was arrested in late 2001 while studying at Bradley University in Peoria after federal authorities alleged he was an al-Qaida sleeper agent tied to organizers of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He was a legal U.S. resident but became the only “enemy combatant” in custody on American soil.

He was held without charges for more than five years at a Navy brig in South Carolina.

Then, last month, a federal grand jury in Illinois indicted al-Marri on charges of conspiracy and providing material support to terror.

The scant Feb. 26 indictment offers no details on the long-awaited charges and federal officials are not discussing al-Marri’s case.

But his family, who live in Saudi Arabia, insist he is innocent and deserves a chance to prove it.

“I want Ali to go to court and get his fair case,” older brother Naji al-Marri told The Associated Press. “If he is innocent, free him. If he’s not innocent, then that’s the law.”

Ali Al-Marri’s arrest in December 2001 shocked this Midwest city on the Illinois River, home of heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc., considered so representative of a cross-section of America that it is used as a test market and was memorialized in the Vaudevillian adage “Will it play in Peoria?”

“I remember how surprised I was that he lived in the community,” said Peoria Mayor Jim Ardis, a lifelong resident. “Someone potentially involved in the terrorist plot was here?”

“It’s what America is all about: Peoria, Illinois,” said former Mayor Jim Maloof, 89. “For the most part, it’s bred in traditional values, appreciation for families and good education.”

The same ideals, family say, drew al-Marri to the region.

He was one of 12 children in a close-knit family that valued education, said Naji al-Marri, 47, who came to Bradley in the early 1980s. He described his brother as a good student with a bright outlook.

“Nobody laughs as much as Ali,” Naji al-Marri said. “He liked life a lot.”

Ali al-Marri graduated in 1991 with a bachelor’s in business management administration, then went to work for a bank in Qatar. His family arranged his marriage and the couple had five children.

But al-Marri wanted to continue his education at Bradley, Naji al-Marri said. He obtained a student visa and returned to the U.S. on Sept. 10, 2001.

Ali Al-Marri rented a house, enrolled in computer science classes, and regularly attended Friday services at the Islamic Center of Peoria, where members recall his petite stature and shoulder-length hair.

“He looked like a typical family man who was looking after his kids and trying to better himself by trying to go to school,” said Bradley engineering professor Souhail Elhouar.

Elhouar said he didn’t know al-Marri well, but was surprised by the arrest that sent a ripple through Peoria’s close-knit Muslim community of about 3,000 to 4,500.

“In the beginning, it was chaos,” said Abedellatif Mohamed, a former mosque president. he FBI questioned several mosque members about al-Marri.

Others also were taken aback by the allegations.

“It bothered me that it was that close,” said Diane Craps, who cuts hair at Joe’s Barbershop in West Peoria. “But I guess it could happen anywhere.”

Al-Marri’s wife did not speak English, had little money and could not drive. “We took turns taking care of his family,” Mohamed said.

Al-Marri was moved to New York and indicted on charges of credit card fraud and lying to the FBI, not terror charges. Federal authorities alleged he ran a scam to help fund al-Qaida.

Around the same time, al-Marri’s younger brother Jaralla al-Marri was detained by U.S. forces in Afghanistan on suspicion of links to the Taliban and al-Qaida. He was held at Guantanamo Bay without charges for more than six years before being released.

The fraud charges against Ali al-Marri were dropped in June 2003, when President George W. Bush declared him an enemy combatant and ordered him transferred to military custody.

For more than a year, al-Marri was allowed contact with no one, including attorneys. His wife and children left central Illinois. “She’s very, very angry,” Naji al-Marri said of his sister-in-law. “They took her husband.”

In court documents, the government contended Ali al-Marri met with Osama bin Laden in the summer of 2001 and was sent to the U.S. to help al-Qaida operatives carry out attacks following Sept. 11, 2001.

Al-Marri spent much of the past five years in isolation at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig in Charleston, S.C. He was interrogated and faced conditions his attorneys called torture. He initially was not allowed to wear socks or shoes on concrete floors, had no bedding and no human contact and experienced mental health issues, according to court documents. Attorneys said his conditions later improved.

“I really thought Ali was not alive,” Naji al-Marri said. “Even when I talked to him, I was not convinced until I asked him some question that only he would know.”

Naji al-Marri said he only asks about his brother’s well-being, not any alleged crimes. In three telephone conversations, including one in February, Ali al-Marri seemed in good spirits, his brother said.

“He (once) asked me ‘Did the Cubs come to the World Series?’” Naji al-Marri said. “I told him ‘No, as usual.’”

Attorney Andy Savage said Ali al-Marri is looking forward to trial.

“He believes that this will result in his repatriation to his homeland and return to his family,” Savage said.

Ali al-Marri did not learn of his father’s death until a year after it happened. Security stalled family letters for months. His wife and children have only recently seen a picture.

“He has missed bringing his kids up,” Naji al-Marri said, noting his brother’s son who was eight when he went to jail is now a teenager. “Nothing will pay for that.”

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