Rights Group Hails Al-Marri Plea as Proof that Existing Criminal Justice System Works

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Washington, DC – Praising yesterday's plea agreement in which Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri pled guilty to conspiracy to provide material support or resources to Al Qaeda as further evidence that the U.S. criminal justice system is best equipped to handle complex terrorism cases, Human Rights First advocacy counsel Devon Chaffee:

"This plea agreement demonstrates that our existing, tried and true federal criminal justice system is where these cases belong. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when we already have in place a highly adaptive and flexible system of delivering justice. The Obama Administration should follow the example it set in this case and bring Guántanamo detainees suspected of having committed a terrorism crime to justice in existing federal courts. The administration should also recommend and agree that the court give Mr. Al-Marri credit for the six years he was imprisoned, largely in isolation and subject to other forms of ill-treatment without criminal charge, as a so-called enemy combatant."

In May 2008, Human Rights First released a report, In Pursuit of Justice examining more than 120 international terrorism cases prosecuted in the federal criminal justice system. The report, written by two former federal prosecutors, found that existing laws, in the vast majority of cases, provide an effective basis for detaining, monitoring and prosecuting terrorist suspects. This same sentiment was echoed yesterday by Attorney General Eric Holder, when he said that Al-Marri plea agreement "reflects what we can achieve when we have faith in our criminal justice system and are unwavering in our commitment to the values upon which the nation was founded and the rule of law."

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