Suspect May Challenge Arrest

A federal judge ruled Thursday that an American held in Saudi Arabia for suspected links to terrorism might be able to challenge his detention in a U.S. court because there was “considerable” evidence that U.S. officials were behind the arrest.

The family of Ahmed Abu Ali, who grew up in Falls Church, Va., says U.S. officials want to keep him in Saudi Arabia so he can be tortured for information.

U.S. District Judge John Bates did not rule on the legitimacy of the claims, but said there was “at least some circumstantial evidence that Abu Ali has been tortured during interrogations with the knowledge of the United States.”

He ordered federal lawyers to provide documents showing whether U.S. officials played a role in Abu Ali’s arrest and detention.

The case is believed to be the first to challenge the U.S. government’s position that Americans have no access to U.S. courts when they are arrested by a foreign government.

Abu Ali, 23, was enrolled in a Saudi university when he was imprisoned without charges in June 2003.