U.S. Judge Declines to Intervene in Trial of Lebanese-American in UAE
An American who says he was tortured into confessing to terrorism charges in the United Arab Emirates lost his effort on Tuesday to get a U.S. judge involved in his trial.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson said he doesn”t have the authority to interfere in the foreign criminal prosecution of Naji Hamdan, a 43-year-old American citizen of Lebanese origin. The Obama administration said it agreed with the ruling.
The American Civil Liberties Union accused the United States of ordering Hamdan”s arrest, detention and prosecution because there isn”t evidence to convict him under U.S. laws.
The FBI submitted a declaration in the case that its agents were not involved in his capture and did not share their opinions about the case with the United Arab Emirates. But the ACLU argued that doesn”t rule out involvement from other U.S. agencies.
The ACLU filed a lawsuit asking Robertson to order the United States to rescind its request that the United Arab Emirates pursue Hamdan”s prosecution, but Robertson dismissed the ACLU”s case.
"Petitioners” allegations of abuse and worse at the hands of UAE security officials may well merit further political and public inquiry, but there is no basis on this record for further action by this court," Robertson wrote in his order.
Hamdan has been in the custody of the United Arab Emirates since August and has been charged with three terrorism offenses. During his first court appearance on June 14, Hamdan said he had signed a confession because he was tortured and wanted the "beatings to stop."
UAE officials have never commented on the allegations of abuse. The UAE judge overseeing his prosecution closed a second hearing July 20 to the public without explanation.
Hamdan moved to the United States as a college student and became a citizen. He ran a successful auto parts business in the Los Angeles area, where he was active in the Islamic community.
Although it is not clear what Hamdan had been suspected of doing, he says the FBI began questioning him about whether he had terrorist ties in 1999. He decided to move his family back to the Middle East in 2006 after 20 years in the United States.
He says he was kept under constant surveillance by the U.S. government, with the FBI detaining him at the airport on a return visit to the U.S. and flying agents to Abu Dhabi last summer to question him at the U.S. Embassy in the UAE capital.
On August 27, 2008, three weeks after the embassy meeting, Hamdan was arrested at his home. He says he was kept in solitary confinement for three months and was repeatedly questioned, with daily beatings, whipping of his feet, kicks to his abdomen, threats to his family and verbal abuse. He says an American was present for at least some of the questioning and advised him to do what he was told to avoid further pain.
Justice Department spokesman Dean Boyd responded, "We agree with the court”s ruling, given the fact that the FBI has never requested that the United Arab Emirates detain or arrest Mr. Hamdan."