Man accused of Bush murder plot

March 31, 2005 - 6:25AM

A Virginia man accused of joining al-Qaeda and plotting to kill US President George W Bush could have an independent medical examination to corroborate his claim that he was tortured, a judge has ruled.

Ahmed Omar Abu Ali, 24, claims that the US government's evidence against him was obtained through torture while he was jailed in Saudi Arabia.

Federal prosecutors deny Abu Ali was mistreated and say no evidence of torture was found by government doctors who examined Abu Ali last month, when the Saudi government turned him over to face federal charges.

Abu Ali is a former high school valedictorian in Virginia who was arrested nearly two years ago by the Saudi government when he was a college student there. He is in jail in Alexandria, Virginia, awaiting trial under special security measures that restrict his access to visitors.

Abu Ali's lawyer, Ashraf Nubani, has argued that an independent medical examination is crucial to corroborate his torture claims.

Several defence lawyers have said they have seen scars on Abu Ali's back that he claims were inflicted by his Saudi jailers.

Nubani said that any evidence obtained through torture is unreliable and inadmissible in court.

At a pretrial hearing, an FBI agent testified that Abu Ali discussed with other al-Qaeda members a plan in which he would personally shoot Bush or detonate a car bomb.

© 2005 AP

www.theage.com.au/news/Breaking-News/Man-accused-of-Bush-murder-plot/2005/03/31/1111862489638