Lawyers of Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri, the Qatar-born student who has been imprisoned in the United States as an enemy combatant for more than two years, have filed a new lawsuit charging that his military jailers had subjected him to inhuman treatment and of mistreatment of the Holy Qur’an.

Ali al-Marri, 39, has, through his lawyers, challenged the conditions of his confinement in a federal suit filed in the US District Court for the District of South Carolina.

Jonathan L Hafetz, a lawyer representing al-Marri told Gulf Times yesterday that the petition has called for an end to the “cruel and inhuman treatment” that his client has been subjected to by his jailers.

The petition has also alleged violation of the most basic laws and fundamental norms of the US, in the case of the plaintiff.

Ali al-Marri has been held in solitary confinement at the Consolidated Naval Brig in North Charleston, south Carolina since President George W Bush designated him an ‘enemy combatant’ on June 23, 2003.

Ali had lawfully entered the US, with his wife and five children for the purpose of obtaining a master’s degree from the Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, the same institution from which he had earned a bachelor’s degree in 1991.

He was first arrested on December 12, 2001 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as an alleged material witness in the government’s investigation of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

On February 6, 2002, the government charged him with possession of 15 or more unauthorised or counterfeit credit cards. Ali had entered a plea of not guilty to all these charges.

In the new suit, Ali has maintained that his confinement and treatment violated the First, Fourth, Fifth and Eighth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States.

“It also violates the Third and Fourth Geneva Conventions, other international instruments and international human rights law.”

Among the charges levelled by Ali’s lawyers are: denial of social contact with the outside world, interference with access to counsel, abusive and coercive interrogation, interference with observance of Islamic practices, denial of basic necessities, denial of adequate medical and psychological care, unreasonable invasion of privacy and personal integrity and harmful effects of prolonged isolation.

The lawsuit says that although a copy of the Holy Qur’an was provided to him, jailers have intentionally placed it on the floor of his cell or “had thrown numerous items on top of it” despite his complaints that he considers that to be degrading to his religion.

Ali has submitted that  he has been held without charges and without a hearing for almost two years and he is at least entitled to the same protections guaranteed to pretrial detainees.

It was pointed out in the petition that the plaintiff is being held in a cell that is approximately 9ft by 6ft and his cell contains nothing except a blanket and a thin mattress on flat metal surface.

It also said that he is under constant video surveillance , including when he takes a shower and goes to the bathroom.

The New York Times quoted the US Defence Department as saying that Ali al-Marri’s case will be handled through legal channels.

“We will not comment on specific allegations. However, allegations of this nature have been proven false in the past, and we know that enemy combatants have been trained to make sensational claims about their detention if captured,” the Defence Department said.

American officials have maintained that Ali al-Marri pledged allegiance to Al Qaeda and attended a terrorist training camp. He is one of the only two people apprehended in the US after the September 11 attacks and declared enemy combatants by President Bush.

PHOTO CAPTION