WASHINGTON // The US Supreme Court will no longer hear arguments in the case of an alleged al Qa'eda operative who is challenging the legality of his near six-year detention as an "enemy combatant" without being charged with a crime.
The nine-member court on Friday granted a request by the Obama administration to dismiss the pending appeal by Ali Saleh Kahlah al Marri over the right of the US to hold him without charge or trial. But the court also threw out as "moot" a lower court's ruling, by a federal appeals court in Virginia, that had upheld the government's authority to do that.
Mr al Marri, a dual national of Qatar and Saudi Arabia and a legal resident of the United States, has been detained at a naval facility in South Carolina since 2003. The Bush administration accused Mr al Marri - the only "enemy combatant" currently being held in the mainland US - of working for al Qa'eda and conspiring with Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has confessed to masterminding the Sept 11 2001 attacks.
However, no charges were filed against Mr al Marri until last month, when a federal grand jury handed down a two-count indictment. The Obama administration had previously signalled its intent prosecute at least some terrorism suspects in the regular court system. On the orders of the White House, Mr al Marri was released from military custody into civilian custody.
In bringing the criminal charges, the justice department also asked the Supreme Court to dismiss his pending appeal, saying it was no longer valid, effectively allowing the new administration more time to fashion its own legal position on the controversial policy of "preventive detention".
The Supreme Court's decision means it will not hear the case, which was scheduled to begin next month, nor will it rule on whether the president has the power to detain terrorism suspects indefinitely - as George W Bush insisted he did. Mr Obama has not taken a clear position on the issue.
The American Civil Liberties Union, which represents Mr al Marri, expressed disappointment that the challenge would not be heard. In a brief submitted to the Supreme Court last week, the New York-based group argued the case was not moot even though Mr al Marri had been formally charged and would be able to mount a defence in court.
ACLU lawyers said the appeal should go forward, in part because the government had not ruled out redesignating Mr al Marri an "enemy combatant" and potentially detaining him again without charge in the future.
Still, the ACLU applauded the Supreme Court's move to vacate the lower court's ruling, which it had argued was unconstitutional.
"While we would have preferred a Supreme Court ruling that US citizens and lawful residents detained in the US cannot be held in military custody as 'enemy combatants' without charges or trial, the Supreme Court nonetheless took an important step today by vacating a lower court decision that had upheld the Bush administration's authority to designate al Marri as an 'enemy combatant', " Jonathan Hafetz, the lead lawyer in the case, said. "Congress never granted the president that authority and the constitution does not permit it. We trust that the Obama administration will not repeat the abuses of the Bush administration, having now chosen to prosecute Mr al Marri in federal court rather than defend the Bush administration's actions in this case."
Mr al Marri, who arrived in the US in Sept 2001 on a student visa, was arrested in December of that year at his Illinois home as a material witness in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. He was later indicted on charges of credit card and bank fraud and making false statements to the FBI. About a month before his scheduled trial in 2003, the Bush administration moved to have the indictment dismissed, declared him an "enemy combatant" and said he should be held in military custody as a threat to national security.
He was transferred to the naval brig, where he has been since.
In announcing the criminal charges against Mr al Marri last month, the US attorney prosecuting the case, Rodger Heaton, said he had "committed horrific terrorist acts against our nation. As a result he will now face the US criminal justice system, where his guilt or innocence will be determined by a jury in open court."
The ACLU alleges that Mr Marri was held "incommunicado" for 16 months and was subjected to "torture and other abuse".
eniedowski@thenational.ae
More on animal trafficking
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The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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More coverage from the Future Forum
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
What to watch out for:
Algae, waste coffee grounds and orange peels will be used in the pavilion's walls and gangways
The hulls of three ships will be used for the roof
The hulls will painted to make the largest Italian tricolour in the country’s history
Several pillars more than 20 metres high will support the structure
Roughly 15 tonnes of steel will be used
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
The specs: 2018 Audi RS5
Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
What is tokenisation?
Tokenisation refers to the issuance of a blockchain token, which represents a virtually tradable real, tangible asset. A tokenised asset is easily transferable, offers good liquidity, returns and is easily traded on the secondary markets.
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
Finish: Space grey, starlight, pink, purple, blue
Price: Wi-Fi – Dh2,499 (64GB) / Dh3,099 (256GB); cellular – Dh3,099 (64GB) / Dh3,699 (256GB)
MATCH INFO
Borussia Dortmund 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Kimmich 43')
Man of the match: Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich)
The biog
Hometown: Cairo
Age: 37
Favourite TV series: The Handmaid’s Tale, Black Mirror
Favourite anime series: Death Note, One Piece and Hellsing
Favourite book: Designing Brand Identity, Fifth Edition
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
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MATCH INFO
Chelsea 1 (Hudson-Odoi 90 1')
Manchester City 3 (Gundogan 18', Foden 21', De Bruyne 34')
Man of the match: Ilkay Gundogan (Man City)
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5