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| N.Y. Judge Calls for Review of Inmate's Harassment Claims |
| By New York Times |
| Published: 08/26/2002 |
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A federal judge in Manhattan has directed government officials to investigate complaints that a Qatari graduate student arrested in the Sept. 11 investigation was harassed and taunted by jail officers and treated like a terrorist, even though he was charged only in a credit card fraud. The student, Ali al-Marri, was detained in Illinois on Dec. 12 as a material witness in the terrorism investigation; he was moved to New York and charged with illegal possession of credit card numbers. His lawyer complained recently to Judge Victor Marrero of Federal District Court that officers in the Metropolitan Correctional Center, the federal facility where Mr. Marri has been held for seven months in virtual isolation, have been shining lights into his cell at night, calling him 'terrorist' and 'Taliban,' and suggesting he was responsible for the attack on the World Trade Center. Prosecutors have told the judge that the '[officers] deny using any of the terms or names attributed to them.' In a hearing on July 31, Judge Marrero said that if the allegations were true, such harassment could affect Mr. Marri's 'physical and psychological well-being so that he is not able to participate and assist in his defense.' A spokeswoman for the Federal Bureau of Prisons, Traci Billingsley, said by phone: 'I can assure you that all allegations of staff misconduct are taken very seriously, and all are investigated. All inmates in the Bureau of Prisons are treated in a fair, impartial and consistent manner.' Prosecutors have suggested in court that Mr. Marri may have some links to terrorism, although they have not charged him with that. For example, an F.B.I. affidavit unsealed in Illinois said a calling card number associated with Mr. Marri was used last fall to make two calls to a man in the United Arab Emirates who the authorities say was involved in financial transactions with Mohamed Atta and several other men suspected of being Sept. 11 hijackers. The calls, which Mr. Etra said in court were attempted from Chicago and Springfield, Ill., apparently did not go through. |
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