U.S. trial flawed without Saudi torture evidence - Amnesty

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/swissinfo.html?siteSect=143&sid=6314864&cKey=1134537625000

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The trial of a U.S. man who was found guilty of conspiring with al Qaeda and plotting to kill President George W. Bush was flawed because it did not include evidence about torture in Saudi Arabia, Amnesty International said on Wednesday.

In a report, the rights group criticised a federal judge for refusing to let a jury hear supporting evidence from Ahmed Abu Ali that his confession made in Saudi Arabia had been obtained through torture.

Last month a jury found Abu Ali, 24, guilty of all charges in a nine-count indictment. Federal prosecutors had based the case against Abu Ali almost entirely on confessions he made while in Saudi custody for 20 months.

"To fail to permit the introduction of evidence regarding Saudi Arabia's reputation for using torture -- a reputation well-documented in our own State Department's human rights reports -- casts serious doubts on the jury's ability to make an informed judgement," said Amnesty International USA executive director William Schulz.

"Amnesty International is very concerned that this trial sets the devastating precedent in U.S. courts that statements obtained under torture are acceptable as evidence while a country's history of documented abuse is not allowed," he said.

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1. the reason the defendant did not say this to the jury is ??? n/t

[rfranklin]

2. The judge did or would have shut it down immediately...

BANG BANG BANG..."the jury will disregard those remarks and the defendant will put into restraints and gagged while the trial continures!"

[rfkrfk]

3. on direct examination, why didn't his council ask him about this? n.t