VOA标准英语2009年-Accused Al-Qaida Sleeper Agent Sentenced t

By Kane Farabaugh
Peoria, Illinois
30 October 2009

 
Ali Al-Marri at the Charleston Naval 1 Brig in Charleston, South Carolina (File)
Accused al-Qaida sleeper 2 agent Ali al-Marri has been sentenced to more than eight years in a civilian 3 prison. The Qatar native was labeled an "enemy combatant and held for years in isolation 4 at a military prison in South Carolina. Al-Marri's sentence ends years of legal limbo 5 and provides insight into how future cases of enemy combatants might be prosecuted 7 by the U.S. government.

U.S. District Court Judge Michael Mihm sentenced al-Marri to eight years and four months in prison for his role as an al-Qaida sleeper agent in the months surrounding the 9/11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington D.C.

During the sentencing hearing Thursday, defense 8 attorneys tried to portray 9 al-Marri as a low level operative, one that had little influence or clout 10 in the al-Qaida organization and had not directly participated in an act of terrorism.

 
Booking photo of Ali Al-Marri
But prosecutors 11 argued that al-Marri had confessed to training in various camps in Pakistan and had directly communicated with 9/11 mastermind Kalid Sheikh Mohammad.

Prosecuting 12 attorney Joanna Baltes added that during an emotional closing statement, al-Marri failed to convince the judge he was no longer a threat.

 
Prosecuting attorney Joanna Baltes
"I think that its important to remember that the judge considers this a very serious offense 13 and the judge's words based on listening to the defendants 14 statement was that he did not believe that he truly rejected or that he was sorry for what he did when he came here and that he would do it again," Baltes said.

Despite the judge's misgivings 15, he did consider the time al-Marri spent in detention 16 without charge. He also factored in the hardship al-Marri faced during interrogation procedures while in detention as an enemy combatant.

Defense attorney Andy Savage 17 had prepared al-Marri for the possibility of a maximum sentence of fifteen years in prison.

 
Defense attorney Andy Savage
"I think Ali has always hoped for the best but planned for the worst, so he was fully 18 aware that he could have got a much harsher sentence today," Savage said. "He was very pleased with the judge's analysis and the sentence."

In the end, al-Marri could serve as little as five years in prison, when factoring good conduct and time already served. He will face deportation 19 once he completes his sentence.

Ali al-Marri is the last of three enemy combatants detained in the United States and held at the U.S. Navy prison in South Carolina. But as Bradley University political science professor Paul Lermack points out, al-Marri's case is not the end of the debate over how to prosecute 6 enemy combatants.

 
Bradley University Professor Paul Lermack
"It may end in al-Marri's case in the sense that he will accept it and not appeal further, but the question of how to treat people like this is still continuing," Lermack said. "There will not be a resolution because he made a plea bargain, because he didn't chose to fight the way he could, the Supreme 20 Court dismissed the appeal that would have raised the fundamental questions."

One of those fundamental questions concerns the "Authorization 21 for Use of Military Force" concerning people lawfully 22 residing in the United States, and whether or not they can be seized and held indefinitely without being charged.

It is an issue the Supreme Court has yet to rule on, and one the high court will likely face, as efforts move forward to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility in Cuba.