Withheld Evidence

Important exculpatory evidence in the trial of Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, who is charged with joining al Qaeda and plotting to assassinate President Bush, is in the possession of the judge presiding over the case, but he cannot give it to the defendant’s lawyers because they lack the requisite security clearance.^[1]

Federal prosecutors, who are required to turn over evidence in their possession which is potentially beneficial to the defense, gave the information to the judge.^[2] During a pretrial hearing today, the judge told the defense team “from what I’ve seen it is important information and it bears on your defense.”^[3]

He is apparently deciding whether to appoint a lawyer who has the requisite security clearance to assist the defendant, but one of Mr. Ali’s current lawyers questions the practicality of such a move since the new lawyer would still be unable to share the information with the others.^[4]

Abu Ali has argued that he made a confession related to the case only after being tortured, and that he was detained by Saudi Arabia for nearly two years at the instruction of the United States.^[5] Arguments concerning those claims will be heard at a pretrial conference on September 19.^[6]

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[1] Matthew Barakat, Classified Evidence Kept from Abu Ali’s Defense, Associated Press, Aug. 29, 2005, available here.
[2] Id.
[3] Id.
[4] Id.
[5] Id.
[6] Id; see also Deborah Charles, U.S. Qaeda Suspect Claiming Torture Must Show Proof, Reuters, Aug. 29, 2005, available here.