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The Suite Life of Ali al-Marri

Enemy combatant in the Charleston brig enjoys several cells converted to rooms for his use exercise equipment, a laptop, cable TV, and a 400-volume personal Islamic library. Try flushing that down the toilet. via Chron: 

Al-Marri, 42, was arrested in December 2001 and has been held in solitary detention at the brig near Charleston for almost five years since the government said he had links to al-Qaida and was a national security threat.

Al-Marri’s “conditions of confinement are not only safe and humane, but provide him with a number of accommodations and privileges rarely seen in the military detention of enemy combatants,” the government wrote in its 35-page brief, filed Monday. “He not only has adequate opportunities for human interaction, exercise, and intellectual stimulation … his physical and mental health is regularly monitored, with appropriate care available if needed.”

Last month, al-Marri’s attorneys filed a complaint alleging that the nearly five years of isolation were affecting their client’s health and ability to assist in his defense.

…

He is restricted to his 80-square-foot “sleeping cell” from 10:00 p.m. to 5:30 a.m., but is free to use a nearby 1,000-square-foot “dayroom,” and the other cells converted into rooms for his personal use. Al-Marri also has several indoor exercise machines and may exercise outdoors for up to four hours a day, the government said.

Al-Marri also has access to the personal library, and newspapers and magazines, though news of U.S. military actions abroad is removed, the government said.

Giving al-Marri unrestricted war-related news, the government argued in the documents, would allow the suspected al-Qaida associate “to learn of statements and plans of Osama bin Laden and other al Qaeda leaders in their fight against the United States and its coalition partners.”

Sounds like he’s doing better than … let’s see … pretty all 2 million-plus incarcerated Americans. Significantly better than any al-Qaeda or Iranian hostage I ever heard of.

Topics: America, al qaeda

  Posted by Jules Crittenden at 11:40 pm on Tuesday, April 15, 2008

2 Responses to “The Suite Life of Ali al-Marri”

1. RebeccaH Says:
   April 16th, 2008 at 10:50 am

   Well, here’s a question for the government: Why isn’t this a$$hole in Gitmo?

2. MikeH Says:
   April 16th, 2008 at 12:44 pm

   Has he tried to escape lately and they just didn’t notice it? If so then maybe they could keep their eyes open and follow the procedures set down millennia ago: shoot first, ask questions later. No muss, no fuss, no ring around the collar.

   Then we can rent his domicile out as a summer time share.

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