The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals heard oral argument in Al-Marri v. Wright. The Court will decide if an alleged Al Qaeda operative arrested in the United States and detained in military custody can be held as an enemy combatant. In June 2007 a Fourth Circuit three-judge panel ruled 2 to 1 that the Bush administration cannot indefinitely imprison a U.S. resident on suspicion alone, ordering the government to either charge Al-Marri in a civilian court or release him. The government appealed to the full Fourth Circuit Court.

Ali Saleh Kahlah Al-Marri, a Qatari national, was a graduate student at Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, when he was arrested as a “material witness” in 2001. He was later charged with credit card fraud and making false statements to the FBI. Before his trial began, he was designated as an enemy combatant and transferred to a military brig in Charleston, South Carolina.

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