NewsFlash! We Have One Sane Judge In America! Al Qaeda Suspect Denied Bail

Hallelujah! A South Carolinan judge has shocked me and has actually denied bail to accused sleeper cell al Qaeda jihadist, Ali al-Marri. Good, good news. Al-Marri is the al Qaeda operative that arrived in the U.S. a day before 9/11 and is accused of being positioned as a "sleeper cell" agent for al Qaeda. Here's some of the details of the judge's decision from the report over at AFP:

A US federal judge refused Wednesday to release on bail alleged Al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali al-Marri, the last "enemy combatant" held on US soil.
Judge Robert Carr of the Charleston, South Carolina federal court ruled Marri was a danger to the community and was a flight risk, according to a copy of the detention order obtained by AFP.
"There are no conditions of release that will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance as required and the safety of the community," said Carr.

Marri "maintained communications with (alleged 9/11 mastermind) Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, researched the use of toxins, and positioned himself as an Al-Qaeda sleeper agent in the US," said Carr.
"Considering the charges, the weight of the evidence is significant and nothing has been presented in any hearing before the court to rebut the facts with regard to the detention of the defendant as an enemy combatant or with regard to the allegations of terrorist activities."

I guess the reason this is surprising to me, this denial of bail, is that there has been a lot of softening on the tough stance here in America on suspected terrorists - case in point is what the Obama administration has been doing in regards to Gitmo. I was convinced that this guy would make bail and of course, flee the country. He's a Saudi so I'm sure a few million dollars in bail would have been easily forfeited.

So kudos to Judge Robert Carr ...now, we can only hope that a jury will be put together that will deal with this scum in the most "appropriate" manner.

US judge refuses bail for terror suspect

WASHINGTON (AFP) — A US federal judge refused Wednesday to release on bail alleged Al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali al-Marri, the last "enemy combatant" held on US soil.
Judge Robert Carr of the Charleston, South Carolina federal court ruled Marri was a danger to the community and was a flight risk, according to a copy of the detention order obtained by AFP.
"There are no conditions of release that will reasonably assure the defendant's appearance as required and the safety of the community," said Carr.
The judge cited government claims that Marri, 43, trained in Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan and entered the United States on September 10, 2001 on a fraudulently obtained student visa.
Marri "maintained communications with (alleged 9/11 mastermind) Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, researched the use of toxins, and positioned himself as an Al-Qaeda sleeper agent in the US," said Carr.
"Considering the charges, the weight of the evidence is significant and nothing has been presented in any hearing before the court to rebut the facts with regard to the detention of the defendant as an enemy combatant or with regard to the allegations of terrorist activities."
Marri will now wait until Monday for his arraignment before a federal court in the state of Illinois.
The dual Qatari-Saudi national was arrested in Illinois in late 2001, and has been held in isolation at the US Navy Consolidated Brig in Charleston since 2003, when president George W. Bush declared him an "enemy combatant."
On February 26 he was charged in a federal court with providing support to Al-Qaeda and was transferred from military to federal custody, ending Marri's status as an "enemy combatant."
The Supreme Court agreed in December to consider a petition by Marri's lawyers challenging Bush's authority to indefinitely hold US residents and citizens without charge or trial.
But President Barack Obama's administration earlier this month successfully sought to block the challenge, urging in papers filed before the high court that the case be dismissed because Marri had now been charged in the federal system.