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NEWSDESK
Ahmed Abu Ali: A Tragic Story of American Injustice
- Details
- Written by Eman Jueid
- Category: World News
Saudi Arabian jail officials, however, who were questioned via satellite during Abu Ali’s trial, denied using any torture. And the judge refused to view evidence of slashes from whips on his back.
He has since been charged with six counts of conspiracy and three other counts for which he is sentenced to life in prison. Most of these charges are based on the video that was created in Saudi Arabia and today, he remains in a 7x12 cell under 23-hour confinement. This is not Guantanamo. This is the Supermax prison in Colorado, the Centennial State.
Sadly, the case of Abu Ali may be one of many such lawless acts. On December 31, 2011 President Obama signed the National Defence Authorization Act, a bill that legalizes the indefinite detention of Americans "without trial, until the end of the hostilities authorized by the AUMF,” or Authorization for Use of Military Force.”
In a statement that accompanied his signature on the bill, President Obama wrote, “I have signed this bill despite having serious reservations with certain provisions that regulate the detention, interrogation, and prosecution of suspected terrorists.” He also promised that his administration would not use the measures outlined for indefinite detention of Americans.
Since September 11, however, many American Muslims have already faced such conditions. Now the law supports their continuation. Abu Ali was valedictorian of his high school class and was just 22 when he was arrested in 2003. Now, under Special Administrative Measures that are placed on him and his family as a “terror-suspect,” he is not even allowed to discuss his case with his lawyer.
Even though he has not committed any crimes, he is still kept in solitary confinement and is allowed no-contact visits with his family once a year. “Ahmed wrote letters to my mother on Sept 8, 2011 and she just received them 5 months later on January 21,” says his sister, Mariam Abu Ali.
In a statement he made after his re-sentencing, Abu Ali questioned the usefulness of the restrictions placed on him: “I’m not ungrateful to this court for the relative civility it has shown me, and I also have been civil with this court. But, I cannot pretend this is justice.”
By Sehar Mughal, Aslan Media ContributorAUDIO: Will Scandals Stall Obama's Agenda?
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