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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| US detainee 'on terror charges' | US detainee 'on terror charges' |
| (40 minutes later) | |
| A man held as the last "enemy combatant" on US soil has been formally charged by a federal court with supporting a foreign terror group. | A man held as the last "enemy combatant" on US soil has been formally charged by a federal court with supporting a foreign terror group. |
| Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al- Qaeda sleeper agent, has been held at a military jail for more than five years. | Ali al-Marri, accused of being an al- Qaeda sleeper agent, has been held at a military jail for more than five years. |
| If convicted Mr al-Marri, 43, who has dual Saudi-Qatari nationality, faces up to 30 years' imprisonment for providing support and conspiracy. | |
| His lawyers have claimed he has been seriously mistreated in custody. | His lawyers have claimed he has been seriously mistreated in custody. |
| Correspondents say the decision by the new US administration to move Mr al-Marri into the court system marks a significant shift in policy, as the Bush administration had contended Mr al-Marri could be held indefinitely without charge. | |
| Student charge | |
| Mr al-Marri will now be transferred to Illinois where he will face trial in a civilian court on the charges. | |
| A district court in Peoria, Illinois, charged him with "conspiracy to provide material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation." | |
| It also charged him with "providing material support and resources to a foreign terrorist organisation", while a student at a university in Peoria in 2001. | |
| The last of three "enemy combatants" held on US soil, Mr al-Marri has been held at a US naval base in South Carolina since 2003. | |
| His lawyers have said he has been confined in a special unit surrounded by 100 empty cells. |