This might not be construed as torture, but it sure as hell isn't the American way..or is it? From a NYT article on the trial, we get this lovely gem:
"The government has repudiated the terrorism case and is now investigating the former lead prosecutor, though documents obtained by The New York Times indicate that top Justice Department officials long had doubts about the strength of the case but pushed to bring terrorism charges anyway."
The history of this case, from this article or the local Detroit writeup here:
Koubriti and three other Middle Eastern immigrants had been accused of forming a terror cell in the Detroit area. In 2003, Koubriti and Abdel-Ilah Elmardoudi were convicted of conspiracy to aid terrorists and document fraud. A third man was convicted of document fraud, and the fourth was acquitted of all charges. Koubriti was held for 3, count em, 3 years..here, in America.
"A federal judge later dismissed the convictions at the request of the Department of Justice, which said federal prosecutors in Detroit withheld evidence beneficial to the defendants."Now, that IS bullshit..withholding evidence. This isn't Gitmo where you can try someone based on heresay and keep evidence from the accused because its "secret", or hold them forever. Where is our America, where has our due process gone? Why is it ok to hold people for years and then dismiss the case? We are no better than the terrorists when we allow this shit to happen in our own country. I am not saying this man is a good man, I am saying this man had a right to due process, the right to see the evidence and the right to a fair trial. Koubriti got none of the three..none,nada, zilch. It was assumed he was guilty and therefore he was treated like he was already found guilty.
Legal documents on his case can be read here at FindLaw.
Tags: Terrorism, Politics, Bush, War on Terror, Karim Koubriti, Federal Fuckwits at the Helm
Cross-posted at Bring it On!
