Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri

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Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri (b. 1966/1967?) is a citizen of Qatar who was arrested while studying at Bradley University in the United States.^[1] He is currently detained at the U.S. Naval Consolidated Brig near Charleston, SC. Al-Marri is the only person known to be held as an enemy combatant on the United States mainland. His status is pending a ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.

Al-Marri was arrested in December 2001 and held in civilian jails in Peoria, Illinois, and New York City as a material witness.

In 2002, Ali was charged with financial crimes.^[1] Al-Marri was charged with opening bank accounts with inadequate or forged identity documents.

Evidence has been disclosed that al-Marri was allegedly in possession of a telephone card that was previously used to call a number in Dubai linked to the reputed Al Qaeda finacier, Mustafa al-Hawsawi. After searching al-Marri's computer, a folder was found labeled "jihad arena", which according to the government, contained information on hydrogen cyanide, a poisonous gas used in chemical weapons, along with lectures by Osama bin Laden and a cartoon of planes crashing into the World Trade Center.^[2]

Al-Marri's initial credit card fraud charges were dropped when President Bush classified him as an unlawful combatant in 2003. Unlike other foreigners, al-Marri was not transported to Guantanamo Bay but was transferred to a Naval brig in South Carolina.

Al-Marri was allowed access to legal counsel in October 2004. His lawyers report that al-Marri has described being subjected to extreme cold, with insufficient bedding and clothing. He has been deprived of all reading material, except a Koran. Unlike the cells at Guantanamo Bay, which all have an arrow painted on the floor that points toward Mecca, his guards reportedly decline to inform him of which direction is East. In addition to his cell's window being merely translucent (rather than transparent), he also claims to have no clock, preventing him from knowing the proper times to say his prayers. He has also reportedly been deprived of personal hygiene items. ^[3] The lack of such items have reportedly also rendered him unable to pray as a result of ritual impurity.

Al-Marri reports that he has not been interrogated for a year. His lawyer has been trying to obtain protection for him through the writ of habeas corpus.^[4]^[5]

On Nov. 13, 2006, the U.S. Department of Justice asserted in a six-page motion with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit that, according to the Military Commissions Act of 2006, al-Marri should be tried in a military tribunal as an enemy combatant rather than in a civilian court.^[6]^[7]^[8] The document begins with:

Pursuant to Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure and Local Rule 27(f), respondent-appellee Commander S.L. Wright respectfully moves this Court to remand this case to the district court with instructions to dismiss it for lack of subject matter jurisdiction. Respondent-appellee has conferred with counsel for petitioner-appellant, and they agree with the briefing schedule proposed below. As explained below, the Military Commissions Act of 2006 (MCA), Pub. L. No. 109-366 (see Attachment 1), which took effect on October 17, 2006, removes federal court jurisdiction over pending and future habeas corpus actions and any other actions filed by or on behalf of detained aliens determined by the United States to be enemy combatants, such as petitioner-appellant al- Marri, except as provided in Section 1005(e)(2) and (e)(3) of the Detainee Treatment Act (DTA). In plain terms, the MCA removes this Court’s jurisdiction (as well as the district court’s) over al- Marri’s habeas action. Accordingly, the Court should dismiss this appeal for lack of jurisdiction and remand the case to the district court with instructions to dismiss the petition for lack of jurisdiction.

After a long legal battle the previously classified justification for Al Marri's detention was made public.^[9] On September 9, 2004 Jeffrey N. Rapp, director of the Joint Intelligence Task Force for Combating Terrorism submitted a 16 page sworn statement containing many allegations against Al Marri. Among the allegations:

Al Marri was to hack into the US banking system, and "to wipe out balances and otherwise wreak havoc with banking records in order to damage the U.S. economy."
Investigator had found information about Hydrogen Cyanide on Al Marri's laptop... "The highly technical information found on al-Marri's laptop computer far exceeds the interests of a merely curious individual."

On June 11, 2007, in al-Marri v. Wright, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Military Commissions Act doesn't deny al-Marri his constitutional rights to challenge his accusers.^[10] The court ruled that al-Marri must be released from military detention to either be freed or to be placed in US civilian detention where the federal government would have to charge him with crimes.^[11] The court held an en banc rehearing of the ruling on October 31, 2007. The decision is pending.

[edit] See also

Jarallah al-Marri, his brother, captured in January 2002 and transported to military detention at United States Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.
Jose Padilla formerly held as an enemy combatant in the Continental U.S.
Yaser Esam Hamdi, former U.S. citizen who was held as an enemy combatant in the Continental U.S. see Supreme Court ruling Hamdi v. Rumsfeld